Mobile Police Patlabor 1988 (Early Days OVA)
Mobile Police Patlabor (Japanese original title: 機動 警察 パ ト レ イ バ ー, Hepburn: Kidō Keisatsu Patoreibā), also known as Patlabor (a combination of "patrol" and "work") is a Japanese science fiction manga and anime series, by the group of authors Headgear , composed of mangaka Masami Yūki, director Mamoru Oshii, screenwriter Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi and character designer Akemi Takada.
The popular franchise includes a manga, a TV series, two OVA series, three feature films, two series of light novels and a compilation of short films, called Minipato (ミ ニ パ ト) due to its super deformed drawing style (chibi). The series has been adapted into video games and licensed products from OST to toys. Patlabor is known for using the mecha, designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, not only for police or military purposes, but also for industrial and municipal works. The series is one of the first examples of what is called "media mix" in Japan, where there is no single source material: multiple forms of media (in the case of Patlabor the anime and manga) are worked simultaneously independently from each other.
Patlabor's animations were used extensively in KMFDM's “Juke Joint Jezebel” music video. The manga received the 36th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1991.
OAV anime series
Almost simultaneously with the beginning of the weekly publication of the manga, on April 25, 1988 the first VHS of the OAV series was released, consisting of seven episodes (initially six were planned), published over a period of over a year. In this series the birth of the Second Section is proposed, followed by other episodes, some comical, others with more dramatic tones, which see the protagonists engaged in a mission.
The screenplay work of this series is basically a draft, especially when compared to the manga: actually the purpose of these OAVs was not so much to create a finished work, but to probe the response of the public to an animated version in anticipation of the realization of a more developed television series (Patlabor). In any case, some ideas will be taken from this "cauldron of ideas" for the realization of some episodes of the new series and for two of the three films.
From 1988 to 1989, the seven-episode OVA series was produced by Sunrise. It is distributed by Bandai Visual and Tohokushinsha Film in Japan and originally by Central Park Media and later by Maiden Japan in North America. The English dub was produced by Matlin Recording in New York City, New York. The plot is the beginning of the Patlabor series, which would be followed by the two Patlabor films, Patlabor: The Movie and Patlabor 2: The Movie.
The series was released directly on VHS and LaserDisc from April 25, 1988 to June 25, 1989. It was released on DVD in two volumes on April 20, 2000 and was later reissued as a box set on May 25, 2007. A Blu-ray box set was published July 23, 2010
Episodes
01 "Intervention for the second platoon"
Transcription: "Dainishoutai Shutsudou seyo" (Japanese: 第 2 小隊 出動 せ よ) Mamoru Oshii April 25, 1988
It is the first day of the formation of the second division of the Special Vehicles Unit 2 (SV2). The team seems to be a bunch of misfits. Noa, a girl who loves hard work a little too much; Asuma, a cadet who doesn't want to be there; Ohta, a gun maniac; Shinshi, a husband pecked by the hen; and Hiromi, a gentle giant man. At the head of this team is Captain Goto, a man who seems rather relaxed, but is rather a strategist and an excellent cop. Unfortunately, their new Patrol Labors (or Patlabors) are stuck in traffic and are forced to weed the hangars. They are soon sent to arrest an armed Labor terrorist, but first they will have to retrieve their Patlabor on their way to the crime scene in the middle of a traffic jam. After a rather disastrous harvest, they head to trap Labor in Ueno Park, but both Ohta's and Noa's labors are attacked, losing a head and arm respectively from their labors. Asuma tells Noa to rekindle her anger on the criminal. The criminal has no chance to escape Noa's anger now.
02 "Longshot"
(Japanese: ロ ン グ シ ョ ッ ト) Mamoru Oshii June 25, 1988
The mayor of New York comes to Tokyo to inspect the Babylon project, a long-term landfill project to reclaim Tokyo Bay. All Tokyo police forces are charged with protecting the mayor, including SV2. To help them, the NYPD has sent Kanuka Clancy, a Japanese-American woman who immediately provokes suspicion among the SV2 and a lot of interest among most of the male members of the squad. SV2's mission is primarily for show, but they soon find themselves in the middle of a terrorist plot. Asuma discovers a fake mobile police command center full of missiles. It is up to Asuma to defuse him, with Kanuka giving him instructions via the police radio, but she only has 10 minutes to do so and no previous experience.
03 "A 450 million year trap"
Transcription: "Yon oku go-sen man nen no Wana" (Japanese: 4 億 5 千万 年 の 罠) Mamoru Oshii 25 July 1988
A number of accidents occur in Tokyo Bay, including a damaged submarine cable and a car being pulled off a dock. Could this be the job of a real sea monster? Detective Matsui of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department asks Captain Goto for help. Shige and Sakaki help fly a Labor remote to search for what caused the accidents. Labor is destroyed and Shige is convinced that the monster exists. SV2 are given the order to kill the monster; however, they discover something even more bizarre. Note: This episode pays homage to the 1954 film, Godzilla, as well as other classic Kaiju films.
04 "The drama of L"
Transcription: "L no Higeki" (Japanese: L の 悲劇) Mamoru Oshii 25 September 1988
Division 2 is called upon to help with a hostage situation at a video store, but Ohta's temper gets the better of him and he blows up half the store as well as stopping the criminals. Goto decides his team needs retraining and sends them back to the academy. They arrive but strangely there are no cadets there. The team decides to take a bath, but soon the water takes on the color of blood. They later discover that it is actually paint from a paint bullet, which strangely scares the instructor. Later that night, Ohta is haunted by a ghostly girl who just says "Don't shoot", and the others see a Labor skeleton pilot who appears to be wandering around the park. The next day, Noa and Asuma drop out of their training to go to the local store. There Asuma meets the shop owner, an old man she knew when he was a cadet training at the academy. The old man tells him that an accident happened several months ago. A young woman who was one of the spectators of a mock battle was shot and killed with a paint bullet from a Labor pistol. Is the academy really haunted by her spirit?
05 "The longest day (part 1) "
Transcription: "Nika no ichiban nagai Hi (Zenpen)" (Japanese: 二 課 の 一番 長 い 日 （前 編）) Mamoru Oshii November 10, 1988
The Second Unit is on vacation. Most of the team has nowhere to go except Goto, who just seems to want to be in the office with Shinobu, and Asuma who decides to go to her father's factory. She meets Jitsuyama, the factory manager and family friend. He discovers that Shinohara Heavy Industries are building a JGSDF Labor prototype. Asuma is quite disgusted by this. Jitsuyama suggests that he should see him as his father more often, but Asuma says that he has already seen him today and that they have already fought. He decides to visit Shinshi and then Kanuka, but has the feeling that he is not wanted. The only option left is Noa, he calls only to find that she lives in Hokkaido and will have to take the train to get there. Meanwhile in Tokyo, a police checkpoint stops a truck. One of the policemen becomes suspicious when he sees a Labor under the truck cover. He asks to see the Labor permit, but the truck passes the roadblock. The police hunt down, but the Labor in the back of the truck fires on them, destroying all the police cars that follow. It is a JGSDF job.
Asuma is waiting in a restaurant for Noa to meet him. A very distinguished man in his forties walks into the restaurant and orders a bowl of cold noodles, and covers them with cayenne pepper. He quickly finishes the bowl and looks at Asuma with a cold stare. Noa finally arrives to pick him up and take him back to his parents' house. Back in Tokyo, Goto tells Shinobu that the real reason he's left behind is because some very suspicious men are watching SV2. The men find that Shinobu and Goto are looking back at them and drive off in their van. Anticipating their moves, Goto asks Sakaki to take one of the Labs back to the factory. Later that night, Goto calls Shinobu out of the house. He tells her that a truck with a JGSDF job went through a roadblock and shot several police cars. With the JGSDF in the midst of the war games, it will take several days to account for all their labors. Is the JGSDF trying to organize a coup? Goto asks Shinobu to help him in his plan to counter him.
The next day, the JGSDF rebels invade Tokyo. They take control of SV2, but Goto has already sent the Patlabors back to the factory across the bay, out of the prying eyes of the men who have been spying on them in recent days. Shinobu and Division 1 are at police headquarters blocking the JGSDF's path. He claims he will not move until the siege is over. Noa and Asuma watch the situation on TV. They show a photo of the gang leader. Asuma is shocked to discover that he was the same man she met at the restaurant. He is Kiyoteru Kai, a man Captain Goto knows quite well. Like the rest of Division 2, Noa and Asuma rush back to Tokyo to help.
06 "The longest day (part 2) "
Transcription: "Nika no ichiban nagai Hi (Kouhen)" (Japanese: 二 課 の 一番 長 い 日 （後 編）) Mamoru Oshii 10 December 1988
Division 2 built a very temporary headquarters at the Shanghai restaurant. It is the second day of the siege, but the rebels have not yet made any claims. Kanuka, disguised as a Shanghai restaurant delivery boy, asks the mechanics for help. Sakaki tells Kanuka that the police academy has a prototype of patrol work that he could use. Shige says he heard one of the rebels claim he has a nuclear weapon. Kanuka returns to the restaurant and tells the news to Goto. Meanwhile Shinobu has a video conference with the police chiefs. They tell her that the US military will come to end the coup before it becomes a civil war and that she should step down. He says he won't give in to their bluff and refuses to do their bidding. The leaders suspect that Goto was aware of the siege and was friends with Kiyoteru Kai in college. The police have an arrest warrant for his arrest. Disgusted by their actions, Shinobu forcibly leaves the conference after an officer attempts to take her into custody.
Ohta, Kanuka and Shinshi decide to "raise hell a bit" with stolen police work from the academy and a helicopter gun that Kanuka borrowed from one of his contacts in the US military. They don't go very far and are caught in a JGSDF block. Labor is completely shattered in the ensuing chaos.
Asuma and Noa arrive in Tokyo. Asuma tells Goto that she saw Kai in a restaurant in Hokkaido. Upon hearing the news, Goto thinks he understands Kai's plan. Goto asks Matsui to help him. They contact the Maritime Authority which tells them that a ship called Cartamo has been acting suspiciously off the coast. Another ship called Pacific is also in the area, and judging by American spy photos of the ships, they both have missile launchers mounted on them. A short-range missile was stolen by the US military. This means that one of the pitchers is fake, but which one? Goto calls the ship Kai is on to try to bluff him. It doesn't work and Kai issues an ultimatum to the government: dissolve the Diet (the Japanese government), ban all political parties and suspend the constitution. If they don't do as he says, he will launch the missile. But Goto has a plan. He enlisted the help of the US military and Shinohara Heavy Industries. Will he be able to stop Kai with a submarine and a JGSDF Labor prototype?
07 "Special Vehicle Squad, go north"
Transcription: "Tokushatai, Kita e" (Japanese: 特 車隊 、 北 へ) Naoyuki Yoshinaga, June 25, 1989
A truck at a gas station is stolen, but when the attendant tells a passing policeman, the truck driver doesn't want the police to chase him. The police suspect that something suspicious is going on and arrest him. He is, in fact, a sympathizer of the terrorist group "Beach House". He stole the truck carrying a Labor from the Tokyo Labor Show. The manufacturer, Shaft Enterprises Europe, is keeping their lips tight about what's exactly in the truck. The SV2 attempts to capture the truck in front of a tunnel. The truck escapes with the help of the Labor terrorist sympathizer, who asks through the trailer after failing to make contact with his friend in the truck. Later, the man who stole the truck exits the highway only to find that he is helping a terrorist sympathizer. The theft of the truck from the gas station was just an opportunistic crime to get a ride home. He is just a seasonal worker, he doesn't want to be involved in this. But the terrorist convinces the man to help him. Unfortunately for them Shaft will do anything to stop the truck and its contents.
Technical data
Author Headgear
Regia Mamoru Oshii ep. 1-6, Naoyuki Yoshinaga ep. 7
Subject Masami Yuki
Film script Kazunori Itō
character design Akemi Takada
Mechanical design Yūtaka Izubuchi
Artistic direction Hiromasa Ogura
Music Kenji kawai
Studio Studio Deen, Sunrise, Bandai, Tohokushinsha
Date 1st edition 1988
Episodes 7 (complete)
Episode duration 30 min
Italian network Italia 7 (premiere), Italia Teen Television (reruns)
Date 1st Italian edition 1994
