Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: The Movie (1989)

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Kazunori Itô (writer)
Masami Yûki (comic)

Release Date:

July 1989 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A mysterious suicide and strange robot malfunctions are clues to a devastating sabotage plot that Special Vehicle Unit 2 must stop.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Suicide | Police | Sabotage | Japan

Cast

Toshio Furukawa	...	Asuma Shinohara (voice)
Mîna Tominaga	...	Noa Izumi (voice)
Ryûnosuke Ôbayashi	...	Kiichi Gotoh (voice)
Yoshiko Sakakibara	...	Shinobu Nagumo (voice)
Yô Inoue	...	Kanuka Clancy (voice)
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Isao Ohta (voice)
Issei Futamata	...	Mikiyasu Shinshi (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shigeru Chiba	...	Shigeo Shiba (voice)
William Dufries	...	Kataoka (voice: English version)
Lisa Enochs	...	Kanuka Clancy (voice: English version)
Doug Erholtz	...	Asuma Shinohara (voice: English version)
Blair Fairman	...	Sakaki (voice: English version)
Don Fellows	...	Jitsuyama (voice: English version)
Michael Fitzpatrick	...	Hiromi (voice: English version)
Briony Glassco	...	Noa (voice: English version)
Edward Glen	...	Shige (voice: English version)
Daisuke Gôri	...	Hiromi Yamazaki (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara	...	Weather forecaster (voice)
Megan Hollingshead	...	Shinobu Nagumo (voice: English version) (as Karen Thompson)
Tamsin Hollo	...	Kanuka (voice: English version)
Sharon Holm	...	Shinobu Nagumo (voice: English version)
David Jarvis	...	Asuma (voice: English version)
Ron Lepaz	...	Shinsi (voice: English version)
Joey Lotsko	...	Mikiyasu Shinshi (voice: English version)
Mac MacDonald	...	Matsui (English version) (voice: English version)
Peter Marinker	...	Kiichi Goto (voice: English version)
Martin McDougall	...	Ota (voice: English version)
C.J. Mills	...	Yamazaki (voice: English version)
Tomomichi Nishimura	...	Detective Matsui (voice)
Shinji Ogawa	...	Fukushima (voice)
Sam Riegel	...	Isao Oota Noa Izumi (voice: English version) (as Sam Regal)
William Roberts	...	Fukushima (voice: English version) (as Bill Roberts)
Osamu Saka	...	Seitaro Sakaki (voice)
Roger Craig Smith	...	Keiichi Gotoh (voice: English version) (as Roger C. Smith)
Julie Ann Taylor	...	Noa Izumi (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Mobile Police Patlabor
PatLabor: The Mobile Police
Patlabor 1 (USA) (video box title)
Patlabor: The Movie

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Certification:

Italy:T (video rating) | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Canada:G (TV rating) | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | Finland:K-8

Company:

Headgear

Movie Connections:

Follows Kidô keisatsu patorebâ (1988) (V)

Solid franchise anime.

It's worth noting before I begin that this was my first encounter with the Patlabor series - I went in knowing nothing of the characters or overall plot of the series. I mention it because, though it posed absolutely no problems for my understanding of the piece, it does relate to the one criticism I have.

Positive things first, though, of which there are many. Most impressive, as with much of Ishii's work, is the scenery. From the highly industrialised city streets to the run-down shacks mastermind Hoba made his homes, each location is fantastically rendered and informs the mood of the piece easily as much as any of the characters. Not that Patlabor - The Movie is really lacking there, though; Both Asuma and Gotoh make for brilliantly likable protagonists, while aforementioned and never-seen villain Hoba is a more than worthy foil. The plot moves along at the right kind of pace - brisk enough to keep the viewer interested, but relaxed enough to allow one to savour the rich atmosphere of the world Ishii creates.

If there's a problem, then, it stems simply from the fact that this is what it is; a spin-off movie which is only part of an ongoing series. As such, and great as the characters may be, there is very little in terms of development - next to none, in fact. Yes, this is an expected and necessary result of the movie's very nature (it can't do anything that's really going to significantly affect the plot line of the series); still, it dulls the impact of an otherwise excellent film. Of course, there may be (and I expect there are) many nuances of dialogue, story etc. that are lost on a viewer with no prior knowledge of the series and perhaps viewing the film in context would provide a more rounded experience. Regardless, as a stand-alone film, it's less involving than it could be.

Despite this minor quibble, though, Patlabor - The Movie is a great introduction to a series I plan to familiarise myself with further in the future.