Patlabor: The Movie Anime Review
Patlabor: The Movie 1
/ Theatrical Movie / Drama / 10-up
Bottom Line
Brilliant--tense, complicated, thinking man's anime.
It’s Like...
...Ghost in the Shell meets a straight-faced Dominion, with giant robots and less John Woo.
Vital Stats
Original Title
機動警察パトレイバー 劇場版
Romanized Title
Kidou Keisatsu Patoreibaa Gekijouban
Literal Translation
Mobile Police Patlabor: The Movie
US Release By
Honneamise (also Image Entertainment, Manga Entertainment)
Genre
Police Mecha Mystery
Series Type
Theatrical Movie
Length
99 minutes
Production Date
1989-07-15
What's In It
Categories
Look For
- Big robots
- Political intrigue
- Tense action scenes
Objectionable Content
- Violence: 1 (mild)
- Nudity: 0 (none)
- Sex: 0 (none)
- Language: 1 (mild)
Plot Synopsis
In the year 1999, advanced robots called labors are prevalent throughout society--in the military, in construction, in the police. But when a genius programmer leaps to his death from the top of the Ark (a giant construction project in the middle of Tokyo Bay) and a military tank goes out of control during a wind tunnel test, it is only the opening of a huge can of worms as labors all over the city begin to go berserk. Patlabor cop Azuma Shinohara investigates, but when he locates the source of the problem, he uncovers a plot which, if he and the second section of the Special Vehicles Division fail to prevent, will cause all hell to break loose, all over the world.
Quick Review
Switch to Full ReviewPatlabor: Mobile Police is the first Patlabor movie and in my opinion ranks among the best "thinking man's anime" around. It is not a mecha action movie, but the incredibly complicated plot is amazingly good. As the police try to understand the motives of whoever planned this and work out what's going on you find yourself thinking hard yourself. This mystery is brilliant, and as the police, headed by the amazing Captain Goto, investigate, we watch one of the junior members (that's Azuma) trying to prove himself. Despite the film's age, it's attractive, and the down-to-earth mecha designs are second-to-none. The action is low-key, but incredibly tense and very cool.
Overall Patlabor: Mobile Police is a film which truly deserves the ranking of "brilliant." If you can use your brain, you are sure to enjoy it.
Full Review
Switch to Quick ReviewBefore I begin, I must say this: Patlabor, despite the box cover, is not a mecha action anime. Now, to begin the review:
Patlabor: Mobile Police is the first Patlabor movie and in my opinion ranks among the best "thinking man's anime" around, up there with Wings of Honneamise. But where Wings' depth came from its examination of the achievements of mankind, Patlabor's plot is immensely convoluted and complicated. You will have to watch this film several times before you work out all the details of the plot. People think AKIRA is hard to understand (I disagree personally) but it hasn't got a thing on this.
Despite its devastating complexity, Patlabor's story is extremely good. Amazingly good in fact: As the police try to understand the motives of whoever planned this and work out what's going on you find yourself thinking hard yourself. This mystery is brilliant, and as the police, headed by the amazing Captain Goto, investigate, we watch one of the junior members (that's Azuma) trying to prove himself.
The animation quality varies, although not much. This film is eleven years old, being released in Japan in 1989 (which explains why there are thirty-foot tall robots in an anime set last year) but the animation is generally very good. The mecha designs, however, are nothing short of brilliant. These are genuine, realistic robots, which still look extremely cool. Their weaponry is very down-to-earth--large revolvers and shotguns, with not a plasma blaster in sight--and they act realistically as well, although it is a little idealistic to think that they can move with such grace. The character designs are good, if a little bland, with no standouts.
The English dubbed voice acting in Patlabor varies between good and irritating. Fortunately almost everyone is good: Azuma could have been a little better and Noa is just plain irritating, but that's it. The music is also widely varied and hard to describe, but on the whole is very good, especially the closing credits music.
Patlabor's action is very low key. Although you might expect there to be robots smashing each other up every inch of the way, most of the movie covers the investigation, which is no less interesting than the fighting (yes there is some). However, there are three action scenes: The opening battle against the rogue tank, the fight against the berserk labor, and the climatic assault... no I won't tell you about the climax, but take this tip: don't read the back of the box. It may not spoil the whole plot, but it sure ruins the surprise of the climax, even if you could see it coming. These scenes are really, really cool, especially the final battle which despite the fact that there is no mood music and the action is far from fast and furious, is one of the most tense fights I've ever seen.
Overall Patlabor: Mobile Police is a film which truly deserves the ranking of "brilliant." If you can use your brain, you are sure to enjoy it.
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Related Recommendations
Relatively unique; has the most in common with the second Patlabor movie, and probably Ghost in the Shell.
Notes and Trivia
Bandai's Official Site for the first two films has lots of information, and the "buy" links leading to Image Entertainment's site will get you trailers, too.
The Patlabor series started out with an OAV series, as well as a comic by Masami Yuuki that continued for several years. Neither was quite based on the other; they both went their own way, with the animated version focused more on characters and the manga more on action. The OAV was followed by a TV series remake, a second OAV series, and then three movies.
As of 2006 both OAV series and the TV seres are available from US Manga Corps, the first two movies are available under Bandai's new Honneamise label, and WXIII is available from Geneon. VIZ translated the first two volumes of the comic, but stopped at that point and nobody has picked up the remainder of the series.
US DVD Review
Bandai's DVD, released under their new Honneamise label, features a remastered anamorphic widescreen video transfer, a new Dolby 5.1 mix of the soundtrack in both Japanese and English, a new English subtitle translation; extras include the Japanese trailer and TV commercials, plus a 16 page booklet. There is also a limited Collectors Edition set that includes a second DVD with "making of" materials, a 300-page storyboard book, and a 184-page "archives" book.
Parental Guide
Some parental discretion a good idea, but not much objectionable content.
Violence: 1 - The robots do a bit of the smashing, crashing stuff, but not much.
Nudity: 0 - Not in this anime, boy.
Sex/Mature Themes: 0 - Nothing
Language: 1 - Occasional swearing, but again not much.
Availability
Available in North America from Bandai under the Honneamise label on bilingual DVD, both as a single-disc "feature only" version and a very expensive limited-edition 2-disc set with a second disc of extras and a large amount of printed supplemental material. Was previously available from Manga Video on bilingual DVD, and subtitled or dubbed VHS.
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