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| 59th | Top programmes broadcast by Television Broadcasts Limited |
| Mobile Police Patlabor | |
|---|---|
 Patlabor the Movie, 2006 L.E. US DVD cover |
|
| 機動警察パトレイバー (Kidō Keisatsu Patoreibā) |
|
| Genre | Police procedural, Comedy-drama, Mecha |
| Manga | |
| Author | Masami Yūki |
| Publisher | Shogakukan |
| English publisher |   Viz Media (dropped) |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Shōnen Sunday |
| Original run | 1988 – 1994 |
| Volumes | 22 |
| Original video animation | |
| Patlabor the Original Series | |
| Producer | Mamoru Oshii |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Released | [April 25]] 1988 – June 25, 1989 |
| Episodes | 7 |
| Anime film | |
| Patlabor the Movie | |
| Director | Mamoru Oshii |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Released | July 15, 1989 |
| Runtime | 100 minutes |
| TV anime | |
| Mobile Police Patlabor | |
| Director | Naoyuki Yoshinaga |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Network | NTV |
| English network |
ImaginAsian TV and Anime Selects |
| Original run | October 11, 1989 – September 26, 1990 |
| Episodes | 47 |
| Light novel | |
| Author | Kazunori Itǒ (1) Michiko Yokote (2-5) |
| Publisher | Fujimi Shobō |
| Demographic | Male |
| Imprint | Fujimi Fantasia Bunko |
| Original run | October 1990 – October 1993 |
| Volumes | 5 |
| Original video animation | |
| P Series | |
| Director | Mamoru Oshii |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Released | November 22, 1990 – April 23, 1992 |
| Episodes | 16 |
| Anime film | |
| Patlabor 2 the Movie | |
| Director | Mamoru Oshii |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Released | August 27, 1993 |
| Runtime | 113 minutes |
| Light novel | |
| Tokyo War | |
| Author | Mamoru Oshii |
| Publisher | Fujimi Shobō |
| Demographic | Male |
| Imprint | Fujimi Fantasia Bunko |
| Original run | April – May 1994 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Anime film | |
| WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 | |
| Director | Takuji Endo, Fumihiko Takayama |
| Studio | Triangle Staff → Madhouse |
| Released | March 30, 2002 |
| Runtime | 102 minutes |
| Anime film | |
| Mobile Police Patlabor Minimum | |
| Director | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Released | March 30, 2002 |
| Runtime | 14 minutes (#1) 12 minutes (#2) 12 minutes (#3) |
Patlabor (a portmanteau of "patrol" and "labor") refers to Mobile Police Patlabor (機動警察パトレイバー Kidō Keisatsu patoreibā), an anime and manga franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Ito, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga artist Masami Yūki.
The popular franchise included a manga, a TV series, two OVA series, three feature length movies, and a short film compilation, named Minipato (ミニパト) because of its super-deformed drawing style. The series has been adapted into video games and licensed products from OST to toys. Patlabor is known for using mecha - designed by Yutaka Izubuchi - not just for police or military purposes, but also for industrial and municipal jobs.
Animations from Patlabor were used extensively in the music video "Juke Joint Jezebel" by KMFDM. The manga received the 36th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1991.[1]
The story takes place in what was, at the time of release, the near future of 1998-2002. Robots called "Labors" are employed in heavy construction work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police has its own fleet of Patlabors to combat crimes and deal with accidents involving Labors. The story arcs usually revolve around Tokyo Metropolitan Police Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2. Noa Izumi is the main protagonist of the series, but all of Division 2 play roles.
The feature films follow separate continuities, referred to as the "movie timeline" and the "TV timeline." The different OVA series follow either the movie or TV timelines.
1988:
Mobile Police Patlabor began in 1988 as a 6 episode OVA
series, along with a serial written and drawn by Masami Yuki in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday Comics to help promote
the OVA. The OVA was later translated into English by VIZ
Media.
1989 - 1992:
A 7th OVA episode was added afterwards to help promote the first
Patlabor movie in 1989. Soon after the first movie was released, a
47 episode TV series directed by Naoyuki Yoshinaga was released.
The storyline from the TV series was completed in a 16 episode OVA
which began after the TV series finished. This OVA ended in April
1992.
1993:
A second movie was released in August 1993.
1994 - 2002:
Work on another OVA was started in 1994, and this OVA evolved into
the third movie, which was released in 2002. During the same time,
"Mini-Pato" was released in theaters, playing before the third
movie.
The first two Patlabor movies are directed by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) and produced by the venerable development house Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire) with music from Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell).
This starts the movie timeline.
The plot follows a string of incidents involving labors going berserk. The reason is unknown and it's up to the SV.2 team to figure it out. This film continues the movie timeline.
The TV series features an alternate telling of how Section 2 was formed. The main story arc involves the Griffon Labor. This begins the TV timeline.
This series is also referred to as OVA 2. Most of the episodes are placed in various points throughout the TV timeline. There are several episodes in the OVA series that takes place after the end of the TV series, including the conclusion to the Griffon storyline.
Terrorists attack Tokyo and it's up to the Patlabor Special Vehicles 2nd Division to stop them. This movie has similar premise to episodes 5 and 6 of the original OVA. This movie continues the movie timeline.
A monster has been feeding on Tokyo Bay. Two detectives are on the case. This is a side story to Patlabor, and takes place in the movie timeline, between the other two movies. It is based on a part of the manga and has a similar premise to a story in the original OVA series. WXIII's actual release date is 2001, as it premiered in a film festival that year. However, public release was made the following year to coincide with the release of Minipato.
Minipato consists of three parts, each part 13 minutes in length. It is an adjunct to the Patlabor anime series. Along with WXIII, it is the last story told within the universe. Minipato was screened in Japanese cinemas before the start of WXIII in such a way that, to see the complete series, viewers were made to see WXIII three times.
The animation style uses a combination of paper puppets and CGI, with a claymation sequence in the first episode.
All of the Patlabor productions have been released in the United States in some form, except for most of the manga. All the movies have been translated into English and are available in stores in Region 1, 2 & 4 DVD format. Both the entire TV series, and the 2 OVAs are available on DVD in Region 1.
The TV series and OVAs were released in the U.S. by Central Park Media. The first two movies were released by Manga Entertainment, but later remastered and re-released in 2006 by Bandai Visual. The third movie (along with "Mini-Pato") was released by Geneon Entertainment (formerly Pioneer). Twelve sections of the manga have been translated and published by Viz Communications as single issues and in two trade paperbacks, but later dropped the manga before completing it.
Mini-Pato is available on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4 in the Limited Edition Patlabor WXIII DVD packages.
In 2006, Bandai Visual's Honneamise label re-released the first two movies on DVD in North America with extensive bonus features, and Beez Entertainment handled distribution in the UK. Madman has the distribution rights for the movies in Australia and New Zealand.
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   | WXIII * PATLABOR THE MOVIE 3 - W X III * PATLABOR THE MOVIE3 |
| | Mecha profiles - Mecha Profiles | Mobile Police Patlabor |
| | Patlabor technical site - www.patlabor.info |
| | ''Patlabor'' technical site - Schaft Enterprises - A Patlabor Website |
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