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--- lb:patlabor [2024-11-01 20:57:02] – [Kidō Kēsatsu Patlabor] ninjasr
+++ lb:patlabor [2025-09-19 18:39:33] (current) – ↷ Links adapted because of a move operation 20.171.207.44
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 ====== Kidō Kēsatsu Patlabor ======
-{{ lb:img:patlabor.png }}
+{{ img:b:r:patlabor.png?460 }}
 {{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.
 <WRAP centeralign>
-[[playground:patlabor:vocal]] – Will not be available for a while.
+[[lb:patlabor:gotou]] • [[lb:patlabor:kanuka]] • [[lb:patlabor:kumagami]]\\
+[[lb:patlabor:vocal]]
 </WRAP>
+{{tag>anime manga otaku speculah}}
 ===== Notes =====
 ==== Canon ====
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   * The building the SV2 is located in is claimed to be a former factory. The company that initially used it went bankrupt, and the building was sold to the police for the SV2. This is only mentioned in the manga and no other continuity. However, no other continuity mentions anything about the building. Because no other continuities contradict this information, it can be assumed to be canon in all continuities.
 The result of this approach is that what I write about characters/worldbuilding will be different from what fan wikis online write, since they have a (dare I say, inferior?) approach to canon.\\
-For more about this, I recommend reading [[playground:canon|this article]]. If it exists.
+For more about this, I recommend reading [[playground:story:canon|this article]]. If it exists.
 ==== Terminology ====
 This explains a number of terms that are unique to the Patlabor series.
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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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 Of interest is that this film went through development hell and had to (presumably) be remade from scratch 2 years before release.
 ==== On Television (1989-1990) ====
+{{:img:cast.png?160 |Crew of Division 2}}
 We move onto the height of the Patlabor franchise (in animation): 機動警察パトレイバー PATLABOR ON TELEVISION((:fn:>Patlabor is repeated twice for some reason. Seems a bit redundant to me.)). Henceforth referred to as the ‘TV anime’.\\
 The TV anime, alongside the manga, is closest to what the original OVA was, in terms of tone. It also doesn't abandon the main cast like the film continuity does.\\
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 The series is mostly episodic, but does have a major arc in the form of the aforementioned Griffon arc. There is a break in the middle of the arc, where they go back to individual episodes. The arc is left unfinished though, which is annoying...but it is continued in the New OVA, so fear not!\\
 Note that it is in a separate continuity from the film continuity, so Division 2 is assembled differently. Notably: Shinohara, Ota, Shinshi and Yamazaki already work for the SV2. Izumi joins in episode 1 and Kanuka joins in episode 2. About halfway through the series Kanuka is replaced with Kumagami((:fn:>More specifically, Kanuka leaves in Episode 24 and Kumagami appears in Episode 26.)). Although Shinshi briefly (a single episode) takes Kanuka's position as Ota's backup. The reason for this eludes me, since they (presumably) knew that Kumagami would be appearing, it's a bit strange to dedicate an entire episode to Shinshi acclimating to his new role...when, just an episode later, he'll be going back to his original role.\\
+{{ :img:zone.png?160|In the Zone.}}
 Of (random) things I noticed:
   * I took note of, and was impressed by, the amount of movement in Episode 20 for whatever reason.
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 Division 1 has different labors depending on the medium. This is probably because they're more of a background element in general - they feature most prominently in the TV anime, but are otherwise barely present...if at all.\\
 In the manga, they have AV-95 ‘Gorilla’s. In the TV anime they use MPL-97S ‘Python’s.
-=== Division 2 - Captain Gotō ===
+=== Division 2 ===
-Gotō is a perfect representation of the overall tone of Patlabor. He's generally laid-back, plays the occasional prank, but he gets serious when he knows he has to.\\
+<WRAP centeralign>
-He's known to be cunning, despite his generally lazy attitude.
+[[lb:patlabor:gotou]] • [[lb:patlabor:kanuka]] • [[lb:patlabor:kumagami]]
-=== Division 2 - Sergeant Kumagami Takeo ===
+</WRAP>
-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.\\
-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.\\
-I'll note that there isn't anything really wrong with having a character with few flaws, it's just hard to make it interesting. Kanuka seems to be an example of such a poorly-handled character.\\
-The manga comes in as the superior version again, presenting her in the best possible way. There she's presented as a cool character from abroad. Kanuka's minimal presence in the manga also helps.
-----
-I realized recently that I did not really elaborate on what I meant by her being poorly-handled. Depending on my mood, I may or may not do that soon.
 ==== Shinohara Heavy Industries ====
 A newcomer to the labor production field, but one that has managed to dominate a chunk of the marketplace. Particularly notable for exclusively supplying the police with labors((:fn:>As far as I know. While other companies have attempted to supply labors to the police, only Shinohara has gotten the contracts. Although the TV continuity has a different company providing labors for Division 1, they're eventually replaced by Shinohara.)). They also supply labors to civilians and the military, although other companies obviously fill-in as well.
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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.