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Patlabor : Where piloting giant robots is just a day job

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OH man, I have put this off for ages. I would stare at this VHS box at Roger's video.
patlabor.jpg



I looked up some clips, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwNRv-lubCg and this awesome scene is more tense than entirety of Top Gun. then there is comment with an amazingly concise summary. So cool..

Yes, air control system was hacked, inserting practice dummy target "wyvern", Command and Control ("C&C") dispatch wizard 03 and buddy ("wizard flight") to intercept under guidance AWACS "TREBOR", Intercepting friendlies lost from C&C and AWACS radar, "wyvern" still in RADAR, C&C assume wizard flight is downed, in reality IFF for intercepting fighter "wizard" overwritten into bogey "wyvern".
Wyvern flight continue en course toward populated area [tokyo] with no radio contact, C&C summon "priest flight", with AWACS TREBOR.
TREBOR and priest flight make RADAR contact, C&C authorize engagement. hacking clear, "wyvern" marker gone, turn into friendly "wizard flight" over heavy radio interference, C&C order "priest flight" to abort engagement.
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Enron said:
Wow, the movies are still 12 bucks on amazon?

I bought both 1 and 2 on amazon a couple of years ago, i got one of them for 8 and the other for 12 bucks. Unbelievable.
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?

Really? Were those the deluxe versions with the books? As I said above I tried to buy those a few years ago and they were very expensive.
 
I've been working my way through the book included with the special edition of Movie 1 over the past few days. It's really substantial and interesting. I would love to own a coffee table sized version of it for my apartment.

One cool factoid: it reveals that Goto's appearance and speech is based off of Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代 達矢). I know him best from his performances in a number of Akira Kurosawa films. They specifically mention his work in High and Low (1963) Satsujin kyo jidai (1967) as inspirations.

mRKUsug.jpg


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Mature said:
Patlabor: The TV Series - 13-24
Still pretty great with just a couple of rotten episodes midway through. Specifically, the Shadow in Geo-Front episode was pretty abysmal. The setup and execution was harmless enough, but the prehistoric monster that Kanuka and Noa end up fighting was a pretty stupid concept. And even that would be forgivable if they didn't go the way of Sphere and have a cop out with "No on will believe us anyway, so lets just not talk about it" at the end. Uhh, didn't the exact episode previous just have a plot point involving taking footage captured from the Ingram in order to prove someones whereabouts? Talk about a serious inconsistency.

Though some episodes left a bad taste in my mouth, I definitely came up positive. I especially liked the episode with Kanuka and Noa bonding over drinking. I think those personal moments are what set Patlabor aside from normal Sci-Fi mecha shows. That and it's distinct brand of humor. The episode involving the warring Yakuza gangs vying for attention from Noa was clever and had me laughing. The two farewell episodes with Kanuka at the end were pretty sweet, too. Episode 23 was one of the few recap episodes in history where I'm glad it happened— it really helped show the growth the unit has had since the first episode. It also made Kanuka's exit that much more sentimental. Hope to see her again in the future.

I happened to catch a preview of the OVA series in the extra portion of this BD. Man... I am -really- looking forward to that. As well as seeing WXIII for the first time and rewatching the other two movies. Needless to say, I'm hooked. The next volume is in the mail! (Why are these so expensive..?)
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Thanks for this. This is the nudge I needed to bite the bullet and order the first volume of the TV series.
 
Bluenova said:
OH man, I have put this off for ages. I would stare at this VHS box at Roger's video.
patlabor.jpg



I looked up some clips, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwNRv-lubCg and this awesome scene is more tense than entirety of Top Gun. then there is comment with an amazingly concise summary. So cool..
Click to expand...

The two* Patlabor movies are amazing. I still have my VHS copies hiding somewhere in a box.

*There's actually a third movie, but it's Evangelion-inspired wank.
 
Ep 00 has aired. It's not subbed but it's basically a bit of a promo episode + a nice prologue that sets the story of the series up.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-03-10/live-action-patlabor-films-episode-0-prologue-aired

They have the link.

The prologue section is basically
Shige from the original series narrating what has happened in the decades since the original Patlabor series. Shige is played by Shigeru Chiba, his VA from the anime, lol. He mentions the anime characters and talks about what happened after they left SV2.

Asuma Shinohara: Went back to Shinohara Industries and became head of Labor development at his father's Company.

Noa Izumi: Went with Asuma to be the test pilot for Shinohara Industries. They were partners on the job but eventually became a couple (possibly married?).

Hiromi Yamazaki: Returned to his hometown.

Kiichi Gotoh: To keep an out for breakouts in incidents, he setup a small security firm with a few other businessmen but the company folded about a year later due to irresponsible management and the insanity of the work. His current whereabouts are unknown. (I think)

Mikiyasu Shinshi: Set up a software company with a friend and hit it big.

Isao Ota: Got tangled up in a violent incident and is currently imprisoned.

Shinobu Nagumo: According to rumors, she works as a staff member dealing with refugees and is currently working in a Middle Eastern refugee camp.

Nothing on Kanuka (probably in respect to the VA).

I'm looking forward to this a lot more now. =o
 
I need to post in this thread and agree that Patlabor was one of best mechs shows ever. The two films were amazing, even the third one to a less extent.
 
Shouta said:
Ep 00 has aired. It's not subbed but it's basically a bit of a promo episode + a nice prologue that sets the story of the series up.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-03-10/live-action-patlabor-films-episode-0-prologue-aired

They have the link.

The prologue section is basically
Shige from the original series narrating what has happened in the decades since the original Patlabor series. Shige is played by Shigeru Chiba, his VA from the anime, lol. He mentions the anime characters and talks about what happened after they left SV2.

Asuma Shinohara: Went back to Shinohara Industries and became head of Labor development at his father's Company.

Noa Izumi: Went with Asuma to be the test pilot for Shinohara Industries. They were partners on the job but eventually became a couple (possibly married?).

Hiromi Yamazaki: Returned to his hometown.

Kiichi Gotoh: To keep an out for breakouts in incidents, he setup a small security firm with a few other businessmen but the company folded about a year later due to irresponsible management and the insanity of the work. His current whereabouts are unknown. (I think)

Mikiyasu Shinshi: Set up a software company with a friend and hit it big.

Isao Ota: Got tangled up in a violent incident and is currently imprisoned.

Shinobu Nagumo: According to rumors, she works as a staff member dealing with refugees and is currently working in a Middle Eastern refugee camp.

Nothing on Kanuka (probably in respect to the VA).

I'm looking forward to this a lot more now. =o
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Thanks for this. I still hope a subbed version of the episode materializes online eventually but this was much appreciated.

It was really interesting to see the preview footage and the behind the scenes stuff. Oshii was all over the footage! I had wrongly assumed that he might be involved in name only since he has the unusual title of 'General Director' instead of simply 'Director'.

They seem to have nailed the casting of all of the characters. While I realize they are technically new characters, you can see the clear analogs to Goto, Noa, Asuma, and Kanuka.
 
So, I bit the bullet an picked up the first volume of the TV show despite the relatively high price (I paid ~$40). I'm actually not really digging it so far.

The tone is very different from the OVA episodes (and even more-so than the films). The OVA and films are not without humor but the humor in those is more dry and is more related to cutting tension in well built dramatic scenes (there are exceptions of course). From very early on the TV show is more directly goofy. It's really strange seeing visuals which are extremely close to the OVA and voice acting that this the same as the films and OVA but with such a different overall tone.

Anyway, I've only just started and I'm at least committed to watching these 12 episodes.
Shiv47 said:
Only $42 right now at Right Stuf. I'll have to see if Amazon will match it. Been enjoying the OAVs all over again. Hadn't watched them in probably 10 years. Such a great overall series.
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Erdrick said:
My first 12 episodes of the TV Series Blu Ray came in the mail last night. It was a nice thing to come home to after work. The opening and closing songs... so nostalgic! I love being able to see all of these again. The 3 disc set is nothing crazy, just simple and to the point. The episodes cleaned up and on a format that wont degrade as easily as when I had them on VHS. As always with these sets, stay away from the English dub though... The Japanese acting is superb and so full of personality.

I've got the next batch pre-ordered and and looking forward to revisiting them immensely. Very happy that someone remembered this series and picked it up for North America.
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Erdrick said:
I assume the films, and the New Files discs will come this year on BluRay in North America as well.

Watch the TV series. It's excellent and if you liked the first OAV's, you will love these. Separate timeline from the OAV's and films, but it matters not really. It still has all the character and charm that you probably noticed and liked in the earlier releases. I'm just about done the TV series on BR, and have never seen them all up until this point. I got my latest disc set in early January and it's still such a great series. Nothing super pretentious or depressing. Just solid stories with events and characters that really make me smile. I've taken to watching an episode a night before I head off to bed.

I really can't recommend them enough.
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To those of you who have watched the show, how does the show vary as it goes on? Are there running storylines or does is stay basically episodic? The OVA featured a lot of variety, is this similar in that regard? And on that note, does the tone vary from episode to episode or it just more generally lighthearted than the OVA/films?
 
Tom_Cody said:
To those of you who have watched the show, how does the show vary as it goes on? Are there running storylines or does is stay basically episodic? The OVA featured a lot of variety, is this similar in that regard? And on that note, does the tone vary from episode to episode or it just more generally lighthearted than the OVA/films?
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The main storyline for the TV series is the confrontation with a next generation labor from a rival company about 2/3 into it. I guess I have to let you know beforehand that the story is not resolved/concluded in the main TV series but rather in OVA 2 which I wouldn't really recommend unless you really are a fan. This is done right away in the first few episodes but still leaves some unanswered questions. The rest of the OVA are self contained stories which are mostly comedic/lighthearted in nature not like the movies.

Overall I'd say the tone of the TV series is very much a lighthearted one with maybe only a couple exceptions but I found a lot of the stories to be novel and original.

Kind of going by my memory here which isn't all that great but what you see in the first 12 episodes is pretty much what you can expect from the rest.
 
Yeah, The TV series is generally more light-hearted overall. It's a really good watch though as the characters are fleshed out and the action is relatively the same. it doesn't have the Oshii-style politics slant but that wouldn't really work for a TV series It'd be too heavy if it went on too long. Basically OVA and movies = set piece drama and action, TV series = characters. One of my favorite anime episodes every is in OVA2 and a part of the TV timeline.
 
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I saw the first live-action film today in Shinjuku. Actually, they showed episodes 0 and 1. Very light hearted character driven for the most part, with a fantastic retro sounding score from Kenji Kawai.

the labor doesn't even move until near the end of the episode. Hehe.
 
Christopher Mackenzie said:
The main storyline for the TV series is the confrontation with a next generation labor from a rival company about 2/3 into it. I guess I have to let you know beforehand that the story is not resolved/concluded in the main TV series but rather in OVA 2 which I wouldn't really recommend unless you really are a fan. This is done right away in the first few episodes but still leaves some unanswered questions. The rest of the OVA are self contained stories which are mostly comedic/lighthearted in nature not like the movies.

Overall I'd say the tone of the TV series is very much a lighthearted one with maybe only a couple exceptions but I found a lot of the stories to be novel and original.

Kind of going by my memory here which isn't all that great but what you see in the first 12 episodes is pretty much what you can expect from the rest.
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Shouta said:
Yeah, The TV series is generally more light-hearted overall. It's a really good watch though as the characters are fleshed out and the action is relatively the same. it doesn't have the Oshii-style politics slant but that wouldn't really work for a TV series It'd be too heavy if it went on too long. Basically OVA and movies = set piece drama and action, TV series = characters. One of my favorite anime episodes every is in OVA2 and a part of the TV timeline.
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Thanks for the responses guys. I still haven't returned to the show but I'm fully planning to give it another chance. I ended up reading the entire book that was included with the Patlabor 1 special edition and I got a little burned out on the franchise (temporarily).
 
I decided it was high time to watch Patlabor all over again. I've decided this time to go with the TV series & OVA 2 universe first because I felt like something a bit more light hearted and full of character.

Hitting episode 14 with the Noa & Kanuka drinking session is always a highlight - the way Ota reacts when Shinohara tells him he is henpecked by Kanuka never fails to make me burst in to tears of laughter.
 
Glad that they are people who like Patlabor.

I really like it, the TV show is kinda mundane and light hearted, and that's the charm.

The movies are thrillers, doesn't really have much humour and make you ask questions.

I really like Patlabor.
 
I recently watched their 3-episodes mini-pato series.
Kinda glad that they researched many different things, from bullets, to feasibility of having a real-life labor
 
I just caught Episode 1 of The Next Generation: Paltabor which is The second part of Chapter 1, it's titled "3rd Generation, Sortie!"

I was genuinely surprised by it and it manages to keep the atmosphere of the series in the conversion to live-action. The episode mostly focused on the nature of Special Vehicles Section 2 and their current situation in detail. They do talk about the current situation in their Japan as well a bit among the banter. The episode ends much like the first episode of the TV series. A drunk man gets dumped and goes nuts with a Labor, lol.

Oshii fills it with his style of dialogue but they do add a bit of humor into the mix in various forms. It would have the conversational style of the films, like most Oshii directed material, but has the humor and daily life slant of the TV series. The maintenance crew does a lot for this as they're much more noticeable in this first episode than they were for much of Patlabor.

Oshii sets up the characters fairly well, The Ota and Shinshi expies are at each other's throats all the time, as they should. The Noa and Shinohara expies interact in a manner somewhat similar to their originals. Kanuka expy is a lot more military like and a bit more crude than Kanuka was. The Gotoh expy is also more goofy and more lazy seeming than laidback than the original. Shige turned into Sakaki (fittingly) but with good ol'Shige tendencies. It's so great that they got his VA to act in it too.

Definitely looking forward to the rest of the episodes.
 
Haven't watched any of Patlabor The Next Generation, but the OP is pretty damn good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AGp-YbdlPg

A modern Patlabor opening that sounds reminiscent of the original series. Also love how the names seem tied to that character's role/vehicle.

Tom_Cody said:
The most recently posted clip seems to be the first look at the film that will release in 2015:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14IHCiYLr4&hd=1
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Looks like the initial pilot for a live action Patlabor way back when mixed with the bridge bombing from Patlabor 2.
 
Just noticed the 'New Files' just came out on Blu-ray last month, is that any good?

Also, looks like the first movie is coming out on Blu early May. Cool!
 
New Files should be the OVA series that came after the TV show. It's basically a bunch of additional eps. VERY worth it as it has the end of the griffon arc for the TV series and it has some of the best comedy eps. Two in Karuizawa is absolutely one of my favorite episodes of anime and maybe just TV shows in general.
 
Japan has never been good at live-action action films. i think only Kitano or Miike can direct some decent and non-corny action scenes.

They should have made it a mundane slice of life drama instead. But again I haven't watched the live action yet, most probably I'm wrong.
 
Just a heads-up that the 2nd movie is also already out on Blu, and the 3rd is coming out October 6.

What's the best order to watch these?

TV series
New Files
Movie 1
Movie 2
Movie 3
 
A bump for the 3 people who have Patlabor avatars on here (including me). A short Studio Khara produced (Eva Rebuild) animation of a Patlabor reboot from Animator Expo will debut on October 15. Directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Time of Eve). Here's a short preview of it Featuring Lady Goto, Guy Izumi, and Fem Asuma.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4_Tu_8wHN4

I seriously hope this leads to a series because damn it looks good. I thought Patlabor was dead because I didn't hear jack about the live action stuff.
 
I had the day off today and I was originally going to see a film on the big screen (either Shin Godzilla, Jack Reacher 2, or The Accountant), but I decided to stay in and finally watch my Patlabor 2 blu-ray.

What a masterpiece. The visuals, the music, the execution of the plot, and the super interesting themes. This is a movie that gets better with every viewing.
 
i just dumped like $200 on all the blurays lol I'm an idiot

seems like a franchise I'll really enjoy though.
 
I finally acquired DVDs of the initial OVA from Netflix and this series rocks! Thank you so much for the thread and information, this is everything I've ever wanted out of a giant robot anime. I know the tone is different in the films, but this first OVA is so whacky and uplifting hahaha

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