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Patlabor 2: The Movie
機動警察パトレイバー 2 the Movie
1993 · Film · 113 min
Part of Patlabor Collection
Directed by Mamoru Oshii
AnimationScience FictionActionThriller
A Japanese police unit who use giant anthropomorphic robots (called Labors) is caught up in a political struggle between the civilian authorities and the military when a terrorist act is blamed on an Air Force jet. With the aid of a government agent, the team gets close to a terrorist leader to stop things from going out of control when after the military is impelled to impose martial law.
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8 comments on Hacker News
if for some reason you, random reader of this comment, decide to start watching Patlabor, be aware that there are two continuities:
1. Patlabor The Early Days (88-89, 7 OVA) -> Patlabor (89, Movie) -> Patlabor 2 (93, movie)
2. Patlabor The TV Series (89-90, 47 eps) -> Patlabor The New Files (90-92, 16 eps) -> Patlabor EZY (26-27, 3 movies)
I haven’t watched it yet, but reading this article a while ago got me interested:
'Patlabor 2: The Movie' has stunningly realistic aerial combat – https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/realistic-aerial-combat-movie-patlabor-2/
If you liked Ghost in the Shell then Patlabor 2 is definitely the movie for you. I recall reading that Oshii and team got the offer to do GITS based on the strength of P2.
While I love GITS I think Patlabor 2 just might be the stronger film. More grounded and cerebral, and no distracting male gaze.
I wish we could get techno-thrillers like P2 rather than warmed over Tom Clancy nonsense, but that’s the film industry for you.
First of all, I love this. I love the scene, and I love the breakdown. I learned a lot.
There's one thing that feels unrealistic to me, based on what I've learned from this military aviator-turned-YouTuber: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrBPshC_84s&list=PLObcJkVHaiNwpDUF5AMJ8GPOeRCQqUOpO&pp=iAQB
One thing he always points out is that during actual military operations, friendly jets fly in very wide formations, ie the planes might be a mile apart in the sky. Never in the tight "fingertip" sort of formation seen here @ 1:28 in Patlabor 2:
https://youtu.be/JnOfNQ9VWo0?t=88
There are various reasons for this - safety, not wanting to present a bunched up target to the enemy, you and your wingmen can cover a greater area with your eyes and radars, etc.
(Of course, I also don't mind when movies/anime take some liberties. Obviously, multiple friendly planes in a tight formation just looks cooler. I get it!)
While on the topic of “lesser-known gems which came before”, if you enjoyed 1995’s Ghost in the Shell, check out 1993’s Patlabor 2: The Movie. Many similarities both visually and narratively, because a lot of the same folks worked on both.
> My Neighbor Totoro
In anime at least, CGI cuts costs a lot, especially for 3D scenes. On the other hand, people are getting better and better at doing CGI these days. In general I feel like current animation has more movement overall, but it's not budgeted well. For example, in the introduction of Patlabor 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydCLeclaKik, there are lots of still shots, but some movements are impressive, and the backgrounds are gorgeous. It is one of the best anime movie ever made though, so it's not like everything at that time looked like that.
The first film was directed by Mamoru Oshii. If you watch more of the films he's worked on, it stops seeming out of place in the GitS canon and starts feeling like another Oshii film.
>Oshii has stated his approach to directing is in direct contrast to what he perceives to be the Hollywood formula, i.e. he regards the visuals as the most important aspect, followed by the story and the characters come last. He also notes that his main motivation in making films is to "create worlds different from our own."
>Mamoru Oshii's films typically open with an action sequence. Thereafter, the film usually follows a much slower rhythm punctuated by several sequences of fast action...
>Oshii is especially noted for how he significantly strays from the source material his films are based on, notably in his adaptations of Urusei Yatsura, Patlabor, and Ghost in the Shell. In their original manga versions, these three titles exhibited a mood that was more along the lines of frantic slapstick comedy (Urusei Yatsura) or convivial dramedy (Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell). Oshii, in adapting the works created a slower, more dark atmosphere especially noticeable in Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer and Patlabor 2: The Movie. For the Ghost in the Shell movie, Oshii elected to leave out the humor and character banter of Masamune Shirow's original manga.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamoru_Oshii
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamoru_Oshii_filmography
This concept was brought up in one of the Patlabor anime movies, except instead of buses, it was police/fire/ambulance/emergency vehicles that could move over congested traffic to get to an accident scene more quickly.
Kudos to the Chinese for being willing to try it out, but the concept existed at least in 2001(if it was Patlabor 3) or 1993(Patlabor 2)