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 ====== Kidō Kēsatsu Patlabor ======
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 {{ruby|機動|きどう}}{{ruby|警察|けいさつ}}パトレイバー(Mobile Police Patlabor)((:fn:>//Patlabor// is pronounced Patlëbèr in English ([[lb:English-7|E7]]) and Patorēbā in Japanese. The term is a combination of ‘pat’ from ‘patrol’ and ‘labor’, similar to the Japanese パトカー(Patokā/Patrol Car).)) is a Japanese multi-media [[lb:mecha]] franchise created by Headgear. Perhaps most notable as the pioneer of the ‘media-mix’ concept((:fn:>Basically, releasing entries in multiple mediums at (roughly) the same time. Slightly different from adapting something into multiple mediums.)).\\
 The franchise takes place 10 years into the future (from the 1980s) in Japan. The development of hyper-technology allowed the creation of the labors – mechas used in construction work. Labors quickly expanded into other industries, becoming an important tool in day-to-day life. Unfortunately, as the number of labors increased, the amount of crime committed with labors also increased. This forced the police to adopt their own labors to fight crime - and thus came the Patrol-Labors...Patlabors.\\
 Ever since I read the manga, Patlabor proudly stands as one of my personal favorites.
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-[[playground:patlabor:vocal]] – Will not be available for a while.
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+{{tag>anime manga otaku speculah}}
 ===== Notes =====
 ==== Canon ====
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 Another aspect of interest is that Patlabor doesn't take itself super seriously. While it does aim to be realistic and believable, it's also willing to have some fun. This does, unfortunately, lead to a tonal clash when going from the films to...anything else, as the films choose to be super-serious. The way I'd sum it up though is that Patlabor knows when it should take itself seriously and when it doesn't have to. Some of the best stories in Patlabor are those that toe the line.\\
 Patlabor differentiates itself from other franchises in one other key way: the different stories are basically disconnected from each-other. There are multiple continuities which are mostly independent of each-other. There are reoccurring elements, but what each series/film chooses to focus on is a bit of a gamble. It often comes off as if a basic outline was created that was then distributed to different people, who then actually created each of the stories.\\
-Patlabor quickly became one of my favorites. However, it differentiates itself from my other favorites in that it took a while to grow on me.((:fn:>To add a note to this. Generally, I've found that something becomes my favorite fairly quick - I'm not, however, someone who has passing favorites. Examples of this would be [[playground:lwa]], [[lb:kaminomi]], [[lb:toaru]] and //REDLINE//. I'd realize they'd be my favorite after one watch, or a re-watch. Patlabor was different.)) I enjoyed the initial OVA and the films but it wasn't until I read the manga and watched the TV anime that it would truly be numbered among my favorites. The likely reason for this is that most of the franchise is fairly mediocre in quality. Good, but not great. Additionally, I think that the franchise creators had forgotten the appeal at some point.((:fn:>I blame the films for this in particular as they chose to focus on the SV2 less and less as they went on. Comparatively, every other entry in the series focuses on them.)) I'll elaborate more on this in the later sections.\\
+Patlabor quickly became one of my favorites. However, it differentiates itself from my other favorites in that it took a while to grow on me.((:fn:>To add a note to this. Generally, I've found that something becomes my favorite fairly quick - I'm not, however, someone who has passing favorites. Examples of this would be [[lb:lwa]], [[lb:kaminomi]], [[lb:toaru]] and //REDLINE//. I'd realize they'd be my favorite after one watch, or a re-watch. Patlabor was different.)) I enjoyed the initial OVA and the films but it wasn't until I read the manga and watched the TV anime that it would truly be numbered among my favorites. The likely reason for this is that most of the franchise is fairly mediocre in quality. Good, but not great. Additionally, I think that the franchise creators had forgotten the appeal at some point.((:fn:>I blame the films for this in particular as they chose to focus on the SV2 less and less as they went on. Comparatively, every other entry in the series focuses on them.)) I'll elaborate more on this in the later sections.\\
 Basically, while Patlabor is overall of an average quality, I still enjoy it and number it among my favorites. Patlabor has a lot of concepts that are ingenious, but the execution of those concepts often falls short. If there is going to be a Patlabor reboot, I'd hope they manage to execute those concepts better. Besides this, there are other things that are a little off, but I go into more detail later.
 ==== OVA - The Early Days (1988-1989) ====
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 There isn't much to say here except that it establishes almost everything that would come to define Patlabor - characters, worldbuilding, tone, etc.\\
 Following the release of the films, the OVA was retroactively labelled ‘The Early Days’.\\
-Bizarrely, the OVA serves as the prequel-ish to the films, which have a more serious tone than the OVA. I have yet to understand the reasoning behind this.
+Bizarrely, the OVA serves as the prequel-ish to the films, which have a more serious tone than the OVA. I have yet to understand the reasoning behind this.\\
+Currently re-watching. It's a bit odd to go back to here since the seiyuu are clearly getting used to their roles: Ota in particular sounded completely off.((:fn:>I confused him for Shinohara at first.))
 ==== Films ====
 There are three((:fn:>Specifically, there are three animated theatrical films and one live-action theatrical film. I exclude it because it's a sequel (presumably) to THE NEXT GENERATION, so I'll include the film in that section instead. That is, once I get around to finishing THE NEXT GENERATION.)) theatrical films in the Patlabor franchise, which exist in a separate continuity from the rest of the series - comprising the ‘movie/film’ continuity.\\
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 The animation in this film, particularly in the fight scenes, is really good...I'd argue //very// good for the time. The animation style is a bit unusual...if I were to describe it, I'd call it ‘high-res Patlabor’. It doesn't match the style of the original OVA, TV anime or manga, but it isn't especially jarring.\\
 My first watch of the film left me confused, because I had no idea why the antagonist was doing what he was doing. The motivations were a complete mystery to me. To be fair, I was watching it away from home and I tend to have difficulty focusing in those situations, for whatever reason. It's entirely possible I simply missed something and it'll be clear on a re-watch. Alternatively, it could be like the second movie, where it //is// possible to piece it together, but it's not entirely clear.
+----
+So, I've re-watched it and, depending on my mood, I'll either re-write this completely soon...or I won't.\\
+Basically, I think the antagonist's motivations are still quite difficult to understand, but I'm guessing he's like Ted Kaczynski.\\
+This film has more in common with the manga than the later Patlabor 2, which is odd. Tonally, it actually feels strangely in-line with the Early Days, despite it being more serious.\\
+The labor animation and the actions scenes are top-notch and probably the best in the series.\\
+I enjoyed it more than I did the first time, so I now consider it among the ‘acceptable’ portion of the Patlabor franchise for my own re-watching.
 === Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor 2 (1993) ===
 This film takes place a few years after the first one and portrays the Division 2 cast having moved on from the SV2, now working in different jobs. The first major mistake! and one that would negatively affect the rest of the film continuity. Here though, as a standalone, it's alright.\\
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   * Nagumo's hair color was changed from black to brown, despite her having black hair in all other continuities.
   * Patlabor possibly assumes that content from other continuities is still canon in some form, aligning with my own views on canon. The best example of this has to do with Ota's labor: Ota's labor is customized in the anime, although they never explain why. However, they //do// in the manga – it's because he damaged his labor so often they ran out of spare parts, so they started giving him prototype parts instead((:fn:>However, it //is// kinda implied that he customized his labor because of his own preferences. I don't see why both can't be true.)).
+  * Recently, I realized that the TV anime has an advantage the other parts of the franchise don't: you see Kanuka and Kumagami working in the SV2. So fans of both can be reasonably satisfied with their presence.
 On a personal note, I actually started watching it twice. I stopped watching after Episode 2 the first time, since I didn't expect the TV anime to be in its own continuity (I didn't know yet). I regretted this decision after actually watching the series.
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 Is what I would be saying, except the New OVA does //not// complete the Griffon arc. The Griffon portion of the New OVA actually ends on a cliffhanger, so the only way to see the end of the Griffon arc is by reading the manga. I'm guessing this is because the Griffon arc was adapted from the manga and since the manga ends with the Griffon arc...the ending just didn't exist when they were making the New OVA((:fn:>There is the question of why they didn't just make an ending for the Griffon arc themselves. My guess is that it's 'cause of Headgear's control of the franchise. Maybe they didn't want to compromise the story?)).\\
 Besides the Griffon arc, the New OVA includes a number of extra episodes, which are of the same stripe as the TV anime. The episodes //are// entertaining, but it is frustrating that the Griffon arc is left unfinished. But since it's currently been over 30 years since it ended, there isn't anything I can do about it.\\
-Anyway, my notes seem to pay special attention to the hot spring episode where they all drink. I like that one especially since it's one of the rare instances where we see Kanuka and Kumagami interact directly...something that didn't really happen in the manga either. It's amusing that they're so competitive.\\
+Anyway, my notes seem to pay special attention to the hot spring episode where they all drink. I like that one especially since it's one of the rare instances where we see Kanuka and Kumagami interact directly...something that didn't really happen in the manga either((:fn:>Well...yes, but technically no. They do interact more often than expected, but still not that often. In the manga, their interactions are basically all negative (Kumagami doesn't like Kanuka and vice-versa) bar the last one.)). It's amusing that they're so competitive.\\
 It's revealed in the final episode of the OVA that Shinohara had an older brother who committed suicide. This is also the only on-screen appearance of Shinohara's father and the only time he's shown his face, which is especially notable since the only other time we've seen him was in the manga (and no face).\\
 MiniPato's third episode refers to the ‘half-baked OVA’ and it took me way too long to realize that this is the OVA it was referring to. But I finally get the joke! I'm laughing whilst holding back tears!\\
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 Kumagami is at times sarcastic, as is evident from the ‘reports’ she writes in a few of the episodes. This is different from Kanuka's report, which is more matter-of-fact or angry in tone.\\
 There is some ambiguity regarding her relationship with Utsumi((:fn:>Who is, spoiler, the main villain of the manga and, to a certain extent, the TV anime.)). I wouldn't be able to say anything definitively regarding it but, honestly, she probably wouldn't be able to either. That said, something was made somewhat clear...although she's a bit confused about her feelings, she definitely doesn't like him. One piece of indirect evidence in favor of this is what she said to Izumi: ‘I haven't found the right man.’((:fn:>Not an exact quote, but she states this in the manga. I'll find what chapter/volume specifically later.))\\
-This at least indicates that she doesn't think of Utsumi as being the right man. I'm probably just pointing out the obvious here.
+This at least indicates that she doesn't think of Utsumi as being the right man. I'm probably just pointing out the obvious here.\\
+Another point of interest regarding her: she starts as Unit 2's backup (in the manga), but eventually replaces Shinohara as Unit 1's. This is particularly odd as they never switch back...even after the manga ends, it's implied (partially) that she remains Unit 1's backup. I find this odd and interesting because I've never seen a change like this remain permanent in anime/manga. Even in the Patlabor TV anime, Shinshi is Ota's backup for a single episode.
 === Kanuka Clancy ===
 I read somewhere - I'll have to find it again, damn - that one of the creators felt that Kanuka was ‘too perfect’ as a character. At the time, I had only seen the original OVA...but I did agree with this. Now that I've gone through a majority of the franchise, I've come to agree with this even more.\\
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 === AV-98 ‘Ingram’ ===
 The Ingram is considered the peak of labor technology in basically all the continuities. The only two exceptions I'm aware of would be the film timeline - where they're considered the peak only in the beginning - and the Patlabor reboot where their status is unknown((:fn:>Two others also count here: MiniPato and the novel. I haven't read the novel and MiniPato is a parody. Although, I'll have to check the episode about the Ingram again.)). In ‘The Next Generation’ the Ingram is considered a relic of the past. The manga and TV timeline both introduce a newer Shinohara model - but both timelines quickly show that the Ingram is still superior. Notably, the main antagonist of the manga even explicitly says this, if I remember correctly((:fn:>Utsumi does not say this in the manga, which I can say for sure after having re-read it. It's possible he says this in the TV anime instead and I got confused.)). However, it's notable that the series never makes it clear whether the //Ingram// is the ‘best’ labor or whether it's //Izumi//'s unit that's the best.\\
-The Ingram is certainly the peak of labor technology (for a time), but other labors like the Griffon and future Shinohara models((:fn:>What the next model is varies by continuity.)) outclass it in that department. Yet, despite being ‘inferior’, it continues to outperform those superior models. It's important to keep in mind though that this is based on //Izumi//'s performance. Her unit, Alphonse, is one of only two that we ever see in the entire series((:fn:>Excluding the mass-production model which doesn't count!)). //Her// unit manages to beat technologically superior labors...but does her unit represent all Ingrams? I think the implication, in the manga, suggests that it doesn't.\\
+The Ingram is certainly the peak of labor technology (for a time), but other labors like the Griffon and future Shinohara models((:fn:>What the next model is varies by continuity.)) outclass it in that department. Yet, despite being ‘inferior’, it continues to outperform those superior models. It's important to keep in mind though that this is based on //Izumi//'s performance. Her unit, Alphonse, is one of only two that we ever see in the entire series((:fn:>Excluding the mass-production model which doesn't count!)). //Her// unit manages to beat technologically superior labors...but does her unit represent all Ingrams? I think the implication, in the manga, is that it doesn't.\\
 I initially assumed that the Ingram was simply the best, but now I'm not so sure. To be fair, I may have previously missed the obvious signs, for whatever reason, that it was just Alphonse and not all Ingrams that are great.
 ==== The World ====
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     * My speculation was going rampant for a bit, but the abandoned English release makes something a bit more clear: The manga's storyline was created entirely by Masami Yūki (one of the members of Headgear). The OVA was created by Headgear collectively.
     * This is potentially interesting due to the strange relationship between the manga and the rest of the franchise, particularly the TV continuity. At times it's hard to tell if the manga adapts the TV anime or if the TV anime adapts the manga.
-  * [[you>v=re3FeV1LS6E|Patlabor | Your Next Favorite]] – maybe I should watch it? I'll think about it and report later.
+  * [[you>re3FeV1LS6E|Patlabor | Your Next Favorite]] – maybe I should watch it? I'll think about it and report later.