Interesting Anime Article Of The Day: Patlabor Edition

Anything having to do with Patlabor always catches my eye so AnimeNation's anime news blog's latest Ask John feature certainly did as it is answering a reader question on if Patlabor is still a viable franchise, like Gundam and Evangelion.

John's answer traces the multimedia history of the Patlabor franchise, starting with the 1998 manga by Masami Yuuki, and examines the fundamental traits that have made Patlabor so popular. He even points out Patlabor's influence in recent series, including a current favorite of mine - Toshokan Sensou/Library Wars.

Tonally, the influence of Patlabor also seems evident in the Toshokan Senso franchise, which got an anime feature film last June. In appearance and personality, Toshokan Senso’s protagonist Iku Kasahara could almost be a sister to Patlabor’s protagonist Noa Izumi. In terms of series construction, very reminiscent of Patlabor, Toshokan Senso revolves around a small, quirky team of law officers who spend most of their time on mundane activities and interactions, only occasionally launching into militaristic action.

Overall, if you have been waiting for a signal - any signal - that people are still interested in watching a series about police Labors and the loveable goofballs that pilot them, AnimeNation has you covered. Personally, I would just love a re-release of the Mobile Police Patlabor 1989 series with an affordable DVD package; currently, they all cost an arm and a leg for 15+ DVDs each only holding about 4-6 episodes!

Also, I could definitely see a live action Patlabor going down if the studio doing it could make the necessary CGI look good as well as keep the original camaraderie of the Second Special Vehicles Division as it is in the series.

My Top 5 Favorite U.S. Characters In Anime

For those who have somehow avoided the fact of this day so far, July 4th is a national holiday for the United States of America. It is the day when the Declaration of Independence was signed, thus making this the country's birthday in a sense.

Basically, it's a holiday used as an excuse to barbeque, get drunk, and set off fireworks (although recent hot weather has put a damper on fireworks in a lot of the country). It's something I'm sure a lot of anime fans are also taking part of today.

It would not seem like a day an anime blog would post about - there's nothing inherently anime related about it - but I'd like to take the time to talk about five characters from anime who are American and are also awesome. It's always amusing to see anime take on American culture, even more so when they add a character to the cast that is from the U.S. So naturally, today is a good day to talk about them!

Feel free to add your personal favorites in the comments. I know I've skipped a few obvious ones, I'm sure!

Birthday Post: Welcome To Second Special Vehicles Division!

Or: Why everyone reading this blog should watch the Patlabor TV series right now. Yes, even you!


Mobile Police Patlabor TV
Studio: Sunrise
Director: Naoyuki Yoshinaga
Network: NTV/ImaginAsian TV
Episode total: 47 episodes
Original broadcast dates: October 1989 - September 1990

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)

It's my birthday and so I'm spending today blogging about my most favorite of all anime series, Mobile Police Patlabor. I fell in love with this series from the very first episode and I would like to share with all of my followers how much I really appreciate a series like Patlabor for being so dang amazing. Whether you are a fan of mecha series or not, I'm confident any viewer would find something to enjoy in the story of Second Division's everyday antics.

Read the rest of my thoughts on Patlabor TV after the jump!