I am the last Patlabor fan in the entire universe.

[Professor K]

OK, maybe I'm not the last Patlabor fan in the universe, but I sure feel like I am. Every fan site is from like 1997 or dead. No anime messageboard ever talks about it, and I feel like I'm the only fan left that will go out and say "yeah, I'm a proud Patlabor fan". This anime is my favorite anime ever.

All right, if you're like most other people, you have never heard of this anime. Maybe you've heard of it, and have no clue what it's about.

Well, it's an old anime, early 90s, and late 80s-early 90s is my favorite genre of anime around. The art style is great, my favorite kind of style. No purple hair with a ridiculously stupid spikes, or female characters with really exagerated features. There's also no stupid big eyes or anything, either.

Now, the anime is about the "future" of the late 1990s (you're allowed to laugh, the anime first came out in 1989), they have construction robots called "labors." Now, compared to a Gundam, they're less than half the size. Labors are around 20-30 feet tall, and Gundams around 60 or more. Now, they're robots, they make easy things for crime and stuff. So, they obviously need some way to control this, as we all know
.38 Special revolvers that Japanese Police officers get will just do great fighting a 20-30 foot tall robot.

So, here comes the Patlabor team, Unit 2 is the unit this show is about. Severely underfunded, and looked at as a waste of tax money by the general public.

The main character is this girl, Noa Izumi. She's pretty average looking, and has red hair. She likes labors, and is very determined and stuff. There's a bunch of other characters, all really quirky and wierd. Ota, for example, is a triggerhappy lunatic. Gotoh is just plain awesome, because he's Gotoh [...].

Now yeah, it does have a plot, I guess. However, 50% of the episodes are devoted to the characters doing random stuff. I think in one episode the captain goes to take everyone to a bar to get drunk so that they both bond better, needless to say, Noa is the only one that doesn't wake up with a hangover.

But yeah, you should be able to find this series cheap on VHS. There was this one seller who sold the whole TV series and the second OVA as a lot for like 20 shipped. That's for like 15 tapes. However, I didn't see them up on ebay like that last I checked, so... But yeah, I managed to get it all really cheap and legally (which is quite a feat for me) and it shouldn't be too hard if you chose the VHS route like me. If not, there's always HKs, but the subs aren't always the best on those.

So yeah, check it out. It's a great series, and you will love it.

I feel really out of place/bitter these days, as anime fandom is even more dominated by stupid fangirls who watch Gundam SEED and Naruto than 3 years ago when I first got into anime. So yeah, us fans of old mecha anime that rule are dying.

[shooraijin]

Two things:

Watch your language (post edited). Even minor cussing isn't appreciated.

There's no need to slam other series. Patlabor *is* a good show, and you don't need to rip on other popular shows to prove it.

[Zilch]

Hey, if it counts for anything, I still get the theme to Patlabor stuck in my head...but I never actually watched it...

[righteous_slave]

I found two Patlabot movies really cheap a while back and snagged both of them. I thought they were pretty good, although there is an awful lot of language in them. Still haven't had time to sit down and seriously absorb them.

[Sammy Boy]

Hey Professor K - you're not the only Patlabor fan out there. I saw all three Patlabor movies.

The first two I got from a shop in Chinatown, (is this what you mean by HKs, by the way?) so the subtitles aren't that great. I sometimes flip back to Chinese to go through a scene that I was confused.

Initially I got bored. But then I sort of had the opinion that the stuff in the anime is "mundane" because it's just portraying real life. Detectives get stuck when they work on a case, etc.

I wanted to buy the model robots too, but it's quite expensive over here, so I refrained... would have been cool to put them next to my 20th anniversary Optimus Prime figure though.

[Professor K]

You're missing out if you haven't seen the series, though. I'd like to see movies 1 and 2, 3 was boring.

[Alice]

Hey, I saw a Patlabor. It was pretty good. I think people just haven't heard of it because it's old.

And for the record, I haven't seen Gundam Seed OR Naturo. ;P

[Kaligraphic]

I think you'll find a lot of fans who haven't seen Naturo.

Naruto, however, continues its popularity. :p



But to the original post I'll just say this: you don't see too many new Gone with the Wind fansites these days, either. They let nine years pass between movie 2 ('93) and movie 3 ('02), and given the time since the tv and ova activity ended, you're effectively talking about a series that is effectively a good 12 years out of production. That means that '97 gives it a good four years of new activity, which isn't bad for a non-iconic series.

[agasfas]

I have or seen many animes from the early 90's (some that many people never even heard):
-Slam Dunk (93')
-One Pound Gospel (87')
-Fire Tripper (85')
-Grave of the Fireflies (88')
-Irresponsible Captain Tylor (93')
Etc...


I too find many of the older titles to be unique and original. But many of the newer titles can be too. That's why I do my research before buying or renting anime; so I don't get an over done genre.

I haven't seen Patlabor yet, but I want to. It's been on my to see list for a while but it's just finding the time to watch it. Plus, I have a few other dvd's I need to finish before moving on to new titles

[Professor K]

All right, sorry for the cursing, oops. As for "bashing" a series, well, I'd think nobody would really take that seriously...At least it didn't end up turning into a "let's bash/support Gundam Seed/Naruto/ect" thread like my Bible thread.

But yeah, if you can find it, watch it.

Also, those websites from 1997 were LAST UPDATED in 1997...

[Hitokiri]

I might check up on it when I finishmy current "Wanted" series.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I've got episodes 1-25 of the show and enjoy them profoundly. It's just behind Cowboy Bebop as my favorite Sci-Fi anime. I love that the presence of large robots is only a feature of the show rather than the whole point. The realistic nature of the show's world is great (lack of funding, misgided public oppinion, that sort of thing) Besides, a giant robot anime that doesn't involve angsty teenagers, confused philosphizing, and rampant fanservice is a real treasure!

Oh, and "Midnight Blue" is one of my favorite anime songs ever.

[Knives]

How bad is the language in the movies? I think they are rated R for language...

[Myoti]

Haven't seen this but it sounds interesting.

I sometimes feel like the only SERIOUS one who watches some of the anime I like.