In the late 90's, Japan faces rising crime due to the new Labor industry - Labors being large, robot-like vehicles used primarily in construction. Due to this rise in Labor crime, a Patrol Labor department is created, Patlabor for short. Into this division comes the cheerful, labor-loving Izumi Noa, who joins Division Two of this fledgling department, and swiftly becomes the pilot of Unit One - or Alphonse as she calls it.



Patlabor: The Mobile Police follows the ups, downs and occasionally hilarious lives of Noa and her teammates: and what a motley bunch they are. Main characters include the deceptively intelligent Division Two captain Goto; the knowledgable but impatient Unit One backup (strategist) Asuma; trigger-happy Unit Two pilot Ota; the henpecked Unit Two backup Shinshi; gentle giant Hiromi and wildcard American pilot Kanuka, not to mention the unruly bunch that are the mechanics.



Spanning one 47-episode TV series, three films and two OVA mini series, the Patlabor universe is diverse and lengthy, and despite featuring mecha never concentrates on them - indeed many episodes have no action scenes whatsoever. The TV series and OVA's show us the often comical, occasionally touching evolution of the members of Division Two, whereas the first two films are serious political works, dealing with issues of corruption and cover-ups in government, and of course crime. The third film comes closer to being a typical crime drama, though it also incorporates tropes of the horror genre - it also barely includes the 'standard' Patlabor members.



Credits: wiper