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Patlabor the Movie (1989)
Encyclopedia
Patlabor: The Movie is a 1989 anime film directed by Mamoru Oshii
, with an original story by Headgear
. It was produced by Production I.G, Studio Deen
, Bandai
Visual Co. Ltd and Tohokushinsha Film
Corporation Limited. It is part of the Patlabor
anime
and manga
series.
is undergoing a huge re-development program: old suburbs are being demolished and man-made islands are being constructed in Tokyo Bay
. Dominating the scene is the Ark, a huge man-made island of steel, from where the Babylon project is coordinated, and where they manufacture and test the labors, large man-operated robots that are used in most of the construction work.
One day, as dusk approaches, a programmer by the name of Eiichi Hoba jumps off the Ark, a smirk on his lips, committing suicide.
Some time later there are several incidents where labors that were manufactured by Shinohara Industries malfunction, start operating of their own accord and go on the rampage even after they have been turned off. These include construction and military
labors alike. These labors are either on routine missions and go out of the pilot's control, or else they are unmanned, which means that they should never have started up in the first place.
The police force itself uses labor units to deal with the unruly ones. Division 2 in particular finds itself dealing with incidents almost around-the-clock as Division 1 is away on training, and no rational explanation can be found for the disturbances.
Investigations made by Captain Gotoh and Sergeant Asuma Shinohara of Division 2 conclude that the rampaging labors have one thing in common: each were installed with H.O.S — Hyper Operating System
, the latest software program to be installed in the labor computers. At first Asuma assumes that a bug
is the cause but Gotoh believes that it was deliberately done by Eiichi Hoba, the programmer who committed suicide.
The Hyper Operating System has been installed in all the labors in Tokyo
including the Ingram 98 which is used by the police. This worries Officer Noa, a labor pilot, and the Special Division police force because they fear the labors might go berserk while on duty. Shige, the programmer responsible for Division 2's computer systems, later returns from New York
where he has been helping to set up similar labor units. He informs the team that he did not install the HOS due to his own doubts. Asuma, who has been working to the point of exhaustion on the investigation, is furious to learn that Gotoh knew but did not tell him.
Gotoh is a subtle manipulator: he reasoned that not telling Asuma would push the younger man into dedicating himself into finding a solution before anyone got hurt.
Meanwhile, at Gotoh's request, Detective Matsui investigates Hoba's background and finds that his work was influenced by the Bible
. For example, the Ark could be said to be named after Noah's Ark
; a virus Hoba created displays the word "Babel
" all over the computer screens; and he used the name Jehovah
while at MIT. Why he decided this remains unclear but Gotoh concludes that Hoba planned the rampage, and committed suicide to make his plan irreversible.
Asuma and Shige follow-up the investigation and discover that wind
speeds can trigger the H.O.S. into making a labor to go on the rampage via resonance
caused by city buildings. Using a computer
simulation
they are horrified to discover that a combination of typhoon-speed wind acting on the Ark could trigger all the labors in Tokyo in to a massive rampage. As if foreseen by Hoba before he died, a typhoon is reported to be on its way.
Gotoh pushes his superiors for clearance to destroy the Ark. Although this is greeted with scepticism, Gotoh surreptitiously convinces the police commissioner to OK his proposal, agreeing that whatever happens the blame will be put down to the typhoon.
As the storm approaches, Special Vehicle Division 2 makes preparations. A top officer, Kanuka Clancy
, even returns from abroad in order to aid them in their mission. The squad faces a double-race against time: one group, led by Asuma, must go to the Ark and demolish it before it causes all the labors to go berserk and destroy Tokyo. Meanwhile, back on the mainland, Shige must find convincing evidence of Hoba's guilt or else the demolition will not be justified and they could all end up in jail.
Asuma's team arrives on the Ark, which has been evacuated due to the approaching typhoon. After battling it out with some guard robot
s, Hiromi, Asuma and Shinshi break into the control room in order to set the sequence for the Ark's self destruction. Meanwhile Kanuka, Noa and Ohta cover their backs and battle the activated construction labors that are going on the rampage due to the typhoon.
Kanuka hijacks a prototype AV-XO Type Zero, the potential patrol labor replacement, which is unfortunately also equipped with the faulty HOS. At first she manages to keep it under control but then it turns against her colleagues.
As the Ark is destroyed, the final battle between Ingram and Zero comes down with the Ingram suffering heavy damage. But with quick determination and wit, Noa manages to destroy the zero’s P-RAM
system using her shotgun
. With that the threat of the labors rampaging across Tokyo eliminated at the cost of the Ark, Hoba's plan has been foiled.
:
/Manga UK
R4 release uses remastered video from the Australian Manga VHS master, and includes remixed 5.1 and 2.0 sound of the Manga UK dubs.
Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director, and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of popular anime, including Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, Ghost in the Shell, and Patlabor 2...
, with an original story by Headgear
Headgear (artist group)
Headgear is a group consisting of 5 writers and artists who work in the Japanese anime/manga field. The group was set up so that all the creators could retain full copyright to their work, achieve greater publicity for their work and sell their manga to anime sponsors for film production. The...
. It was produced by Production I.G, Studio Deen
Studio DEEN
is a Japanese company that produces anime. Three years after Sunrise was founded in 1972, Studio Deen was established by Sunrise's members in 1975. As a result of this, anime shows such as Cowboy Bebop that were produced by Sunrise may have had assistance from Studio Deen.-Produced anime:* Urusei...
, Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
Visual Co. Ltd and Tohokushinsha Film
Tohokushinsha Film
is a film distributor and production company based in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It was originally founded in 1961 as a dubbing house for foreign films.- Anime :*Adventures of the Little Koala*Amon Saga*Appleseed*Assemble Insert*Genesis of Aquarion*Himawari!...
Corporation Limited. It is part of the Patlabor
Patlabor
Patlabor also known as , is an anime and manga franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga artist Masami Yūki.The popular franchise included a manga, a TV series, two OVA...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series.
Plot
Set in the near future, TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
is undergoing a huge re-development program: old suburbs are being demolished and man-made islands are being constructed in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
. Dominating the scene is the Ark, a huge man-made island of steel, from where the Babylon project is coordinated, and where they manufacture and test the labors, large man-operated robots that are used in most of the construction work.
One day, as dusk approaches, a programmer by the name of Eiichi Hoba jumps off the Ark, a smirk on his lips, committing suicide.
Some time later there are several incidents where labors that were manufactured by Shinohara Industries malfunction, start operating of their own accord and go on the rampage even after they have been turned off. These include construction and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
labors alike. These labors are either on routine missions and go out of the pilot's control, or else they are unmanned, which means that they should never have started up in the first place.
The police force itself uses labor units to deal with the unruly ones. Division 2 in particular finds itself dealing with incidents almost around-the-clock as Division 1 is away on training, and no rational explanation can be found for the disturbances.
Investigations made by Captain Gotoh and Sergeant Asuma Shinohara of Division 2 conclude that the rampaging labors have one thing in common: each were installed with H.O.S — Hyper Operating System
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, the latest software program to be installed in the labor computers. At first Asuma assumes that a bug
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
is the cause but Gotoh believes that it was deliberately done by Eiichi Hoba, the programmer who committed suicide.
The Hyper Operating System has been installed in all the labors in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
including the Ingram 98 which is used by the police. This worries Officer Noa, a labor pilot, and the Special Division police force because they fear the labors might go berserk while on duty. Shige, the programmer responsible for Division 2's computer systems, later returns from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where he has been helping to set up similar labor units. He informs the team that he did not install the HOS due to his own doubts. Asuma, who has been working to the point of exhaustion on the investigation, is furious to learn that Gotoh knew but did not tell him.
Gotoh is a subtle manipulator: he reasoned that not telling Asuma would push the younger man into dedicating himself into finding a solution before anyone got hurt.
Meanwhile, at Gotoh's request, Detective Matsui investigates Hoba's background and finds that his work was influenced by the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. For example, the Ark could be said to be named after Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
; a virus Hoba created displays the word "Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
" all over the computer screens; and he used the name Jehovah
Jehovah
Jehovah is an anglicized representation of Hebrew , a vocalization of the Tetragrammaton , the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible....
while at MIT. Why he decided this remains unclear but Gotoh concludes that Hoba planned the rampage, and committed suicide to make his plan irreversible.
Asuma and Shige follow-up the investigation and discover that wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
speeds can trigger the H.O.S. into making a labor to go on the rampage via resonance
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...
caused by city buildings. Using a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
they are horrified to discover that a combination of typhoon-speed wind acting on the Ark could trigger all the labors in Tokyo in to a massive rampage. As if foreseen by Hoba before he died, a typhoon is reported to be on its way.
Gotoh pushes his superiors for clearance to destroy the Ark. Although this is greeted with scepticism, Gotoh surreptitiously convinces the police commissioner to OK his proposal, agreeing that whatever happens the blame will be put down to the typhoon.
As the storm approaches, Special Vehicle Division 2 makes preparations. A top officer, Kanuka Clancy
Kanuka Clancy
is one of the primary protagonists from the anime series "Mobile Police Patlabor". A tough, no-nonsense police sergeant on loan from the New York Police Department, Kanuka is transferred in order to observe and help the newly formed 2nd Unit. She hopes to gain more experience with patrol labors...
, even returns from abroad in order to aid them in their mission. The squad faces a double-race against time: one group, led by Asuma, must go to the Ark and demolish it before it causes all the labors to go berserk and destroy Tokyo. Meanwhile, back on the mainland, Shige must find convincing evidence of Hoba's guilt or else the demolition will not be justified and they could all end up in jail.
Asuma's team arrives on the Ark, which has been evacuated due to the approaching typhoon. After battling it out with some guard robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s, Hiromi, Asuma and Shinshi break into the control room in order to set the sequence for the Ark's self destruction. Meanwhile Kanuka, Noa and Ohta cover their backs and battle the activated construction labors that are going on the rampage due to the typhoon.
Kanuka hijacks a prototype AV-XO Type Zero, the potential patrol labor replacement, which is unfortunately also equipped with the faulty HOS. At first she manages to keep it under control but then it turns against her colleagues.
As the Ark is destroyed, the final battle between Ingram and Zero comes down with the Ingram suffering heavy damage. But with quick determination and wit, Noa manages to destroy the zero’s P-RAM
Phase-change memory
Phase-change memory is a type of non-volatile computer memory. PRAMs exploit the unique behavior of chalcogenide glass. Heat produced by the passage of an electric current switches this material between two states, crystalline and amorphous...
system using her shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. With that the threat of the labors rampaging across Tokyo eliminated at the cost of the Ark, Hoba's plan has been foiled.
Cast
- Miina TominagaMiina Tominaga, better known by her stage name of is a Japanese seiyū and tarento from Nishi-ku, Hiroshima. She is currently attached to Mint Avenue....
as Noa Izumi - Toshio FurukawaToshio Furukawais a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production and is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. His height is 164cm. Hobbies are Fishing, diorama, reading and movies.In July 2011, Furukawa appeared at Anime Expo as a guest.-Career/Personal:...
as Asuma Shinohara - Ryunosuke Ohbayashi as Kiichi Goto
- Yoshiko SakakibaraYoshiko Sakakibarais a Japanese voice actress.-Direct-to-video animation:* 1983 Dallos - Melinda Hurst* 1985 Greed - Mimau* 1985 Area 88 - Yasuda* 1985 Cream Lemon – Rio* 1985 Megazone 23 – Reina* 1985 The Karuizawa Syndrome - Kaoru Matsunuma...
as Shinobu Nagumo - Yō Inoue as Kanuka ClancyKanuka Clancyis one of the primary protagonists from the anime series "Mobile Police Patlabor". A tough, no-nonsense police sergeant on loan from the New York Police Department, Kanuka is transferred in order to observe and help the newly formed 2nd Unit. She hopes to gain more experience with patrol labors...
- Michihiro IkemizuMichihiro Ikemizuis a Japanese voice actor from Kanagawa Prefecture and a graduate of Waseda University who works for Aoni Production.Among his other roles, he has performed the characters Onsen-Mark , Isao Ohta and Kinnikuman Super Phoenix .-TV anime:*Ashita no Joe 2 *Attacker You!...
as Isao Ohta - Issei FutamataIssei Futamatais a veteran seiyū who was born on March 15, 1955 in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Towada Technical High School. He is a member of the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society....
as Mikiyasu Shinshi - Daisuke Gouri as Hiromi Yamazaki
- Shigeru ChibaShigeru Chibais an actor and voice actor. He has also worked as a sound effects director and music director. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce....
as Shigeo Shiba - Osamu SakaOsamu Sakais a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Wheeljack in the Japanese dub of , as well as Seitaro Sakaki , Jotaro Honma , and Daisuke Aramaki .-Anime:* Noah Van Hellsing in Blade* Dr...
as Seitaroh Sakaki - Mahito TsujimuraMahito Tsujimurais a Japanese voice actor employed by 81 Produce.-Notable Voice Roles:*Konoemon "Dean" Konoe in Negima*Gopher in Kingdom Hearts II and the Winnie the Pooh series *The King in Slayers: The Motion Picture...
as Jitsuyama - Tomomichi NishimuraTomomichi Nishimurais a Japanese voice actor who works for Arts Vision. He is most known for the roles of the narrator of YuYu Hakusho, Anzai-sensei , Shibaraku Tsurugibe , and Jamitov Hymem...
as Detective Matsui - Toshihiko Kojima as Section Chief Kaihou
- Shinji OgawaShinji Ogawais a Japanese voice actor and actor from Setagaya, Tokyo. He is affiliated with Office Osawa.He is best known as the dubover artist for Michael Douglas and Timothy Dalton, and for voicing Hyō in Fist of the North Star.-Television animation:...
as Fukushima - Kouji Tsujitani as Kataoka
- Megumi HayashibaraMegumi Hayashibarais a Japanese voice actress, singer, radio personality, and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include: Megu-san, Megu-nee, Bara-san, Kakka, and Daijin...
as News Woman
Biblical references
The film includes a number of references to the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
:
- Numerous Biblical verses are quoted throughout the movie.
- The plan to have man-made islands in Tokyo Bay is dubbed the BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
Project. - At the centre of the project is the giant metallic island-factory called the ArkNoah's ArkNoah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
. - Hoba, the crazy programmer, used the name JehovahJehovahJehovah is an anglicized representation of Hebrew , a vocalization of the Tetragrammaton , the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible....
while at MIT. - His virus is codenamed BabelTower of BabelThe Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
. - When the officers are tricked into believing that he is in the sub-control room at the top of the Ark, his ID number is displayed as "666", the Number of the BeastNumber of the BeastThe Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the first Beast of Revelation chapter 13, the Beast of the sea. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the Beast is...
. - Even the name of the principal female character could be said to have a Biblical connection: Noa (NoahNoahNoah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
) Izumi.
DVD releases
The first two Patlabor films have been released on DVD numerous times. The original release uses the same master as the Laserdisc release and offers stereo Japanese. The next release featured remastered non-anamorphic letterbox video. The third release, which the latest R1s from Bandai Visual use, features remastered anamorphic letterbox video and 5.1 sound. The Australian MadmanMadman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
/Manga UK
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
R4 release uses remastered video from the Australian Manga VHS master, and includes remixed 5.1 and 2.0 sound of the Manga UK dubs.