Premise: In the not-to-distant future, large, manned robots will be used for public works projects to help cities grow and transform themselves in the 21s century, but with these new labor robots come labor-robot-related crime–thus the creation of a Patrol Labor robot division tasked with fighting this new kind of crime.
Chibi review: what a blast this OVA is! I thoroughly enjoyed it and could immediately see why the franchise became so popular. The acting, the story, the designs, everything about this series made me wonder why <em>Akira</em> made it into US movie theaters but the <em>Patlabor</em> franchise didn’t. It’s comic timing, it’s solid storylines, and sheer believability make this a much less mind-blowing anime experience, but also a lot more accessible. Why anyone was nervous about removing the fantasy element of giant robot stories and keeping things generally based in reality is beyond me. The only unrealistic thing about <em>Patlabor</em> is that it takes place in our old future of 1999. But hey, it’s still a blast to watch. Be warned, there are some episodes that focus a bit too much on the comedy. Humor does play a major role in the <em>Patlabor</em> universe, but the threats are treated seriously.
Dai review (SPOILERS!): The OVA begins with Unit 2 of the Patlabor department being formed. The best part about this OVA is the attention to real life problems facing Unit 2. Not only are they “Unit 2″ but they are also second-best. The captain of Unit 2 appears to be the ex of the captain of Unit 1. The ambiguity of their past relationship leads to some nice awkwardness as the series progresses. Since Unit 2 is just forming, their new Patlabor robots haven’t been delivered as the first episode begins and, as it turns out, they are stuck in traffic, still on their delivery trucks. As a result, the majority of the first episode allows us to get to know the characters while they kill time. This is such a refreshing way to go since most mecha-based anime series are all about action and don’t spend a lot of time with the characters just being regular people. It’s for this reason that I fell in love with the <em>Patlabor</em> franchise.
Whether it’s youthful Izumi’s love for her Patlabor, which she has named Alphonse, or towering Yamazaki’s distinctly feminine lunches (he doesn’t seem to have a girlfriend or wife), we get to know these people as people so when they go into battle we already care about them. The added benefit for us is that there is plenty of comedy to make sure their every-day moments aren’t boring.
However, there are moments where the comedy gets a little too prevalent for my tastes–one episode invokes an all too distinct <em>Scooby-Doo</em> feeling, sadly, while another pays extremely overt homage to <em>Godzilla</em>.
Overall, the OVA works fine as a six-episode storyline (the seventh episode was added to help hype the feature film sequel to the OVA) though we never do get a clear explanation for why the rebellion in episodes five and six even happen. The seventh episode is nice because it doesn’t feel like it’s padding–it’s a good episode that stands on it’s own.
See it/Don’t see it: I say see it. Not only is this classic anime, but it deserves to be classic anime. Good, solid storytelling, great voice acting and great animation (for the time, remember, this came out a year before <em>Akira</em> hit the US) all make this something any fan of good storytelling should enjoy.
