◄ The third in a series of posts. Previously: GunBuster
[caption id="attachment_3104" align="alignnone" width="497"]
One of the Police Labors getting a thorough going-over for maintenance.[/caption]
In the Patlabor universe, Labors are sophisticated, heavy machines, usually in humanoid form, that allow their human operators to perform difficult, or dangerous tasks, with dexterity, precision, and power. By 1999, when this movie takes place, Labors are commonplace, in heavy industry, on construction sites, even on the battlefield. Police forces have also had to become experts in Labor technology, to both use it themselves, and to solve crimes involving the ubiquitous machines.
The story opens with a dramatic suicide, and follows with an even more dramatic take-down, of a military Labor, which has run amok without a human operator. Enter the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's small, but capable, 2nd Special Vehicles Section (SV2), after a Tokyo construction Labor, again without a human operator, turns itself on and goes berserk, right in front of a member of the SV2. These operator-less malfunctions are happening as Greater Tokyo is in the midst of a massive, and "Labor"-intensive, urban renewal program, including the Babylon Project, which is constructing islands in Tokyo Bay.
[caption id="attachment_3107" align="alignright" width="186"]
The Microsoft, I mean the Hypersoft, um, the Hyper Operating System, which has a virtual monopoly on Labor Computers.[/caption]
SV2 learns that all the malfunctioning Labors -- in fact 80 per cent of the 60,000 Labors in the Tokyo area -- had their computer systems upgraded to a revolutionary new OS, the Hyper Operating System 1.0, and that the genius programmer who wrote it, just committed suicide by jumping off the Babylon Project's HQ in Tokyo Bay.
As evidence mounts of a deliberate plot to cause all the Tokyo Labors to malfunction simultaneously, SV2's commander, Captain Gotoh, and his small team have to solve the mystery, and stop the threat, without causing a panic, and without running afoul of powerful political and business interests.
Patlabor is a franchise which began life as a manga (1988-1994), and was adapted into a 6-episode OVA (1988-1989), and anime series (1989-1990). That's to say the Patlabor universe was well established by the time of this 1989 movie, so it starts right in telling the story as if it's happening in the real world. So no giant magically-powerful robots piloted by precocious,dysfunctional children, just robots as work-a-day machines, requiring regular maintenance, and operated by trained, adult professionals, like crane, or backhoe operators, except police Labor operators get GIANT handguns with explosive shells, they have to load manually with both hands.
[caption id="attachment_3111" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Investigating the mysterious programmer. Nothing flashy. Just the facts ma'am.[/caption]
Patlabor: The Movie, and the sequel Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993), differ from the rest of the Patlabor franchise -- in a word, the movies are cinematic. Where the other Patlabor anime, as I recall, gets pretty frantic, and almost slapstick, the movies both hew to thematic, and visual realism. The world of Patlabor movies is full of nuts and bolts, and personal issues, and political agendas. The mecha is a big part of the characters' lives, but they have lives. The pacing, and direction of both films, by Mamoru Oshii, is never cartoony. The scenes of the investigators methodically tracking the programmer's past -- which are among my favourite scenes in any anime -- are in deliberate contrast to the rest of the action. They move through the film slowly, with little dialogue, but against stunning visuals, and haunting music by composer Kenji Kawai.
Both movies have high production values, across the board -- animation, music, sound work -- the movie budget is really on the screen. If there is a flaw, it's one I think is common to many anime films of this period, trying hard to be taken seriously -- they talk a lot.
Director Mamoru Oshii, and composer Kenji Kawai worked together on both the Patlabor films, and, two years later, in 1995, on the Ghost in the Shell movie.
Next in the series: Aim For the Top 2! DieBuster ►
[caption id="attachment_3104" align="alignnone" width="497"]
One of the Police Labors getting a thorough going-over for maintenance.[/caption]| Title: | Patlabor: The Movie |
| Studio: | Studio Deen / IG Tatsunoko |
| Air date: | 1989 |
| Episodes: | 1 |
In the Patlabor universe, Labors are sophisticated, heavy machines, usually in humanoid form, that allow their human operators to perform difficult, or dangerous tasks, with dexterity, precision, and power. By 1999, when this movie takes place, Labors are commonplace, in heavy industry, on construction sites, even on the battlefield. Police forces have also had to become experts in Labor technology, to both use it themselves, and to solve crimes involving the ubiquitous machines.
The story opens with a dramatic suicide, and follows with an even more dramatic take-down, of a military Labor, which has run amok without a human operator. Enter the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's small, but capable, 2nd Special Vehicles Section (SV2), after a Tokyo construction Labor, again without a human operator, turns itself on and goes berserk, right in front of a member of the SV2. These operator-less malfunctions are happening as Greater Tokyo is in the midst of a massive, and "Labor"-intensive, urban renewal program, including the Babylon Project, which is constructing islands in Tokyo Bay.
[caption id="attachment_3107" align="alignright" width="186"]
The Microsoft, I mean the Hypersoft, um, the Hyper Operating System, which has a virtual monopoly on Labor Computers.[/caption]SV2 learns that all the malfunctioning Labors -- in fact 80 per cent of the 60,000 Labors in the Tokyo area -- had their computer systems upgraded to a revolutionary new OS, the Hyper Operating System 1.0, and that the genius programmer who wrote it, just committed suicide by jumping off the Babylon Project's HQ in Tokyo Bay.
As evidence mounts of a deliberate plot to cause all the Tokyo Labors to malfunction simultaneously, SV2's commander, Captain Gotoh, and his small team have to solve the mystery, and stop the threat, without causing a panic, and without running afoul of powerful political and business interests.
Real Robots done real good
Patlabor is a franchise which began life as a manga (1988-1994), and was adapted into a 6-episode OVA (1988-1989), and anime series (1989-1990). That's to say the Patlabor universe was well established by the time of this 1989 movie, so it starts right in telling the story as if it's happening in the real world. So no giant magically-powerful robots piloted by precocious,dysfunctional children, just robots as work-a-day machines, requiring regular maintenance, and operated by trained, adult professionals, like crane, or backhoe operators, except police Labor operators get GIANT handguns with explosive shells, they have to load manually with both hands.
[caption id="attachment_3111" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Investigating the mysterious programmer. Nothing flashy. Just the facts ma'am.[/caption]Patlabor: The Movie, and the sequel Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993), differ from the rest of the Patlabor franchise -- in a word, the movies are cinematic. Where the other Patlabor anime, as I recall, gets pretty frantic, and almost slapstick, the movies both hew to thematic, and visual realism. The world of Patlabor movies is full of nuts and bolts, and personal issues, and political agendas. The mecha is a big part of the characters' lives, but they have lives. The pacing, and direction of both films, by Mamoru Oshii, is never cartoony. The scenes of the investigators methodically tracking the programmer's past -- which are among my favourite scenes in any anime -- are in deliberate contrast to the rest of the action. They move through the film slowly, with little dialogue, but against stunning visuals, and haunting music by composer Kenji Kawai.
Both movies have high production values, across the board -- animation, music, sound work -- the movie budget is really on the screen. If there is a flaw, it's one I think is common to many anime films of this period, trying hard to be taken seriously -- they talk a lot.
Director Mamoru Oshii, and composer Kenji Kawai worked together on both the Patlabor films, and, two years later, in 1995, on the Ghost in the Shell movie.
Next in the series: Aim For the Top 2! DieBuster ►
Patlabor Next Generation live action film announced for 2014 ►
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