Patlabor Archive

I've set up this side blog to focus on all things Patlabor; all of the anime versions, the live action version, merchandise, garage kits, doujinshi, fan art, anything really.

I will be posting some stuff I have found online plus a few scans of rarer material. I will also be writing up a few short articles on various aspects of the franchise when I have time.

I expect to only post a few times every week.

One of the key selling points highlighted in promotional material for the 1988 "Patlabor Early Days" OVA was it's relatively cheap retail price of ¥4,800. Most OVAs in the late 1980s cost more than double that, especially for releases in a video tape format. Possibly due to some nervousness in not being able to recoup costs of the OVA, a commercial was included in between the eye-catches on the first six episodes of the series. The advertisement is for AXIA blank audio cassettes, in particular their PS II X model. AXIA was a brand owned and marketed by Fujifilm, and apparently was an acronym for "Active eXciting Innovator All for you".

The novel "Goto the Sushi Chef" (published by Bungeishunju) tells the story of Captain Goto from "Mobile Police Patlabor" who has left the police force and become the owner of a sushi restaurant. The story takes place about 30 years after "Patlabor 2 the movie" in an unusual sushi restaurant in Atami. The restaurant is simply called "Goto Sushi Restaurant," and it is frequented by a quirky group of regulars, who are occasionally visited by former comrades.

What will Kiichi Goto, Shinobu Nagumo, Noa Izumi, and Asuma Shinohara look like 30 years later, and why did each of them end up leading those lives? We spoke to Kazunori Ito, the screenwriter for the "Patlabor" series and the author of this work, about the origins of "Goto the Sushi Chef" and his thoughts on the characters as they have aged.

"Goto Sushi Restaurant" was born from a street sign

How did the idea of ​​Goto starting a sushi restaurant come about?

Kazunori Ito: From the conference room at Genco, you can see a sign that says "Goto Sushi Restaurant." It's an actual restaurant in Roppongi. While looking at it, we started talking about how it would be interesting if Goto, who had retired, ran a sushi restaurant.

So it wasn't originally planned as a novel?

Ito: At the time, it ended with something like, "That might be interesting." Later, when we decided to start a paid fan site, the idea came up, "Why don't we do that story?" and that's how I ended up actually writing it.

Were the former members of the Second Platoon planned to appear from the beginning?

Ito: Initially, I didn't intend to include him. I thought we could do it in a style similar to "Midnight Diner" (a manga by Yaro Abe). But when we included Asuma, the pressure from the fans was immense. I thought, "We can't leave everyone out now."

I hear the order of the episodes is different in the serialized version and the book version.

Ito: It was around episode 8 that I realized we couldn't proceed without bringing back the former team members. When we compiled it into a book, we rearranged the order so that the stories of the former team members would connect.

Was the sequence of events, the release of "Patlabor Ezy" File 1" followed by the publication of this book planned?

Ito: It wasn't planned from the beginning. There was a gap between the fan site being shut down and the book being published, so I guess the timing was right, taking all of that into account.

In the climax of this work, Goto and Nagumo's lives intersect once again. Did you have that ending in mind from the beginning?

Ito: Midway through the serialisation, I was overcome with a sense of mission. I thought, "I have to properly wrap this up."

Why is that?

Ito: I still feel like something just doesn't quite sit right with "Patlabor 2 the movie." So I thought I had to do something about it. After thinking about it a lot, I came to the conclusion that the way it unfolds (in this film) would work out quite well. I basically worked hard on the serialization just to write episode 14 ("Water Sweets: Two People in Helsinki").

Towards the end, there's a scene where a drunken Shinji Mikiyasu talks about the events that happened in the first and second theatrical films, and each member expresses their thoughts on the matter. Was that intended to complement the world of the story?

Ito: It sounds cool to call it a supplement, but to be frank, it's just the screenwriter's excuse. After all that fuss, not a single person was injured (laughs).

So the structure of the story, where the two characters are separated after the incident and then reunite after a long time, also served as a way to wrap up the aftermath of "Patlabor 2," right?

Ito: That's right.

The characters and fans lived through the same time period

The former team members have aged; was there anything you kept in mind when depicting them?

Ito: I'm about the same age, so I thought about it by comparing it to my own situation. I wondered if I'd mellowed out to this extent, and if there were any aspects that hadn't changed.

Fans who were middle school students back then are now in their 40s. This is a work where the characters and fans have spent almost the same amount of time together. Do you yourself feel like the characters are still alive somewhere?

Ito: When I reread the script for the CD drama "Second Platoon Log," which is set between the first and second theatrical films, I felt like, "These guys were definitely around me at that time." They feel less like characters and more like real people. Even when writing about the events 30 years later, I had the feeling that since I thought they were there back then, they must surely still be somewhere now. It's special when it comes to "Patlabor." I've never felt that way about characters from other works.

Goto is not their father, but their "advisor" Goto seemed like a father figure, keeping the young men of the Second Platoon in line.

Ito: He's more like a teacher than a father. He's like a club advisor.

This work touches upon the fact that Goto disliked his father, and that Nagumo grew up in a fatherless household. Did their relationship with their fathers influence their personalities?

Ito: I didn't think about it that deeply. I just had a personal feeling that same-sex parent-child relationships, like fathers and sons or mothers and daughters, often don't work out well. Fathers and daughters, and mothers and sons, tend to get along relatively well, but same-sex relationships tend to be awkward. It might have been something I'd felt on a regular basis that came out unconsciously.

Did Goto think that while he could lead the Second Platoon, he himself wasn't suited to being a father?

Ito: I think Goto probably has some idea that he's not cut out to be a father.

"Patlabor" is not a "mecha" show

In "Goto the Sushi Chef," Labors hardly appear at all. Yet, as I read it, I felt like "Patlabor" had returned.

Ito: I've been saying this a lot lately, but "Patlabor" isn't a mecha show. It's a character show.

The novel mentions episodes from the new series, "Patlabor Ezy." Also, "Ezy" contains scenes that are reminiscent of previous works. Is this a service for long-time fans?

Ito: That wasn't my intention at all. I just wrote what I thought "Patlabor" should be like.

Finally, do you have a message for readers of "Goto the Sushi Chef" and for those who will be watching "Ezy" in the future?

Ito: I hope you enjoy it. "Ezy" wasn't originally made as a theatrical film; it just happened to end up being released in theatres. It might look like an anthology, but that wasn't the intention from the start. I hope you'll watch it without feeling pressured just because it's a theatrical film.

An art exhibition/artwork sale entitled Mobile Police Patlabor - Art of GEN [RELOAD] has been announced to commemorate the theatrical release of "Patlabor Ezy File 2". The company running the exhibition, GAAAT, creates commercial artwork based on existing franchises. Their website states they are selling three pieces, which come in limited editions of 30 to 50 copies each, which are reproductions of existing artwork used in magazines and for the VHS release of the TV series. The artwork is made up of a layered structure of up to 32 layers, durable metal material, and coloured using special UV paints that changes its appearance depending on the angle of light. Prices range from ¥96,800 to ¥181,500 and all three artworks are a rather small A3 in size.

The staff from GAZEN who worked on "Patlabor Ezy", from left to right; CG production by Sena Sano, rigging by Keiji Kubo, character modelling by Hiromi Matsushige, layout by Toshiki Omae and CG director Yoshinori Moriizumi

"Special Vehicles Division 2 takes center stage": Aiming for 3DCG expressions that blend seamlessly with hand-drawn characters.

The 3DCG used in "Patlabor Ezy" extends beyond mecha such as Labors, SV2 vehicles and civilian vehicles. It includes characters used as references for animation, as well as pre-visualization and layout processes. In particular, 3DCG layouts were used for approximately 70% of the total cuts, including the hand-drawn parts.

At the request of director Yutaka Izubuchi, GAZEN CEO Yoshinori Moriizumi served as CG director, and his company GAZEN also played a central role in the production of the 3DCG. "In this work, neither the characters nor the Labors are the main characters; the SV2 are the main characters. That's why we aimed for CG expressions that would blend well with the character animation," says Moriizumi.

GAZEN is a small CG production company, with one person handling each section including layout, rigging, modelling, animation, effects and finishing. The secret to creating high quality 3DCG with such a small team is thorough efficiency in the workflow. Keiji Kubo, who was in charge of rigging and the workflow, says "Because we have a small team, we streamlined things by using scripts for repetitive tasks. There are also many retakes, so we have a system in place that allows us to address them later without incurring additional costs".

Moriizumi adds, "Instead of just working hard blindly, we streamline the process to create time to work hard," indicating that the system itself is a crucial key to supporting the production of this work. Through the production of this work, the GAZEN team has further streamlined their processes and established a workflow that allows them to consistently produce higher quality images with a small team.

Movement diagrams that visualize the placement of complex characters, and pre-visualization and layout using 3DCG.

In this production, before creating pre-visualization and layouts from storyboards, detailed movement diagrams are produced that show the characters' movements and placement, the connections between shots, and the consistency of directions. The purpose of this is to minimize rework during the director's check.

Along with the movement diagrams, still images with the cameras actually placed are created and presented to the director. Layout manager Toshiki Omae says, "To confirm, we ask the director to check 'how it will look,' and then we move on to pre-visualization and layout work. We created diagrams for areas with complex movement to align our understanding and discuss how to actually show things."

Afterward, a pre-visualization was produced, followed by layout work to precisely set the lenses and angles. Movement diagrams were not created for every shot, but only for complex scenes.

Even for shots without 3DCG, 3D still images were actively provided for animation reference, and 3D layouts were utilized for approximately 70% of all shots. The reason for handling the layout of the animation portion on the CG side was to prevent retakes caused by inconsistencies in the transitions between shots that might arise when combining animation and 3DCG.

Two new products are being offered at the Patlabor Headgear Exhibition Amazon shop; Shanghai-tei Chinese Style Curry (¥864) and SV2 Agricultural Products Division 2 Rice (¥2,160), which is free of pesticides and chemical fertilisers. If you purchase either items, you'll receive one random trading card as a bonus.

Last night on the Patlabor Day Commemorative Special Streaming Program, the promotional push for "Patlabor Ezy File 3" begun with a brand new 30 second teaser trailer.

In addition, the main visual has also been released.

"File 3", the finale of the series, is a two part episode entitled "Toyland". Not a great deal has been revealed about the story. What we do know is the teaser trailer also introduces the keyword "Araragi Project," ("Araragi" meaning peace and tranquillity), which according to the press release is a major project to improve aging underground infrastructure in Tokyo. Smaller AI-equipped autonomous robots are used in the project, not human piloted Labors. However criminals interfere with the project, using the autonomous robots as if they were toys to torment the workers on the project. It's up to the First and Second Divisions of SV2 to confront this menace.

Two new characters have also been announced; Kaori Nazuka will play Kaoru Mitarai (above left), pilot of Unit 1 AV-17 Sentinel Police Labor in the First Division of the SV2. Taku Yashiro will play Takuya Niiro (above right), commander of Unit 1 AV-17 Sentinel Police Labor in the First Division of the SV2.

"Patlabor Ezy File 3" will be released on Friday 5 March 2027. Tickets go on sale this Friday, 14 August 2026 at participating theatres and online retailers. The regular "File 3" ticket comes with an A4 clear file and retails for ¥1,700. The ticket set can be bought online from Major and Movie Walker, however no links have gone live yet.