Introduction
In the future, advanced robotics has created heavy robots ("labors") for use in a variety of functions: construction, fire-fighting, military, and more. However, though the robots are only machines, their operators are also only human—and humans sometimes turn to crime. Since a heavy labor unit can be a dangerous weapon, the police of the future are set to fight fire with fire, using advanced patrol labor units, "patlabors." This is the story of the Second Special Vehicles Division, a motley crew of patlabor policemen and women doing their best to fight crime and live a normal life.
(Source: ANN)
Audience reviews
12 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
fh1478
Justice Doesn't Care About Collateral Damage
Patlabor: The TV Series Is an anime about camaraderie, honor and how much Collateral Damage 1 cop can do.
Compare to the OVA series and the movie series, this is way more laid back and comfy anime stuff. It's episodic nature leads to many of the funniest moments of the franchise and moments of good character exploration.
The mecha fights are fun and it is exciting to see what kind of design appears next, and that is at the core of the show, is fun likeable characters and mecha fights.
Second unit is an oddball group, but they always get resolves and property damage.
The 47 episode does have its advantages, gifts of time to really let the characters grow on us, and and even if an episode doesn't land, it means there is always another one. my…
Read at the sourceLongnines
In a future where large, manually-operated robots are manufactured for the purposes of performing a heavy workload, from construction to military usage, Second Special Vehicles Division is responsible for ensuring that the operation of these large machines - also known as labors - remains safe and that citizens are secure in the event of misusage.
Primarily an episodic experience, the television series of Patlabor follows the (mis)adventures of the Second Special Vehicles Division. The show is a moderately formulaic experience, with predictable adversity occurring throughout, but there are interludes of character arcs and conflict arcs. Despite being episodic in nature, the experience is enriched by its cast of characters, all of them distinct in their traits and personalities. With its s…
Read at the sourceVengefulAura
I bought this on Blu-Ray in 2019 and I believe I started watching this show 2 or so years ago... and I'm just finishing it now.
I was excited for it considering the good things I heard, coming off of the original Gundam Trilogy. Maybe I had my expectations too high because I just didn't love this show like I thought I would have. I found myself watching a couple episodes then totally forgetting about it, probably due to the fact that there's no real story to pull you in or make you interested in what's coming up next.
If you're looking for an actual overarching story here, you will not find it. This is the one major problem I had with the show. While it is designed to be episodic, the episodes are such a mixed bag. There are definitely some good episodes and arcs sprinkled throughout the…
Read at the sourcealbaeeeeee
(There might be light spoilers ahead)
Patlabor is one of those shows that I wish could be more popular among mecha fans but at the same time it doesn't encapsulate what you expect from a typical mecha show.
And.. it's not a bad thing, that's exactly why I love Patlabor. Although it regularly presents action-packed mecha glory throughout its episodes, but really it places its emphasis on the people, on the mundane but eventful everyday lives of everyone in Special Vehicles Section 2, a team filled with a ragtag group of police officers, each with very distinct personalities.
-Story-
Patlabor tells the story of Special Vehicles Section 2, a special police unit made to fight Labor (heavy duty machines made for construction) -related crimes equipped with Patlabors (Patrol.. Labors..) at th…
Read at the sourceShrabster
*Potential Spoilers
Patlabor follows the misadventures of the Division 2 squad as they struggle to prove their worth as a police force to Japan and its citizens as they fight terrorism with robots called labors.
Despite the straight forward premise Patlabor plays out quite differently than most mecha. In fact Patlabor is closer to Ghost in the Shell (minus the serious tone and techno babble) being more of a police and procedural drama than actual mecha. Probably the biggest difference is that most of the episodes in Patlabor revolve around small scale issues like a drunk guy stealing a labor or what the team should order from the local Chinese restaurant. While there is a fair amount of robot action it is refreshingly restrained and grounded compared to almost any other mecha. Instead,…
Read at the sourcebrandotendie
going into Patlabor, looking at its posters and promotional material, i immediately assumed that this would be something akin to a mecha police procedural show. a show that would focus on busting mecha criminal-of-the-week every episode with cool action scenes and an overarching narrative that culminates into one huge final battle.
but what i got instead is one of the greatest slice of life shows i've ever seen, a genuinely funny, heartwarming, and endlessly entertaining journey that i never wanted to end.
Patlabor isn't just perfect anime, it's perfect television.
it sets out to create a familiar yet new world that lays the foundation the series to be relatable and grounded (some of the best episodes are just the characters getting into antics and bullshit with no mecha involved at all…
Read at the sourcemochinyanya
The 47-episode television adaptation of the Oshii Mamoru film comprising the usual Special Vehicle Division, Patlabors, and SV Division 2 cast appeared to be interesting given several shared sci fi elements with Oshii’s subsequent Ghost in the Shell works (1995, 2: Innocence, SAC 1/2). I’d presumed this 1989 production’s episodic nature would assist in locating Oshii’s nascent signature directorial style. In retrospect, this text is rather dissimilar. Oshii’s episodes are wonderfully comical and border on soft sci-fi/hand waving, a component of (TV) Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor’s characteristic use of relative realism.
Patlabor attempts at realism in premise and internal coherence. Special Vehicles Section 2, comprising human officers, Patrol Labors (Patlabors), and mechanics, attend to Labor…
Read at the sourceroastbeefbeef
Some light spoilers for some episodes
Patlabor is a gem in the trash heap of mecha shows. It sets itself apart by being human in a dehumanizing genre. Despite being a huge hit when it came out, it is now mostly forgotten, a true shame, but not surprising considering the state of anime today.
Patlabor was created by a team of artists known as Headgear, with the most notable members being Mamoru Oshii(Ghost in the Shell) and Masami Yuuki. Yuuki came up with the original concept in the early 80s, and Oshii directed the first OVA and the first two movies, which are an entirely different beast compared to the mostly lighthearted TV series, being much more serious, dark, and politically charged. While Oshii wrote some of the episodes of the show, his influence was more limited.
The core idea…
Read at the sourceBowlingJD
Standing at 47 episodes with an alternate expanded story from the original 1988 OVA series, Sunrise Studio 1 (MSG, Votoms) continued the fun and unique mech anime. It was directed by Naoyuki Yoshinaga (Maison Ikkoku) and script was by Mamoru Oshii (Patlabor OVA, Ghost in the Shell). This leads to believe right away, the animation should be decent; the characters should have more development, and the story should hold up to the original run. It does.
Mechs, called LABORS, are used primarily for construction, and a crime division is made for the police force, dubbed Special Vehicles Division. The show focuses on the rambunctious division 2 and how they deal with their day to day lives.
On the surface it seems just another re-hash of the original OVA, and in many ways it is. However, with m…
Read at the sourceggultra2764
This TV series take on Patlabor expands upon the developments of Section 2 implementing the mix of action, comedy and everyday developments facing the cast of the series compared to the first OAV series and first movie. While the series is mostly focused on the developments of main heroine Noa Izumi throughout the series, Patlabor still takes its time to focus on the other prominent characters of Section 2 from the manipulative superior of the group Kiichi Goto to impulsive gun-nut Isao Ota. The action element of the series involves Section 2's use of their Ingrim units in handling Labor threats that can be as mundane as construction labors to military prototypes wrecking havoc on the SDF's forces for illegal field testing. In particular, the latter makes for an ongoing plot where Section…
Read at the sourceCrimsonGlaive
I have no interest in writing reviews, but I felt that Patlabor deserved something more positive. So here is one that is short, simple and from the heart.
Patlabor the TV series is not about excitement or being heavily psychological. It is a very human show. It’s less about getting hyped up over battles and more about relaxing with your buddies Special Vehicles Section Two. The simple actions and gestures of various characters are well thought out, making them truly believable. The whole cast have their own individual personalities and ways of reacting to things. None of them seem like cardboard stand-ins in the background, something that anime is rife with. It is enjoyable to switch on an episode and see what the group gets up to next. As you spend time with them you really get to know t…
Read at the sourceBishounen_Hunter
Main
Patlabor is a pretty famous anime from back in the early 90s [I think even part of the 80s]. This was when Mecha animes were at an all time high and it was all about military or police mecha and stuff. Patlabor really stood out because they didn't go off the deep end with the fantasy—meaning, they don't transform, they don't talk, they can't fly [usually] go into space or the deep ocean, they don't carry endless racks of missiles.....you catch my drift? YEAH, it's pretty obvious that Patlabors don't exist but my point is that this story kind of handled it with some sense of reality like it's just another vehicle like a forklift or crane or some other construction vehicle. Even though the show is kind of old school, and the stories are kind of simplistic which is ALWAYS centered…
Read at the source