Audience reviews
18 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
fh1478
Never Get Between A Girl And Her Labor
Patlabor OVA is a story about a police unit, that always gets the job done, even if the property damage is through the roof.
It's that kind of funny show ,where even when the most horrible car pileups and accidents happen, nobody dies, because this is all a good laugh. but even so when it becomes serious, it doesn't feel out of nowhere it feels cohenasive, because of the characters writing.
The characters work so well for the tone, the character in the beginning feels one dimensional, but the more you get to see them, the more form they get, even if one of them feels like a hot shot and one of them is an eternal wife guy.
The 7th. OVA episodes are very uneven in how fun they are to watch. they feel most like a prototype for what happens later, bec…
Read at the sourceMichaelBellonis
“A war was waiting for us in Tokyo.”
I’m still working on my definitive Top 100 Anime of all time, so I’m combing back through some titles that I’ve missed over the years - the Patlabor OVA series has been incredible, and will most likely make the cut.
It was directed by Mamoru Oshii - the director behind Ghost in the Shell. The OVA has two sequel movies, the second of which was essentially a predecessor to Ghost in the Shell, both tonally and thematically. The OVA itself, though, is a light hearted adventure of beat cops who pilot Patlabors - a specialized police unit of mechs designed to counter mech related crimes in a world where everyday jobs are performed by these mechs, called “Labors”.
Despite it being lighthearted, before Oshii’s more apparent pessimistic views of the world t…
Read at the sourceTeramol
Despite being only 7 episodes, the runtime of each is still just under 30 minutes which puts the series around the same runtime as a 1 cour anime. I do almost prefer this approach though because the series is mostly episode and now every mini story has several minutes more to tell its story.
As a huge fan of the various Ghost in the Shell entries, coming from the super capable hands of Public Security Section 9 to Patlabor's Tokyo Metropolitan Police squad SV2 was a rough change at first. The main ensemble cast is full of goofballs but most importantly, likable goofballs. It didn't take long for me to immerse into the lives of these police officers and their work.
All of the characters have their own unique personalities, backgrounds and interests that set them apart. Their chemistry is…
Read at the sourceFraffron
Would give it a 10 if there was more character development and not them being walking stereotypes, even though they were all so likeable. But, for what it's worth and what it is, the original Patlabor is a must watch classic, and a DEFINITE must watch for all the mecha fans. It is a mere 7 episodes and I shouldn't expect something from it what it is just not. With the small amount of episodes at hand, the mini stories and the last arc are all just well written, funny, serious and fun to watch all at the same time. Really has everything you could fit in those measly 7 episodes at the time (besides character development of course) but we will get more of that in the movies. How could I not recommend a classic like this no?
Read at the sourceGalletita
Mecha as a genre is generally not considered to be grounded or realistic, mostly due to most mecha anime being influenced by imaginative sci-fi and the kaiju genre. Patlabor is an exception to this norm, an extremely grounded anime where the robots, named Labors, are not fighting in some epic war but serving in plenty of tasks to the general public.
In this OVA, the spotlight in set onto the formation of the SV2 Unit, a small patrolling unit entrusted with preventing and stopping any malicious or irregular use of the Labor units. The setting is clearly inspired by Japan during the 80s, rampant bureaucracy and rapid technological advancements leaving space for inefficiency and corruption. The SV2 team is formed by a mismatch of younger and inexperienced personnel and seasoned yet jaded ve…
Read at the sourceKamezuki
"Patlabor" is a character-driven police dramedy with mechas that has a lot of heart, but lacks direction. The main characters are all likeable and complement each other well, with their interactions being the best part about this series. The technical aspects of the show are pretty good. Animation looks crisp and fluid, and the music is catchy and appropriate to the scenes it's used in. The upbeat opening theme, especially, fits the tone of the series well, and while the instrumental ending themes are not that memorable, they're not bad. As for the voice acting, it's decent, although the main character (Noa) inexplicably talks like a little girl when she's supposed to be an adult, which kind of confused me.
Plot-wise, this show is a bit of a mixed bag. With the exception of episodes 5 and…
Read at the sourcehuv
I started this anime with no expectations whatsoever. I had no background of what Patlabor was. I just wanted to watch something different, and boy was I not amazed! I didn't ever think Mecha anime can be this good. The story is very good and solid. It's set in kind of a futuristic world where Robots or "Labors" are used by the police to fight crime and enforce law. I found that very appealing since I like that sort of things.
Now let's talk about the unique characters. Division 2 members are a group of rockies who start to work as police officers in The Special Vehicles Unit. Each one of them has their distinguished personality which I easily got attached to, and they make the anime more interesting and appealing to watch.
Patlabor perfectly combines between comedy and seriousness. The…
Read at the sourcecozyhouse
A classic light mecha anime, quite unlike other mecha due to its realism in the world and the lighter tone. you could show this to anyone and they could enjoy it.
The animation is top-notch old-school hand-drawn anime. and the characters are also all pretty enjoyable as well. There are several different story arcs usually sticking to one episode, so its mostly episodic but with some definite progression of the story and characters (well with the most you can expect from 7 episodes)
For those that want more, there are the 3 sequel movies which are also good. and the tv show which is more of a slice of life mecha which is an alternate timeline for the story.
Read at the sourceHereLiesWaste
I actually quite like the bait-and-switch idea of setting up the mecha thing and instead doing a lighthearted slice of life comedy instead, but I feel like the OVA doesn't really have the runtime to do the idea justice. I think to get that stuff to work you need to have a lot of space for characters to develop and play off of each other in a bunch of different scenarios and pairings. There just isn't enough time here to do that, but it does make me think the anime could well be pretty decent actually, as long as you go into it knowing what you're getting.
Read at the sourceTakaToraBatta
Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor is definately a compitent anime , and it does things good , but it scarcely excells at any of them . Nothing here is really noteworthy because it either feels like you have seen those things done before , or they feel really underwhelming in the execution .
The main idea for the story sounds really intriguing . A world where mecha are so common in everyday life , that crime specifically centered around these mecha called Labors naturally occurs , so a police force to combat those crimes with Labors of their own is formed . However there is little labor crime for a show centered around it .
The first episode was a pretty straight forward introduction to this world and the characters . The second episode did not feaature any particularly exciting labor scene but it…
Read at the sourceYas-
“For Pete’s sake, this isn’t some Mecha anime” - Goto Kiichi
There's a multitude of Mecha shows that are talked about now and before, Gundam, GitS, and with this year we had FranXX, Gundam (again) and Planet With. As is obvious to an avid anime fan, Mecha shows are very big in Japan and as such we see a lot of buzz on such shows. Sometimes though, some shows do not get the love they deserve, especially when they're in many ways superior than most, this is where Patlabor comes in.
Patlabor is perhaps the best sense I found for Mecha, in policing and the law, no, I'm not talking about Code Geass esque law enforcement, Patlabor is far better in showing how and why the Mechs called Patlabor are necessary for the country and the police. Not to fight Klaxosaurs, but to fight crime. And this Pa…
Read at the sourcegabrielrroiz
Patlabor is a classic. The term comes with a lot of responsibility, and believe me, I truly do not like to take or give it lightly, but throughout the years Patlabor has cemented its name as one of the more well recognized and critically praised mecha franchises of the 80s. Managing to stand not that far away in terms of importance and influence, to the likes of Gundam or Macross. Sadly, my experience with it has been nothing short of underwhelming, basically making for a highly frustrating disappointment overall. On this analysis I will attempt to shed some light to what I consider to be the pivotal structure problem with the series, the characters, which are my main reason for never managing to connect with some of its entries. As references for this I will be using mostly the ova series…
Read at the sourceAnimeTopScholar
Mobile Police Patlabor: Early Days is a 7 episode OVA produced by Studio Deen. It was releasing from April 25th 1988 to Jun 25th 1989. Episodes 1-6 was directed by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) and episode 7 was directed by Naoyuki Yoshinaga (Maison Ikkoku).
In the future, technology is increasing rapidly, and that has given birth to giant robots called Labors. The name Labors comes from their usefulness in heavy industry. However, this gives the rise to Labor Crimes. This results in the need for a new branch of law enforcement that's equipped with their own Patlabors, and are dedicated to the policing of Labors. One day a bunch of new recruits join Special Vehicle Division 2, and a dragged into a series of crazy adventures.
Noa Izumi is a female police officer and one of the new rec…
Read at the sourceFAKEANIMEGIRL
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Mobile Police Patlabor is a multimedia franchise founded in the late 80s by a bevy of then relatively unknown talent. Most notable among these names is director Mamoru Oshii, the philosophical tech-mind behind other works such as Ghost in the Shell, Jin-Roh, and The Sky Crawlers. Being both fairly convinced of his talent and a mecha fan, I dropped in to give the much lauded Patlabor franchise a try. The Early Days OVA starts one of two anime continuities which the first two movies continue.
This 7-episode 1988 OVA is a brief but effective peek into the world of Patlabor. A Japanese rookie police squad is transferred to a new district where they’ll uphold the law with the help of their Patlabo…
Read at the sourceBowlingJD
Studio Deen is back again (Yatsura, Angel’s Egg, Maison Ikkoku) and so is director Mamoru Oshii (Angel’s Egg, Ghost in the Shell). When these two get together a good anime is almost ensured.
In the future of 1998 (kind of funny now) robots called Labors are used primarily for heavy construction. However, more demand for Labors causes crime as well. This leads to the creation of Labor Police within the Tokyo Metro Police. In the case of the Patlabor series, the stories focus on Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2 which consists of all kind of oddballs among the force.
Each of the 7 episodes in the original OVA series has their own “story.” Noa Izumi is the main character and newest member of Division 2. She is the pilot of a labor with her support partner Asuma Shinohara and the rest of…
Read at the sourcedj22319
The first anime installment of the Patlabor franchise delivered one hell of a good time. The first six episodes were directed by the grand master himself, Mamoru Oshii, who would also direct the first and second film adaptations. The seventh episode served as a bonus with a different director by the name of Naoyuki Yoshinaga. From what I took of it, the seventh episode tried to make up for a lack of action evident throughout the OVA. I was fine with that, but the sixth episode still serves as a fitting ending.
The premise of the anime is near-future, as Oshii puts us in a world where the advancements of technology have made science fiction a reality. Humanoid robots known as Labors are a result of that, and they serve as the most important medium for Japan's expansion as a techno logic ci…
Read at the sourceShura-shurato
In my opinion a very good introduction to the patlabor anime saga and WAY lighter content compared to the movie, as well the early mecha designs that later on would be praised via movie 1 and overall. The persona in here is quite good , the 1st meeting with some collegue´s , their backgrounds and involvment in everyday life , as well the villians story´s and out come of it, bit too bad that the serie´s was short but that makes it all up with 3 more movie´s and more serie´s inbetween!
Read at the sourceSuyomizzle
This particular OVA starts out relatively slowly but quickly picks up. It is very much in the style of shows that favor one-off stories, rather than an important overarching plot, to enhance character development. However, in the last three episodes important details begin to emerge about the universe that raise questions that set up for further entries in the series.
The early episodes serve their purpose of character introduction and development dutifully, and are really quite funny on top of that. Amongst the early episodes, episodes 2 and 3 are particularly strong, 3 probably being the funniest of the entire series.
Episodes 5 and 6 are the most watchable and form a two-part series about a rebel group attempting to gain control over the government which really piques the interest of…
Read at the source