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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
@@KSoftGames25 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.
There's a ton of UA-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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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 !!!
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..) !
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!
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
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!!!
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'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.
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 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).
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 definitely heard the name 'Patlabor' in recent years, and I very much spoiled myself to the aforementioned aircraft intercept scene, and my god was the tension high! After this well-rounded summary, I'll definitely have to add it to the list of good ol' anime I've been rather keen to see for myself (Ghost in the Shell & Stand Alone Complex are two such examples, but my aim's largely on the stuff that keeps it short). Great to see you back!
Ghost In The Shell is amazingly well done, it gets pretty complex into mysteries and cases too. It's kind of like future CSI except it's actually good.
Lucas Raycevick's Gaming Overview of the franchise certainly gave me a much more deeper surface level look into it, even garnering my interest in seeing the best way of viewing Stand Alone Complex (I had initially just been tallying up films that passed by my youth since I'm not one for television or film these days, but a soundtrack as exceptional as it's got simply has me wanting to see the thing in full). I know Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade & Made in Abyss have been quite the eye-catchers, I had been catching glimpses of Patlabor (Which the video's gotten me better prepared to pursue) and just maybe one day a mate of mine will finally get me to sit down for some Fullmetal Alchemist, but being more for video games my gaze tends to be fixated on the best ways to get hands-on with the PlayStation 2 & GameCube legends I was a spectator to or missed in my youth (Ace Combat's "Holy Trinity", Metroid Prime 1 & 2, F-Zero GX and Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza's humble beginnings are very top-of-the-long-list). But now remembering how great it was to see Samurai Jack in full prior to it's conclusive comeback, I think I can call myself still eager to find animation keen to leave an impression (Sonic Mania Adventures certainly provided me 'smiling rays of sunshine' throughout a year that was terribly rough on me) and there certainly is more opportunity than ever to see what I've been missing from the opposite end of the Eurasian continent.
Glad to see you're making videos again, especially this one! I remember how fondly you talked about this anime, hope this video gives it a ton more exposure ^w^
You know what’s weird? This guy seems to upload whenever I’m getting into a game he’s talked about. Like Yakuza or Devil May Cry. For real though, I look forward to seeing your next video and I wish you a healthy life!
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
We missed you bro, its good to have you back. I still remember the day in 2015 when I saw you comment under a Demo video (I think the Berserk Boat one) and clicked your username. I have been subscribed ever since.
Great overview and recap for those who haven't seen the show before, Hero! I wrote on another channel recently that did a huge retrospective of Patlabor, and it's one of my favourite shows from the 1990's. Not just animated shows - all shows. The character development and story arcs were all brilliantly paced and I really loved how it turned from a mecha-show into a character driven piece by the end of the t.v. series and New OVA's. I really am glad that Patlabor is finally been given its due, long after the fact, by a lot of viewers. I only hope it stokes enough interest to continue with the excellent Patlabor Reboot from 2016 which was thematically and aesthetically alined to the original (and not the horrible live-action sequel which I'd rather not think of as canon). Keep up the great work!
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.
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~!
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.
22:46 This was part of the Japanese Animator Expo organized by Hideaki Anno's studio Khara. It was meant for animators to show off new talent and innovation in the industry, but it was not intended as something to promote a new upcoming anime or anything like that. You should really check out the whole Expo; the infamous Me!Me!Me! was also part of this series.
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.
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.
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
Imagine every pilot is basically just Ota
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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
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
One of my fav youtubers has finally returned
Watching this feels like chatting with an old friend about the stuff you got up to while away.
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.
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.
@@KSoftGames25 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.
There's a ton of UA-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.
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.
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.
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.
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
For anyone who is curious: 1:31 is from “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade” and 1:32 is from “Angel’s Egg”
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.
I was cleaning out my subscriptions yesterday and stayed subbed to you just in case. Glad I did.
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
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.
I always come back at this marvelous video. I should really start watching Patlabor xD
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 !!!
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..) !
This and Dai Guard were the strange quirky cousins where giant robots felt both large and like real machines.
10:04
>"Isn't gonna blow your mind"
>shows amazing z-axis animation
That animation and art style is why I became a HUGE fan of anime, I miss it so much
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!
holy shit the legend has returned from his slumber
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.
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
Oooh nice, I love Patlabor. Thanks for coming back and spreading some love for a franchise I adore.
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.
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 favorite anime of em all. The 1st movie is a masterpiece, the OST is great and it deserves more love!!
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 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.
The Patlabor 2 movie is just so amazing.
One of my favorites!
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.
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.
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.
Thank you for this suggestion. Watched the first and second movies last night and currently downloading the series. Its great!
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.
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!!!
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.
Joke's on you Bit, it's already my favorite
Shit's good, yo. All the Patlabor films have great scripts and animation.
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 was just thinking about how much I missed your videos a couple days ago. Glad to see you back!!
Yoooo this was a blast from the past, great video Bit! A solid return indeed!
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 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).
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 loved this show as a kid (and still do) back in the day! The art is so good as well.
Finally, some love for Patlabor (also I'm so glad you're back!)
I've definitely heard the name 'Patlabor' in recent years, and I very much spoiled myself to the aforementioned aircraft intercept scene, and my god was the tension high!
After this well-rounded summary, I'll definitely have to add it to the list of good ol' anime I've been rather keen to see for myself (Ghost in the Shell & Stand Alone Complex are two such examples, but my aim's largely on the stuff that keeps it short).
Great to see you back!
Ghost In The Shell is amazingly well done, it gets pretty complex into mysteries and cases too. It's kind of like future CSI except it's actually good.
Lucas Raycevick's Gaming Overview of the franchise certainly gave me a much more deeper surface level look into it, even garnering my interest in seeing the best way of viewing Stand Alone Complex (I had initially just been tallying up films that passed by my youth since I'm not one for television or film these days, but a soundtrack as exceptional as it's got simply has me wanting to see the thing in full).
I know Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade & Made in Abyss have been quite the eye-catchers, I had been catching glimpses of Patlabor (Which the video's gotten me better prepared to pursue) and just maybe one day a mate of mine will finally get me to sit down for some Fullmetal Alchemist, but being more for video games my gaze tends to be fixated on the best ways to get hands-on with the PlayStation 2 & GameCube legends I was a spectator to or missed in my youth (Ace Combat's "Holy Trinity", Metroid Prime 1 & 2, F-Zero GX and Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza's humble beginnings are very top-of-the-long-list).
But now remembering how great it was to see Samurai Jack in full prior to it's conclusive comeback, I think I can call myself still eager to find animation keen to leave an impression (Sonic Mania Adventures certainly provided me 'smiling rays of sunshine' throughout a year that was terribly rough on me) and there certainly is more opportunity than ever to see what I've been missing from the opposite end of the Eurasian continent.
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.
Glad to see you're making videos again, especially this one! I remember how fondly you talked about this anime, hope this video gives it a ton more exposure ^w^
This popped up on my homepage and I like your deep dive style and editing! Subscribed
That was a very thorough review. Thank you very much! I'm sold.
He's back boys. And thanks for covering pat patlabor, its severely underrated
You know what’s weird? This guy seems to upload whenever I’m getting into a game he’s talked about. Like Yakuza or Devil May Cry. For real though, I look forward to seeing your next video and I wish you a healthy life!
Good to see you back man! Keep up the good work!
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
Well I'll be damned, you sold me on this. Good job sir.
We missed you bro, its good to have you back. I still remember the day in 2015 when I saw you comment under a Demo video (I think the Berserk Boat one) and clicked your username. I have been subscribed ever since.
Great overview and recap for those who haven't seen the show before, Hero! I wrote on another channel recently that did a huge retrospective of Patlabor, and it's one of my favourite shows from the 1990's. Not just animated shows - all shows. The character development and story arcs were all brilliantly paced and I really loved how it turned from a mecha-show into a character driven piece by the end of the t.v. series and New OVA's. I really am glad that Patlabor is finally been given its due, long after the fact, by a lot of viewers. I only hope it stokes enough interest to continue with the excellent Patlabor Reboot from 2016 which was thematically and aesthetically alined to the original (and not the horrible live-action sequel which I'd rather not think of as canon). Keep up the great work!
Welcome back man! Seeing you in my uploads really put a smile on my face
Finally! The return! So glad to see you're back to making videos, I really missed your stuff!
Finally, someone talking about Patlabor! I picked up the blu ray set for it and it looks so crisp. Glad someone else likes it!
This was a great video. Glad to see another work from you.
I love this series. Thanks for covering it!
Welcome back! Glad to see you doing videos again, and mecha ones to boot!
it feels so good to see you again
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.
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~!
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.
Dad finally comes back with milk, then says he forgot cereal
590 days. That's how long it's been since your last video. And I'm still here
One of the best mecha! Thank you for making this video!
Patlabor is so fricking COOL dude. I always have loved it, and its more grounded depiction of mecha.
22:46 This was part of the Japanese Animator Expo organized by Hideaki Anno's studio Khara. It was meant for animators to show off new talent and innovation in the industry, but it was not intended as something to promote a new upcoming anime or anything like that.
You should really check out the whole Expo; the infamous Me!Me!Me! was also part of this series.
Didn't expect a Eva Unit at 21:46
Glad you have finally posted again, good video!
I absolutely adore patlabor. Gotta give props for repping it. Great vid.
I miss those older anime. They seemed so well done and so detailed.
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 remember watching this when I was a kid... It was seriously awesome.
I also want to say that the animation quality is amazing.
Patlabor is the best anime. Patlabor 2 specifically still blows me away and gives me chills.
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.