Patlabor

Mobile Police Patlabor
Cover of the first English manga volume
機動警察パトレイバー (Kidō Keisatsu Patoreibā)
Genre	Police procedural, Comedy-drama, Mecha
Manga
Written by	Masami Yuki
Published by	Shogakukan
English publisher	NA Viz Media (dropped)
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Sunday
Original run	1988 – 1994
Volumes	22
Original video animation
Patlabor: Early Days
Directed by	Mamoru Oshii (Ep. 1-6) Naoyuki Yoshinaga (Ep. 7)
Written by	Kazunori Ito
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Maiden Japan
Released	April 25, 1988 – June 25, 1989
Episodes	7
Anime film
Directed by	Mamoru Oshii
Written by	Kazunori Itō
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Studio Deen IG Tatsunoko (production cooperation)
Licensed by	NA Bandai Visual USA
Released	July 15, 1989
Runtime	98 minutes
Anime television series
Mobile Police Patlabor
Directed by	Naoyuki Yoshinaga
Produced by	Taro Maki
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Sunrise
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Maiden Japan
Network	NTV
English network	US ImaginAsian TV Anime Selects
Original run	October 11, 1989 – September 26, 1990
Episodes	47
Light novel
Written by	Kazunori Itǒ (1) Michiko Yokote (2-5)
Published by	Fujimi Shobō
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Fujimi Fantasia Bunko
Original run	October 1990 – October 1993
Volumes	5
Original video animation
Patlabor: The New Files
Directed by	Naoyuki Yoshinaga
Written by	Kazunori Itō
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Sunrise
Licensed by	NA Central Park Media
Released	November 22, 1990 – April 23, 1992
Episodes	16
Anime film
Patlabor 2
Directed by	Mamoru Oshii
Written by	Kazunori Itō
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Production I.G
Licensed by	NA Bandai Visual USA
Released	August 27, 1993
Runtime	113 minutes
Light novel
Tokyo War
Written by	Mamoru Oshii
Published by	Fujimi Shobō
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Fujimi Fantasia Bunko
Original run	April – May 1994
Volumes	2
Anime film
Patlabor 3 (or WXIII)
Directed by	Fumihiko Takayama
Written by	Miki Tori
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Madhouse
Licensed by	NA Geneon Entertainment USA
Released	December 10, 2001
Runtime	100 minutes
Anime film
Patlabor Minimum
Directed by	Kenji Kamiyama
Written by	Mamoru Oshii
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Production I.G
Licensed by	NA Geneon Entertainment USA
Released	March 30, 2002
Runtime	14 minutes (#1) 12 minutes (#2) 12 minutes (#3)

Patlabor (a portmanteau of "patrol" and "labor") also known as Mobile Police Patlabor (機動警察パトレイバー, Kidō Keisatsu patoreibā), is an anime and manga franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga artist Masami Yūki.

The popular franchise included a manga, a TV series, two OVA series, three feature length movies, and a short film compilation, named Minipato (ミニパト) because of its super deformed drawing style. The series has been adapted into video games and licensed products from OST to toys. Patlabor is known for using mecha - designed by Yutaka Izubuchi - not just for police or military purposes, but also for industrial and municipal jobs.

Animations from Patlabor were used extensively in the music video "Juke Joint Jezebel" by KMFDM. The manga received the 36th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1991.

Storyline

The story takes place in what was, at the time of release, the near future of 1998-2002. Robots called "Labors" are employed in heavy construction work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police has its own fleet of Patlabor robotic police officers to combat crimes and deal with accidents involving Labors. The story arcs usually revolve around Tokyo Metropolitan Police Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2. Noa Izumi is the main protagonist of the series, but all of Division 2 play roles.

The feature films follow separate continuities, referred to as the "movie timeline" and the "TV timeline." The different OVA series follow either the movie or TV timelines.

Characters

Main article: List of Patlabor characters

List of Productions

See also: List of Patlabor episodes

The following releases have been arranged according to their story timelines.

Movie timeline

• Mobile Police Patlabor (1988-1989, OVA, 7 episodes)

Details the origins of the Tokyo MPD's 2nd Special Vehicles Section, otherwise known as SV2.

• Patlabor: The Movie (1989)

A series of random labor incidents across the Greater Tokyo Area puts the SV2 on the case. The incidents turn out to be part of a dead programmer's diabolical plot to create a much bigger rampage.

• WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 (Wasted 13) (2001)

Taking place a year after Patlabor the Movie, the film features two MPD detectives who investigate the case of missing scientists working on a genetic engineering project that runs amok in Tokyo Bay.

• Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)

A secret group of terrorists engineer a crisis in Tokyo in the winter of 2001-2002. The members of SV2's Section 2, who have been reassigned to other duties since the events of WXIII, reunite one more time to stop the threat.

TV timeline

• Patlabor: The TV Series (1989-1990, TV, 47 episodes)

Taking place in a different continuity, the series features more adventures of SV2 Section 2, which includes an arc involving their efforts to combat an advanced Labor called the Griffin.

• Mobile Police Patlabor P-Series (1990-1992, OVA, 16 episodes)

Also referred to as OVA 2 and The New Files, the series contains episodes that took place at several points between certain episodes in the TV series and after the latter's final episode. The OVA episodes also features the conclusion of the Griffin storyarc.

Mobile Police Patlabor Minimum: Minipato

A three-part series of short films shown before screenings of WXIII in 2002, Minipato uses paper puppets, CGI, and claymation to explain the rationale behind the whole concept of the series, especially how the Labors functioned in a realistic hard science fiction setting.

Manga

Released by Shogakukan over Shonen Sunday magazine from 1988 to 1994, the 22-volume series is also a separate timeline.

Licensing

All of the Patlabor productions have been released in the United States in some form, except for most of the manga. All the movies have been translated into English and are available in Region 1, 2 & 4 DVD format.

The TV series and OVAs were released in the U.S. by Central Park Media. The first two movies were released by Manga Entertainment, but later remastered and re-released in 2006 by Bandai Visual. The third movie (along with "Mini-Pato") was released by Geneon Entertainment (formerly Pioneer). Twelve sections of the manga have been translated and published by Viz Communications as single issues and in two trade paperbacks, but later dropped the manga before completing it.

Mini-Pato is available on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4 in the Limited Edition Patlabor WXIII DVD packages.

In 2006, Bandai Visual's Honneamise label re-released the first two movies on DVD in North America with extensive bonus features, and Beez Entertainment handled distribution in the UK.

Madman has the distribution rights for the movies in Australia and New Zealand in association with Manga Entertainment UK & TFC, Madman have been refused the rights to the Bandai dubs of the Movies. In 2011 Madman Entertainment announced that they had secured the rights to the Early Days OVA series & the TV series from TFC, but announced on the 13th of April 2012 that due to unforeseen circumstances, Madman had indefinitely delayed their release into Australia and did not elaborate on the reasons. However, Madman has since re-scheduled the first OVA for DVD and Blu-ray release on June 19, 2013.

Maiden Japan (in conjunction with Section23 Films) has licensed the original Patlabor OAV series and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD April 30, 2013. They have also licensed the TV series and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 16, 2013.

Video games

All Patlabor games were released exclusively in Japan.

• Kidō Keisatsu Patlabor (Famicom Disk System - January 24, 1989)
• Kidō Keisatsu Patlabor (Game Boy - August 25, 1990)
• Kidō Keisatsu Patlabor: 98-Shiki Kidou Seyo! (Mega Drive - October 23, 1992)
• Kidō Keisatstsu Patlabor: Griffon-hen (Turbo CD - September 30, 1993)
• Kidō Keisatsu Patlabor (Super Famicom - April 22, 1994)
• Kidō Keisatsu Patlabor: Game Edition (PlayStation - November 30, 2000)
• Patlabor: Come Back Mini-Pato (PlayStation Portable - November 2, 2005)

Live-Action

At the 2013 Tokyo Anime Fair, the production company Tohokushinsha Film Corporation announced a live-action project based on the Patlabor franchise to be launched in 2014. It is unknown if it will be a film or television series.

External links

• Patlabor (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• "Untranslated Pick of the Month" -(J-pop.com review of manga)
• Fansite detailing various aspects of the Patlabor universe