Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor the Movie (Patlabor: The Movie)

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor Gekijouban, Patlabor 1: The Movie, Patlabor: The Mobile Police, Mobile Police Patlabor: The Movie

Japanese: 機動警察パトレイバー the Movie

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Information

Type: Movie

Episodes: 1

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jul 15, 1989

Producers: Bandai Visual, Shochiku, Bandai, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation

Licensors: Maiden Japan, Manga Entertainment, Bandai Visual USA

Studios: Production I.G, Studio Deen

Source: Original

Genres: Action, Drama

Themes: Adult Cast, Mecha, Military

Duration: 1 hr. 39 min.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.56¹ (scored by 20,293 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1647²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #3191

Members: 47,758

Favorites: 249

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HIDIVE

7.56

Ranked #1647Popularity #3191Members 47,758

MovieProduction I.G, Studio Deen

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Episodes: /1

Trailer 1 English sub

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Synopsis

The Babylon Project is a massive renovation of Tokyo's neighborhoods, including the creation of artificial islands in the Bay. Utilizing "Labors," or robots created for the express purpose of doing work, architects and construction crews are able to more efficiently progress development of the overhaul. When a key figure in the Project's conception is found dead after committing suicide under mysterious circumstances, Captain Kiichi Gotou's Patlabor police unit is tasked with getting to the bottom of the bizarre situation.

As several Labors begin to go haywire and a hacked AI program endangers the people of Tokyo, young pilot Noa Izumi and her Patlabor Alphonse work under Gotou's orders to save the city and the entire nation from a massive biblical conspiracy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Related Anime

Sequel:	Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor 2 the Movie
Prequel:	Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor
Other:	Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor: Reboot

Chiba, Shigeru
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Ishikawa, Mitsuhisa

Producer

Maki, Taro

Producer

Oshii, Mamoru

Director, Storyboard

Sawai, Kouji

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

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Reviews

Sep 12, 2022

BruZZo

Recommended

Patlabor: The Movie is the best thing that nobody has watched, and I imagine a lot of that comes from the fact that it’s an old anime movie that isn’t Akira or Ghost in the Shell and is tied to a pre-established mecha franchise. Even though it is canonical to the broader Patlabor series, I cannot stress enough that you do not need ANY prior knowledge of ANYTHING Patlabor before you watch this or its sequel film Patlabor 2, which is equally superb. While watching something like Char’s Counterattack mandates you have some knowledge of the prior Gundam meta, Patlabor: The Movie is a true ... stand-alone film that tells an airtight story without any reliance on the previous Patlabor show and OVA. As of the writing of this review, I haven’t even watched any other Patlabor media apart from this movie and its sequel, and I can tell you everything you need to know about every character because this film does such a wonderful job of establishing its major players and using great acting and writing to give you the info you need to keep up with the film’s plot. If all you’re looking for is a simple “yes” or “no” to whether you should give this film a watch, I feel my 10 rating is enough of an answer to that question. Please watch it, it’s so good.

Patlabor revolves around the central plot conceit of the titular utilitarian mecha known as “labors” going haywire while on duty or even while unmanned, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s 2nd Special Vehicles Section’s colorful cast of characters as they work to get to the bottom of the mystery.

In a lot of my reviews, you’ll hear me talk about directing a lot because it’s incredibly important when it comes to visual clarity. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders can tell you that the director is the single most important individual when it comes to a film because overseeing all aspects of production and making sure that these raw materials are utilized well is the mark of good directing. Mamoru Oshii, fortunately, knows everything there is to know about great directing and is deified by the anime community because of the positively incomparable directorial flare and quality he possesses.

Mamoru Oshii is a name that should ring a bell, an anime legend known best for Angel’s Egg, The Sky Crawlers, writing Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, and one of the most influential works of Japanese cinema of all time, Ghost in the Shell. He’s got a massive reputation for being an immensely talented director and Patlabor really lets the man flex his muscles and exemplify some of the best visual cohesion that this medium has to offer. His work is what’s most brought up among cinephiles when discussing the best Japanese cinema out there, and being spoken of in the same breath as legends such as Ishiro Honda and Akira Kurosawa is as good a primer as ever to let you know that this man doesn’t just make good anime, but good films, respectable outside of the context of just Japanese animation.

From the very beginning of the film, Patlabor: The Movie fires on all cylinders and exemplifies quintessential exceptional visual storytelling. A man pets a crow as he stands precariously over top an exposed metal beam, his cohorts in the background screaming at him to come back, but no audio except for the empty tinny drum breaking the silence. He falls with a smile on his face, and the sound of flowing wind and birds' wings increase in volume as they cut to the next scene: the JGSDF’s hunt for a haywire Labor. The color usage and time of day reflect the uncertainty of the enemy that the military faces, the ample amounts of time given to show the setting up of the military and their increasingly complex weaponry immediately conveying the intensity of the situation and also illustrating to the viewer just how far into the future we are, the music being foreboding but high tempo as the moonlit battle against the Labor unfolds, and at its resolution reveals that the Labor wasn’t even piloted the entire time. What just happened? How can the robot move without a pilot inside? What importance does that man at the beginning have with the rest of the story? CUE THE TITLE CARD, changing the music from ominous thrills to upbeat guitar to let the viewer know that you are going to get ALL the answers to the questions this intro posed. Textbook perfection right there guys, I don’t know what else to say.

This film, from beginning to end, in all its down moments and emotional apexes, is a treat to take in. The characters are no less well-handled, with great dialogue writing and a fantastic emphasis on the processes they take to come to the conclusions they do. It’s easy with such plot-driven stories like these with so many lines about pulling up files, interviewing people, operating systems, and futuristic technical jargon for the script to feel vacuous, but Patlabor writes its characters all with very simple straightforward personalities that act as great shorthand for how the characters react to certain information: Noa is happier and more positive, prone to see the bright side of the situation and get a plan going, Ohta is brash and loud, prone to not give two shits about the intricacies of the situation and just wants to have something to shoot or break, Goto being deadpan but deathly serious is apt at playing to the strengths of his crew and putting them in positions where they’ll be most suited, and so on. Having simple and straightforward characters in a serious situation can be a dangerous line to tread since it’s easy to have them fall back into caricatures of themselves, which can leave their lighthearted nature to not feel right for a more complicated story, but it’s precisely because they all have such colorful personalities that it’s believable that they are the ones tasked with solving this mystery around the clock. Their unit is looked down upon for being a group of losers and weirdos, when their varying personalities and takes on the situation lead them to come to conclusions other units too busy with their heads stuck in the books won’t come to, ultimately leading them to solve the mystery against all odds. These simple characters also provide great springboards for the deeper development they get in the sequel, which will get a review soon too.

As is the case with most anime films made in the 80’s, Patlabor: The Movie is ceaselessly gorgeous. I’m an absolute sucker for mechanical detail and the intricacies of design-work gone in to make the technology of the world seem as real as it can be, and there’s oodles of that stuff to be found in this film. Railings and joints showing how the limbs move on a mech, varying metal sheens conveying the age or rigidity of a certain alloy, fabric coverings over some joints to protect from dust, piercing blinding eye lights and larger floodlights for varying light conditions, etc. Wonderful rich colors, informative character designs, lived-in and excessively detailed environments, impeccable direction and composition courtesy of your main man Mamoru Oshii; you get the gist. If you’re a nerd for excessively realized technical details, this is your movie.

The sound department on this film is another aspect that is obviously spectacular, to go with all the well-realized technical details of the mecha and the settings are brought to life by chunky, tactile, purposeful sound design reflective of giant metal behemoths tearing through the myriad backgrounds they find themselves in. Bleak interiors of mysterious untouched homes are fittingly silent and eerie, a quiet door creak being deafening in the emptiness, bustling crowd shots overflow with speaking, laughing and yelling. The soundtrack composed by anime legend Kenji Kawai knows when to keep the instrumentation sparse and minimal to convey a mystery and can conversely blast memorable melodies with high-energy guitars and horns to accent a scene’s intensity. The second film’s soundtrack is certainly better, but this one, again, is a gem that plays to the film’s strengths precisely as a soundtrack should.

I’m just gushing at this point, I understand, but know that this is a film that just has got all the bases covered. There is so much to appreciate on the surface, and deeper appreciators have all sorts of themes and animation techniques to chew on throughout the entirety of the film’s runtime. It is such a stellar example of the advantages of animation when telling a story and is among the tightest written stories I can think of. Patlabor has certainly carved out its niche and had a sublime lifespan of TV series, OVA’s and films, but outside mecha circles Patlabor is generally unheard of, which is something I want to rectify. Patlabor: The Movie is an unsung masterpiece made during one of anime’s most famous periods of excessive quality, and is fittingly exceptional in every regard and represents some of the very best this medium has to offer. It’s an absolute gem, and no matter your artistic sensibilities I am 100% positive that you will find something to love.

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Oct 21, 2021

JaredGuP

Recommended

Patlabor the Movie is a wild and fun ride. Especially for someone coming off hot from the heels of the TV anime series or the OVAs.

The movie balances the more anime like aspects of its art retained from the TV plus the OVAs into its movie setting. Lending a certain charm when contrasting it with its later sequel patlabor 2 which handles its art style in a more realistic fashion.

The music is top notch and puts a stupid grin on your face, if only more anime would devote this much heart and soul to its music.

I love this movie. It just feels like ...

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Aug 14, 2022

Libido_Kamen

Not Recommended

Spoiler

The film is structured with an emphasis on mystery, the first third establishing the mystery, the second third developing the mystery, and the final third providing the action-centric climax. However, the obvious problem is that the mystery itself is hyper simple, underdeveloped, and without thematic nor character-relevant significance. Despite this, the film uses every chance it gets to state and even restate details about this weak plot intrigue with nearly no development to the cast nor introduction of events with consequence the entire way through.
The entire destruction of the arc facility in the climax proceeds smoothly, with Hoba's crows interfering being the only "twist," which ...

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Poll: Patlabor: The Movie Episode 1 Discussion hellogoodbye - Sep 15, 2012	48 replies	by KitsuFrost »» Jul 15, 2023 7:31 AM
Patlabor celebrates 31st anniversary! Haneken2086 - Dec 17, 2019	4 replies	by KitsuFrost »» Jul 14, 2023 3:27 AM
Anyone know where I can watch this? Epiccgaymer - Nov 3, 2021	6 replies	by VainOrphan2000 »» Nov 8, 2021 2:51 AM
OVAs NG_Chloe - Apr 14, 2018	8 replies	by NG_Chloe »» Aug 23, 2019 7:15 PM

Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor the Movie

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