Hero: *"...being in the Air Force, and getting stationed at a small base in Korea..."* Me: *"I was also stationed at Kunsan Air Base (just guessing you were here) but way back in 1995, and we had the Star Channel from Japan to watch on our version of cable TV, which just happened to be featuring a slick looking anime movie that I'd never heard of called 'Patlabor 2: The Movie,' however with no English dub or subtitles, and Japanese language only, but I taped it to VHS anyways. You can imagine my confusion about what was going on at all, only being able to grasp a very small iota of what the plot might be about, the story of which is very complicated even if you can understand what's being said, so I just enjoyed the beautiful animation and action scenes for how amazing they were. As soon as I got stateside I watched the English dubs for everything Patlabor, and I've been a fan ever since, so I can really appreciate your video."*
“... the NYPD to set up their own Labour division” God that’s a show I’d pay to watch, a bunch of angry New Yorkers trying to fight crime with giant robots
Seriously though, Patlabor is one of a kind show, there's nothing like it, the mixture between mundane everyday life, action mecha and sometimes introspective character drama are so rare to find in any kind of media.
I absolutely adore Patlabor, and you did such a remarkable job of describing everything that it has to offer that I literally teared up a couple of times. To anyone reading this, I urge you not to skip the original OVA series (Sometimes called "The Early Days") despite indeed being a bit of a disconnected "sample pack" for what's to come because it too contains wonderful stuff. The SV2's Longest Day is basically Patlabor: The Movie 0 and features some scenes with incredible slow-building drama. Some of Kenji Kawai's music from that two-parter has stayed with me nearly 20 years after I first saw this stuff. Also, Hero, I didn't know about the One Day of Noa short, so thank you very much!
The Early Days IMO is the best miniseries of the franchise. It's kind of a build up to the "movie world" of Patlabor vs the "TV series world". Watching The Early Days and then the 1st and 2nd movies is the perfect flow to understand the world of Patlabor.
@@FungusUSMC My favorite Patlabor stuff, aside from the manga (a masterpiece that everybody should read) comes from the second OAV series. I love the Early Days too of course, but I feel that the "new" OAVs perfectly encapsulate what's great about Patlabor, they capture that tone in a more consistent way. BTW, wanna talk about "Snow Rondo" and Kenji Kawai's music for that episode? Still haunts me - in a melancholic, positive way - to this day.
ur the reason i finally buckled down and purchased the Devil man manga, following which i watch the ova. i also bough zone of the enders but i did play it b4hand. anyways ty for the vid and i hope to c more from u
While I agree with wanting more of the original cast in Patlabor 2, I really liked seeing Goto and Nagumo get much more screentime together. They’re among my favorites on the cast, and letting them have their moment in the sun was just wonderful.
And yet there's people who unironcially say they can't watch old animation. As if the medium of animation has always been improving when if anything it's the opposite
Ah, Patlabor. The Real Robot show that every other Anituber conveniently forgets about whenever they have to pretend they understand the mecha genre...
Le destructureur d'intemporalité What? What are you talking about? Where did I say that people only watch mecha for the mecha? 😂 Im just saying, that mecha anime has a clear divergence that’s still referenced in Japan, but no one ever calls reference to in the west.
I really happy that such a lot of Non-japanese people still love it. Yesterday I watched patolabor the movie on screen. it's 30th anniversary this year Some events take apart in Japan.
I watched the movie when I was in high school. Never had the opportunity to see the series until 2010, but I still love it. I wish that this was on Netflix. More people need to see it.
@@DJBSharpMusic True.Their story and characters are well thought-out. This is comedy, robots and also include about political ties. I'm sorry my English is bad.
@@abc-ts9xy Your English is wonderful, actually. Another thing that I fully appreciated about it was that sense of believability that permeated the environment. People acted so normal. When Oshii-san was directing, he'd always make those montages of people just being people, which is what made me fall in love with what anime could be. It was common practice to make stylized megacities in science fiction anime at that time, but I respect that they never ventured into that territory. When they said "10 years into the future", they meant 10 years.
Patlabor was in the very first AMV I ever watched. Back in 1999 the group Wamdue Project released the video "King Of My Castle" which originally featured Patlabor footage, a few months later they re-released the music video featuring Ghost in the Shell. I think they ran into legal issues by using Patlabor.
Wow, what a flashback. I watched the second movie as my first exposure to Patlabor back when it was all current, that was some mood whiplash when I picked up one of the translated manga issues. I love how well the look has aged.
What is positive about Patlabor's relatively low popularity is that the entire series is pure, untainted, raw quality. The OVA is good, the movies are good, the TV series is good, the novels are good, the manga is good, you can watch or read any part and it'll be fantastic.
Apparently Mamoru Oshii was offered the director's role on Ghost in the Shell solely because of his great work on Patlabor the Movie 2. Funny how things go, but sad to see that many have forgotten Patlabor while everyone remembers Ghost in the Shell.
Mamoru Oshii's movies are boring and the first Gits movie is really bad, change my mind. Like seriously his take on things sucks all the fun from the source material.
@@madrugaiden2317 In which way are they boring? A movie doesn't need to be an action stampede like Gurren Lagann or Indiana Jones, and adaptations should be considered as their own artistic piece
Pat labor is like the police dealing with criminals in possession of bulldozers and other construction equipment to run amok. A bit of drama, A bit of slice of life.
Anyone else remember watching these, or at least trying to watch these Cartoon Network/Toonami's proto-streaming website back in the early 00's? Watching a window smaller than an iphone, buffering through a T-1 internet connection....I remember watching this series, but all I remembered about it was how I watched it.
Seems like a hidden gem, or a forgotten classic, never heard anyone else talk about it before so thanks for giving it attention and putting it on my radar. I'm going to look forward to watching this.
Wouldn't have been amiss to point out that the style, introspection and intrigue we see in the second Patlabor movie is basically a precursor of what came soon after in Ghost in the Shell. It's funny how this worked out. The second Urusei Yatsura movie shares this phenomenon. Patlabor 2 and Urusei Yatsura 2 are basically what you got when somebody wanted to create Ghost in the Shell but was put in charge of those properties instead.
Patlabor is one of my favorites, so thanks for taking the time to cover it. And to be fully honest, Patlabor is exactly what the '90s would've been like if mecha had been made a real thing then.
There's a ton of TH-camrs that have convinced me to give things a shot but none have laid it out so cleanly and nicely. I will definitely force a friend to check this out with me. Good to have you back Hero. See you in a year lol.
I remember discovering Patlabor when, whilst looking for another Gundam kit to build, I came across a Patlabor Gunpla from the live-action movie. I thought the Ingram was a really cool design even though I'd never seen any Patlabor, so I bought the kit. Looking up the franchise, it sounded like fun, so I bought the first OVA series on DVD. And what a great decision that was!
Patlabor is my absolute favorite mecha franchise of all time. Sure MSG has more variety with it's different timelines (UC, FC, CC, etc), Macross has a much flashier style with an amazing OST and one of my favorite fights of all time (Max vs Milia from Do You Remember Love?) and the Mazin and Getter series' are a completely different ball game all together, but it's the realism of Patlabor that I really enjoy. It feels like a lot of the tech could actually exist as it's not Blade Runner/Star Wars tech with flying cars etc. The Labors are a believable size and shape and aren't just hulking masses of indestructible iron that can't be stopped unless it's useful to the plot. They are like you said; tools. The only reason the Patrol Labors have more human characteristics is to make the public feel safer while also intimidating the criminals (might have some more agile movements too). Patlabor 2 is probably my favorite of the films just for the insane level of high quality animation (the panning shot showing a building from a helicopters point of view with every window pain having it's own individual reflection is just mindblowing, even today) and how well it was able to tell a different type of story with a completely different tone and use the same characters and world. The Wyvern scene as you mentioned is absolutely one of the most tense moments in anything I've ever seen, and it doesn't even have to show any action or Labors. I recently grabbed the Blu-ray box set off Amazon because it was on sale for $40 and I wanted to get rid of my copies I "obtained" through "alternative" means (I mean I DO have the VHS tapes of the movies and the limited edition sets of the first two that came with the entire storyboards of each film along with a booklet that has all sorts of interviews and art), and despite some subtitle errors on one of the discs and the lack of bonus content, it's a solid release and I'm glad to own it. I didn't mean to go on for this long whoops. tl;dr Patlabor is flipping awesome and I recommend it to everyone (unless you pronounce it PatlaBOR instead of PatLAbor. Then you can go to the corner and think about what you've done).
Damn can't believe hyperbit is back after almost 2 years. I think this is your best vid in quite a while and I think was a really good overview of the series, though I think you shoulda mentioned yutaka izubuchi's involvement, as he's just as connected to oshii's stuff as Kenji Kawai is. Patlabor is overall really ace, I'd say the TV show is easily the best one for all the reasons you've mentioned. Plus I think it had the best designs and music by Kenji Kawai.
The aesthetic dude, that beautiful, incredibly evocative, late 80's anime aesthetic, it's something that has the incredibly rare power of bringing you inside that world
FINALLY! somebody talks about Patlabor... about to cry , bro i know somehow people will feel inlove this this show somehow... SO NEVER CRY ... (oh that opening..) !
Shit, I never knew where to start with Patlabor and was kind of intimidated by the size of the franchise, but definitely interested now, shit looks really fun. Can't get enough of this aesthetic
Man the timing of this video coming out was perfect, because i am actually in a little mecha phase right now. Loved everything you said about the series and had fun just looking at footage of the anime imagining its going to be even funier when actually watch the episodes !!!
Patlabor really is one of the best franchises the mecha genre has to offer. The first movie is always one of my first recommendations for people new to the genre. Hopefully a lot of people check out this video and give the series a shot, so thanks for making it!
Patlabor is legitimately one of if not my absolute favorite series, I might actually like it more than Gundam as a whole even, but only just a little. And Noa Izumi is absolutely my waifu, she is one of the best female characters I can think of, she's an absolute cutie, and loves mecha! I honestly hope Patlabor can make a comeback it deserves alot of love and respect!
Patlabor the animated series had a very well handled spanish localization made in Mexico. Love that series, I even have a Madogear Mechanic in Ragnarok Online that's called Alphonse.
this world needs a whole reboot, jsut saying as time past by and now what we are living in the patlabor from the movie 2 is ringing more true each and everyday, and how tech rather we like it or not have chnage our way of life and how we handle problems and how new problems come from it and how gorvments have to handle it very poorly or neatly
First anime I ever watched was a Patlabor : The Movie VHS tape in 1997. I barely understood what the plot was about, but I watched the fuck out of it, and it probably inspired the baseline of all cinematic taste for me
Thank you so much for talking about this! I feel like nobody knows about it an yet it deserves respect. I had never even seen a single frame of until the gundam abridged ppl did a one off of the movie. The beautiful details in recreating real locations made it look more believable to me and was always my favorite aspect of PATLABOR. I got the first movie and instantly loved it. Watching the series right now on blue ray.
Patlabor was my first anime outside of Dragon ball or pokemon. I remember that one of the channels did a big campaign it promote the inclusion of anime in the channel, and they started with the first film and took me years to rediscover the franchise
Great review I definitely remember watching this series on old VHS subs in high school in the mid 90s. Also from one AF veteran to another thank you for your service!!!
@@mariuspoppFM From the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme song: If you're wondering how he eats and breathes, and other science facts, repeat to yourself: "It's just a show, I should really just relax".
Thanks to you I bought the OVA series and the first two movies and once I’m done with those I’m going for the tv series! Love this stuff, and I’m so glad you’re back!
Patlabor has been my favorite series ever, no matter the genre, since 1993, when I first read a chapter of the manga. Here in Italy we were very lucky: we got the first Patlabor movie on VHS that same year, a complete translation of the manga, and all the OAVs and TV series dubbed. But it was still pretty niche, so being a fan of Patlabor in my country, and probably in any other western country, felt like being part of the most wonderful secret, a bittersweet feeling that bordered on suffering - 'cause it was THAT good, and I wanted as many people as possible to enjoy it. While I'm not the biggest Star Trek fan, I can see a similar concept in The Next Generation, where most episodes focused on the characters of an ensemble cast, and at the same time great care was put into showing the small technicalities of their sci-fi world.
Mobile Police Patlabor is my favorite anime from the late 80s, back in the days it was a huge hit in Japan and the merchandising, specially the model kit (plastic, soft vinyl and resin) was even more popular than the Gundam merchandising. I love the continuity of the story between the first movie, the TV serie and the conclusion of the saga in the second movie. The 3rd movie is really interseting when you have read the manga version of the same story : in the manga the story follows the 2nd divison investigation and the movie follows the two detectives investigation and that's a great idea Headgear came to. In France we had it on televison in a kids show and the serie was cancelled because it was misunderstood by the channel which putted it on the air, a few years later the serie was entirelly broadcast in cable tv and even the OAV were aired in 2 parts format. It was not such a big hit as Saint Seiya, City Hunter, Maison Ikkoku, Dragon Ball, ... but it gaves to MP Patlabor some kind of underground cult vibes for anime fan in France and because it was the anime boom it was pretty easy to get your hands on merchandising from Japan, specially anime cels, plastic and vinyl models and books like Hobbt Japan Extra.
i had never heard of patlabor before despite loving mecha anime before i found this video. it is now one of my favorites. thanks so much for introducing me.
I recently bought the complete collection on Blu Ray for cheap, and was super confused about where to start. I ended up going with the TV series first. Wish I'd seen this video beforehand, but I still found it super helpful and I've been enjoying my time with Division 2. The captain of Division 2 is easily my favorite character, followed by Izumi Noa for sure.
Already seen all the series and films, I highly recommend it! Captain Goto is one of the coolest characters in anime! One thing this anime does amazingly well is it makes you love the characters and feel like you know them as if they are your own friends.
Good to see that you're ok! Haven't seen the video yet but I had to comment asap since you were away for so long. I hope Turbo Button also returns someday.
I'm not even three minutes in and I'm going to have to give your video a pause m8. I'm gonna go watch this anime, you had me at Birdy the Mighy and Ghost in the Shell. The mechas helped too.
Saw this 2 weeks ago . . . On episode 3 . . . . . . Taking my time because I don't want the series to end. My GF and I are flipping out of our seats laughing. So far he ain't wrong.
i fell in love with this show when i saw it last. I think i ended up with the first OVA in my possession, but I actually started watching the TV series before that. Way back when i worked at Blockbuster. lol. I've been hoping for a proper reboot of the series.
Man... this new video really reminded me why i subscribed in the first place. very well articulated, chill, and introducing people to cool looking niche stuff. All while narrated with that smooth voice. ooohhh yeeeeh. Keep up the good work man. Nice to have ya back. (Definitely gonna check out those movies at the very least).
I've been a fan since I first read about it in fanzines back in 1988. I own all of it on dvd and bluray. I also have Patlabor the next generation on HK bluray too.
Brave Police J-Decker plays a lot off the patlabor formula, inverting a number of concepts and character dynamics form the tv run specifically. Absolutely a must watch from the brave franchise if you enjoyed patlabor Great video~!
Dad's back from his cigarette run!
Yep he's gone again
@@bigtastyben5119 and he's back
@@jonathanperez1212 and he's gone
@@eki9970 And back again.
Patlabor is an absolute gem and deserves to come back. I reallly loved the tv show.
Hero: *"...being in the Air Force, and getting stationed at a small base in Korea..."*
Me: *"I was also stationed at Kunsan Air Base (just guessing you were here) but way back in 1995, and we had the Star Channel from Japan to watch on our version of cable TV, which just happened to be featuring a slick looking anime movie that I'd never heard of called 'Patlabor 2: The Movie,' however with no English dub or subtitles, and Japanese language only, but I taped it to VHS anyways. You can imagine my confusion about what was going on at all, only being able to grasp a very small iota of what the plot might be about, the story of which is very complicated even if you can understand what's being said, so I just enjoyed the beautiful animation and action scenes for how amazing they were. As soon as I got stateside I watched the English dubs for everything Patlabor, and I've been a fan ever since, so I can really appreciate your video."*
“... the NYPD to set up their own Labour division”
God that’s a show I’d pay to watch, a bunch of angry New Yorkers trying to fight crime with giant robots
Imagine if they made it *now*
Oh god.
YES
starring Terry Crews
Seriously though, Patlabor is one of a kind show, there's nothing like it, the mixture between mundane everyday life, action mecha and sometimes introspective character drama are so rare to find in any kind of media.
I absolutely adore Patlabor, and you did such a remarkable job of describing everything that it has to offer that I literally teared up a couple of times. To anyone reading this, I urge you not to skip the original OVA series (Sometimes called "The Early Days") despite indeed being a bit of a disconnected "sample pack" for what's to come because it too contains wonderful stuff. The SV2's Longest Day is basically Patlabor: The Movie 0 and features some scenes with incredible slow-building drama. Some of Kenji Kawai's music from that two-parter has stayed with me nearly 20 years after I first saw this stuff. Also, Hero, I didn't know about the One Day of Noa short, so thank you very much!
The Early Days IMO is the best miniseries of the franchise. It's kind of a build up to the "movie world" of Patlabor vs the "TV series world". Watching The Early Days and then the 1st and 2nd movies is the perfect flow to understand the world of Patlabor.
@@FungusUSMC My favorite Patlabor stuff, aside from the manga (a masterpiece that everybody should read) comes from the second OAV series. I love the Early Days too of course, but I feel that the "new" OAVs perfectly encapsulate what's great about Patlabor, they capture that tone in a more consistent way. BTW, wanna talk about "Snow Rondo" and Kenji Kawai's music for that episode? Still haunts me - in a melancholic, positive way - to this day.
Dude came, told everyone how dope Devilman was before it got big and then left for a year. Your next favorite videos are the best dude.
HES BACK AND HES COVERING AN ANIME IVE ALWAYS WANTED TO C OMFG
ur the reason i finally buckled down and purchased the Devil man manga, following which i watch the ova. i also bough zone of the enders but i did play it b4hand. anyways ty for the vid and i hope to c more from u
I think this anime really nails the "future" of the 80s
With stuff like GITS, tank police and Apple seed, it just drips 80s.
Cassette futurism best futurism
While I agree with wanting more of the original cast in Patlabor 2, I really liked seeing Goto and Nagumo get much more screentime together. They’re among my favorites on the cast, and letting them have their moment in the sun was just wonderful.
Every time this man talks about something, he either sells me outright or his video sells me even harder on something I've already dipped my toes into
Watching this feels like chatting with an old friend about the stuff you got up to while away.
You’re not even 30 seconds in and I’m already sold. Cops piloting mechas to stop crime in the future sounds rad.
Genderbent Amuro in a slice of life giant robot cop anime sounds pretty fun tbh
@@Autechltd Without the angst, which makes everything better.
Looks who's back! 1980s anime is so beautiful and expressive
Personally it looks too old to me
And yet there's people who unironcially say they can't watch old animation. As if the medium of animation has always been improving when if anything it's the opposite
@@drifter402 I can't watch old animation, the animation looks so faded and lacks color.
@Cynical Joker did I say I don't watch any old shows? I've watched trigun, most of bebop, Ghibli movies, Akira, etc.
The colours are pleasent and realistic while your avarge modern anime has poorly chosen, overly bright colours that don't look good together
Ah, Patlabor. The Real Robot show that every other Anituber conveniently forgets about whenever they have to pretend they understand the mecha genre...
I don't think most people watch shows with mechas only for the mechas.
The "mecha genre" is very niche, deal with it
Le destructureur d'intemporalité What? What are you talking about? Where did I say that people only watch mecha for the mecha? 😂
Im just saying, that mecha anime has a clear divergence that’s still referenced in Japan, but no one ever calls reference to in the west.
@@larseunic Holy shit imagine being this mad at someone criticizing this blight in the world called """anitubers"""
@@mesuchang who's mad ? Que
I really happy that such a lot of Non-japanese people still love it.
Yesterday I watched patolabor the movie on screen.
it's 30th anniversary this year
Some events take apart in Japan.
I watched the movie when I was in high school. Never had the opportunity to see the series until 2010, but I still love it. I wish that this was on Netflix. More people need to see it.
@@DJBSharpMusic True.Their story and characters are well thought-out.
This is comedy, robots and also include about political ties.
I'm sorry my English is bad.
@@abc-ts9xy your english is great. Trust me it's better than my japanese. I wish I wasnt a 外人 and I lived in glorious nippon.
@@li5up6 Thanks!
@@abc-ts9xy Your English is wonderful, actually.
Another thing that I fully appreciated about it was that sense of believability that permeated the environment. People acted so normal. When Oshii-san was directing, he'd always make those montages of people just being people, which is what made me fall in love with what anime could be.
It was common practice to make stylized megacities in science fiction anime at that time, but I respect that they never ventured into that territory. When they said "10 years into the future", they meant 10 years.
Patlabor was in the very first AMV I ever watched. Back in 1999 the group Wamdue Project released the video "King Of My Castle" which originally featured Patlabor footage, a few months later they re-released the music video featuring Ghost in the Shell. I think they ran into legal issues by using Patlabor.
One of my fav youtubers has finally returned
Wow, what a flashback. I watched the second movie as my first exposure to Patlabor back when it was all current, that was some mood whiplash when I picked up one of the translated manga issues. I love how well the look has aged.
What is positive about Patlabor's relatively low popularity is that the entire series is pure, untainted, raw quality. The OVA is good, the movies are good, the TV series is good, the novels are good, the manga is good, you can watch or read any part and it'll be fantastic.
This and Dai Guard were the strange quirky cousins where giant robots felt both large and like real machines.
Apparently Mamoru Oshii was offered the director's role on Ghost in the Shell solely because of his great work on Patlabor the Movie 2. Funny how things go, but sad to see that many have forgotten Patlabor while everyone remembers Ghost in the Shell.
Mamoru Oshii's movies are boring and the first Gits movie is really bad, change my mind.
Like seriously his take on things sucks all the fun from the source material.
@@madrugaiden2317 No he didn't, he directed dozens of Urusei Yatsura episodes (it's a romcom ffs) and the UY2 movie is incredible
@@madrugaiden2317 In which way are they boring? A movie doesn't need to be an action stampede like Gurren Lagann or Indiana Jones, and adaptations should be considered as their own artistic piece
Pat labor is like the police dealing with criminals in possession of bulldozers and other construction equipment to run amok. A bit of drama, A bit of slice of life.
Anyone else remember watching these, or at least trying to watch these Cartoon Network/Toonami's proto-streaming website back in the early 00's? Watching a window smaller than an iphone, buffering through a T-1 internet connection....I remember watching this series, but all I remembered about it was how I watched it.
Seems like a hidden gem, or a forgotten classic, never heard anyone else talk about it before so thanks for giving it attention and putting it on my radar. I'm going to look forward to watching this.
For anyone who is curious: 1:31 is from “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade” and 1:32 is from “Angel’s Egg”
Wouldn't have been amiss to point out that the style, introspection and intrigue we see in the second Patlabor movie is basically a precursor of what came soon after in Ghost in the Shell. It's funny how this worked out. The second Urusei Yatsura movie shares this phenomenon. Patlabor 2 and Urusei Yatsura 2 are basically what you got when somebody wanted to create Ghost in the Shell but was put in charge of those properties instead.
Patlabor is one of my favorites, so thanks for taking the time to cover it.
And to be fully honest, Patlabor is exactly what the '90s would've been like if mecha had been made a real thing then.
There's a ton of TH-camrs that have convinced me to give things a shot but none have laid it out so cleanly and nicely.
I will definitely force a friend to check this out with me.
Good to have you back Hero.
See you in a year lol.
I remember discovering Patlabor when, whilst looking for another Gundam kit to build, I came across a Patlabor Gunpla from the live-action movie. I thought the Ingram was a really cool design even though I'd never seen any Patlabor, so I bought the kit. Looking up the franchise, it sounded like fun, so I bought the first OVA series on DVD. And what a great decision that was!
That animation and art style is why I became a HUGE fan of anime, I miss it so much
Patlabor 2, original English dub, was my entry point and it blew me away. I can watch it over and over again and never get bored.
I always come back at this marvelous video. I should really start watching Patlabor xD
One of my favorite mecha shows. Definitely worth a watch for anyone that hasn't seen it before.
The OP theme is also up there with Cruel Angel Thesis.
Patlabor is my absolute favorite mecha franchise of all time. Sure MSG has more variety with it's different timelines (UC, FC, CC, etc), Macross has a much flashier style with an amazing OST and one of my favorite fights of all time (Max vs Milia from Do You Remember Love?) and the Mazin and Getter series' are a completely different ball game all together, but it's the realism of Patlabor that I really enjoy. It feels like a lot of the tech could actually exist as it's not Blade Runner/Star Wars tech with flying cars etc. The Labors are a believable size and shape and aren't just hulking masses of indestructible iron that can't be stopped unless it's useful to the plot. They are like you said; tools. The only reason the Patrol Labors have more human characteristics is to make the public feel safer while also intimidating the criminals (might have some more agile movements too). Patlabor 2 is probably my favorite of the films just for the insane level of high quality animation (the panning shot showing a building from a helicopters point of view with every window pain having it's own individual reflection is just mindblowing, even today) and how well it was able to tell a different type of story with a completely different tone and use the same characters and world. The Wyvern scene as you mentioned is absolutely one of the most tense moments in anything I've ever seen, and it doesn't even have to show any action or Labors. I recently grabbed the Blu-ray box set off Amazon because it was on sale for $40 and I wanted to get rid of my copies I "obtained" through "alternative" means (I mean I DO have the VHS tapes of the movies and the limited edition sets of the first two that came with the entire storyboards of each film along with a booklet that has all sorts of interviews and art), and despite some subtitle errors on one of the discs and the lack of bonus content, it's a solid release and I'm glad to own it. I didn't mean to go on for this long whoops. tl;dr Patlabor is flipping awesome and I recommend it to everyone (unless you pronounce it PatlaBOR instead of PatLAbor. Then you can go to the corner and think about what you've done).
Damn can't believe hyperbit is back after almost 2 years.
I think this is your best vid in quite a while and I think was a really good overview of the series, though I think you shoulda mentioned yutaka izubuchi's involvement, as he's just as connected to oshii's stuff as Kenji Kawai is.
Patlabor is overall really ace, I'd say the TV show is easily the best one for all the reasons you've mentioned. Plus I think it had the best designs and music by Kenji Kawai.
The aesthetic dude, that beautiful, incredibly evocative, late 80's anime aesthetic, it's something that has the incredibly rare power of bringing you inside that world
FINALLY! somebody talks about Patlabor... about to cry , bro i know somehow people will feel inlove this this show somehow... SO NEVER CRY ... (oh that opening..) !
I was cleaning out my subscriptions yesterday and stayed subbed to you just in case. Glad I did.
It’s good to see you making more videos Hero, can’t wait to see more especially for the Games
Maybe he’ll finally cover the recent Yakuza games
Whether you're a Patlabor aficionado or not, Patlobor 2 is one of the best sci-fi techno-thrillers almost no-one (in the West) has seen.
Shit, I never knew where to start with Patlabor and was kind of intimidated by the size of the franchise, but definitely interested now, shit looks really fun. Can't get enough of this aesthetic
Man the timing of this video coming out was perfect, because i am actually in a little mecha phase right now. Loved everything you said about the series and had fun just looking at footage of the anime imagining its going to be even funier when actually watch the episodes !!!
Joke's on you Bit, it's already my favorite
Patlabor really is one of the best franchises the mecha genre has to offer. The first movie is always one of my first recommendations for people new to the genre. Hopefully a lot of people check out this video and give the series a shot, so thanks for making it!
The Patlabor 2 movie is just so amazing.
One of my favorites!
Patlabor is legitimately one of if not my absolute favorite series, I might actually like it more than Gundam as a whole even, but only just a little. And Noa Izumi is absolutely my waifu, she is one of the best female characters I can think of, she's an absolute cutie, and loves mecha! I honestly hope Patlabor can make a comeback it deserves alot of love and respect!
he's alive!
And if you want to watch the whole series (TV, movies, OVAs), the whole thing is available on the Hidive streaming service.
Unfortunately, only the TV series is on HIDIVE now.
Patlabor is my favorite anime of em all. The 1st movie is a masterpiece, the OST is great and it deserves more love!!
holy shit the legend has returned from his slumber
Patlabor the animated series had a very well handled spanish localization made in Mexico. Love that series, I even have a Madogear Mechanic in Ragnarok Online that's called Alphonse.
this world needs a whole reboot, jsut saying as time past by and now what we are living in the patlabor from the movie 2 is ringing more true each and everyday, and how tech rather we like it or not have chnage our way of life and how we handle problems and how new problems come from it and how gorvments have to handle it very poorly or neatly
First anime I ever watched was a Patlabor : The Movie VHS tape in 1997. I barely understood what the plot was about, but I watched the fuck out of it, and it probably inspired the baseline of all cinematic taste for me
Thank you so much for talking about this! I feel like nobody knows about it an yet it deserves respect. I had never even seen a single frame of until the gundam abridged ppl did a one off of the movie. The beautiful details in recreating real locations made it look more believable to me and was always my favorite aspect of PATLABOR. I got the first movie and instantly loved it. Watching the series right now on blue ray.
Thank you for this suggestion. Watched the first and second movies last night and currently downloading the series. Its great!
I've heard of it so many times, but I've never seen it before
It's binge-watching time
It sure is
Patlabor was my first anime outside of Dragon ball or pokemon.
I remember that one of the channels did a big campaign it promote the inclusion of anime in the channel, and they started with the first film and took me years to rediscover the franchise
Great review I definitely remember watching this series on old VHS subs in high school in the mid 90s. Also from one AF veteran to another thank you for your service!!!
Never heard of this anime but it looks and sounds interesting. It's more light hearted than Neon Genesis Evangelion.
and much more realistic, too. NGE had me spouting the MST3K Mantra a few times every episode. Patlabor, MAYBE once or twice over the whole show.
@@natesmodelsdoodles5403 Which mantra ?
@@mariuspoppFM From the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme song: If you're wondering how he eats and breathes, and other science facts, repeat to yourself: "It's just a show, I should really just relax".
"It's more lighthearted than Evangelion". Patlabor 2 wants a word with you hahaha
I miss those older anime. They seemed so well done and so detailed.
Patlabor is cream of the crop Anime - thx for giving it some love.
I loved this show as a kid (and still do) back in the day! The art is so good as well.
Didn't expect a Eva Unit at 21:46
Oooh nice, I love Patlabor. Thanks for coming back and spreading some love for a franchise I adore.
Patlabor is so fricking COOL dude. I always have loved it, and its more grounded depiction of mecha.
Thanks to you I bought the OVA series and the first two movies and once I’m done with those I’m going for the tv series! Love this stuff, and I’m so glad you’re back!
Patlabor has been my favorite series ever, no matter the genre, since 1993, when I first read a chapter of the manga. Here in Italy we were very lucky: we got the first Patlabor movie on VHS that same year, a complete translation of the manga, and all the OAVs and TV series dubbed. But it was still pretty niche, so being a fan of Patlabor in my country, and probably in any other western country, felt like being part of the most wonderful secret, a bittersweet feeling that bordered on suffering - 'cause it was THAT good, and I wanted as many people as possible to enjoy it. While I'm not the biggest Star Trek fan, I can see a similar concept in The Next Generation, where most episodes focused on the characters of an ensemble cast, and at the same time great care was put into showing the small technicalities of their sci-fi world.
590 days. That's how long it's been since your last video. And I'm still here
Mobile Police Patlabor is my favorite anime from the late 80s, back in the days it was a huge hit in Japan and the merchandising, specially the model kit (plastic, soft vinyl and resin) was even more popular than the Gundam merchandising.
I love the continuity of the story between the first movie, the TV serie and the conclusion of the saga in the second movie.
The 3rd movie is really interseting when you have read the manga version of the same story : in the manga the story follows the 2nd divison investigation and the movie follows the two detectives investigation and that's a great idea Headgear came to.
In France we had it on televison in a kids show and the serie was cancelled because it was misunderstood by the channel which putted it on the air, a few years later the serie was entirelly broadcast in cable tv and even the OAV were aired in 2 parts format. It was not such a big hit as Saint Seiya, City Hunter, Maison Ikkoku, Dragon Ball, ... but it gaves to MP Patlabor some kind of underground cult vibes for anime fan in France and because it was the anime boom it was pretty easy to get your hands on merchandising from Japan, specially anime cels, plastic and vinyl models and books like Hobbt Japan Extra.
i had never heard of patlabor before despite loving mecha anime before i found this video. it is now one of my favorites. thanks so much for introducing me.
I recently bought the complete collection on Blu Ray for cheap, and was super confused about where to start. I ended up going with the TV series first. Wish I'd seen this video beforehand, but I still found it super helpful and I've been enjoying my time with Division 2. The captain of Division 2 is easily my favorite character, followed by Izumi Noa for sure.
3 days ago Bit and Brit...
and now the hero himself... couincidence *I THINK NOUT*
Saw this first in high school nearly 20 years ago...gonna light it up again
This popped up on my homepage and I like your deep dive style and editing! Subscribed
Already seen all the series and films, I highly recommend it! Captain Goto is one of the coolest characters in anime! One thing this anime does amazingly well is it makes you love the characters and feel like you know them as if they are your own friends.
I had no idea that this anime existed until you mentioned it.
Thank you for telling me about it because I plan to watch everything.
Good to see that you're ok!
Haven't seen the video yet but I had to comment asap since you were away for so long.
I hope Turbo Button also returns someday.
I just bought the blu ray collection because of this video.
I've always heard and forgot about this show and never watched it, might check it out after this vid
I'm not even three minutes in and I'm going to have to give your video a pause m8. I'm gonna go watch this anime, you had me at Birdy the Mighy and Ghost in the Shell.
The mechas helped too.
I only saw this show a couple years ago, but watching this reminded just how much I love it. And the fact i havent seen the live action movie yet.
Finally, someone talking about Patlabor! I picked up the blu ray set for it and it looks so crisp. Glad someone else likes it!
Saw this 2 weeks ago . . .
On episode 3 . . .
. . . Taking my time because I don't want the series to end. My GF and I are flipping out of our seats laughing. So far he ain't wrong.
i fell in love with this show when i saw it last. I think i ended up with the first OVA in my possession, but I actually started watching the TV series before that. Way back when i worked at Blockbuster. lol. I've been hoping for a proper reboot of the series.
I would not want to stand next to a mecha's revolver when it fires.
Shit's good, yo. All the Patlabor films have great scripts and animation.
That was a very thorough review. Thank you very much! I'm sold.
just finished yesterday watching Patlabor 2, so im hungry for more!
Just in time
This is exactly the kind of anime I wanted to watch
Man... this new video really reminded me why i subscribed in the first place.
very well articulated, chill, and introducing people to cool looking niche stuff. All while narrated with that smooth voice. ooohhh yeeeeh.
Keep up the good work man. Nice to have ya back. (Definitely gonna check out those movies at the very least).
I was just thinking about how much I missed your videos a couple days ago. Glad to see you back!!
A gem of a franchise that head gear needs to resurrect
I love this series. Thanks for covering it!
Oh hey, I don't remember watching that befo-OHGOD IT'S NEW HE COME BACK!!!!
He's back boys. And thanks for covering pat patlabor, its severely underrated
“It’s been 84 years...”
I've been a fan since I first read about it in fanzines back in 1988. I own all of it on dvd and bluray. I also have Patlabor the next generation on HK bluray too.
Patlabor is simple. There's the Black-hair Nagumo timeline, and the brunette Nagumo timeline
I remember watching this when I was a kid... It was seriously awesome.
I also want to say that the animation quality is amazing.
Brave Police J-Decker plays a lot off the patlabor formula, inverting a number of concepts and character dynamics form the tv run specifically. Absolutely a must watch from the brave franchise if you enjoyed patlabor
Great video~!