Patlabor 2: The Movie (機動警察パトレイバー 2 the Movie Kidō keisatsu patoreibā the movie 2) is a 1993 Japanese political thriller science-fiction anime film directed by Mamoru Oshii, who also directed the first Patlabor: The Movie. It was produced by Production I.G, Bandai Visual and Tohokushinsha.
Contents
- 1 Plot
- 2 Cast
- 3 Production
- 4 Media Info
- 5 Reception
- 6 External Links
Plot[]
Set in 2002, three years after the events of the first movie, Noa Izumi and Asuma Shinohara are now testing new Labors at a facility run by the Metropolitan Police. Isao Ota is a police academy Labor instructor. Mikiyasu Shinshi has since been reassigned as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's head of General Affairs. Seitaro Sakaki has retired with Shigeo Shiba taking over his position as head of the labor maintenance team with Hiromi Yamazaki, Kiichi Goto and Shinobu Nagumo remaining with the unit as Kanuka Clancy had permanently returned to New York. Most of them had been replaced by fresh labor pilots.
Suspicious events begin to materialize with the face of a military takeover of Tokyo by GSDF forces and martial law after the Yokohama Bay Bridge is destroyed by a missile, with belief that the JASDF was the culprit. Protests in various JSDF bases take place as a means of conveying their denial of the bridge attack. Before long, public panic comes as JGSDF-marked gunships attack in several bridges in Tokyo Bay, various communication centers and SV2 headquarters, coupled by the release of a supposed deadly gas after Special Assault Team snipers shoot down an auto-piloted blimp that was responsible for jamming all electronics in the Greater Tokyo Area.
Goto and Nagumo once more assemble the original Section 2 members in an abandoned subway passage as they embark on a secret operation to apprehend Yukihito Tsuge, a former GSDF officer who planned the terrorist attacks as revenge for the failure of a UN peacekeeping operation in Cambodia back in 1999. With the threat of military intervention by the United States Forces Japan looming unless the government controls the situation, the team uses an old stretch of the Ginza Line to approach an artificial island Tsuge uses as his hideout. Goto also takes care of things on his end by facilitating the arrest of Shigeki Arakawa, a GSDF intelligence agent who is actually one of Tsuge's cohorts. After a fierce fight inside the artificial island's tunnel which results in flooding, the team evacuates the tunnel while Nagumo breaks through to finally arrest Tsuge.
Cast[]
| Character | Original Japanese | English (Manga UK) | English (Bandai Visual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiichi Goto | Ryunosuke Ohbayashi | Peter Marinker | Roger Craig Smith |
| Shinobu Nagumo | Yoshiko Sakakibara | Sharon Holm | Megan Hollingshead |
| Shigeki Arakawa | Naoto Takenaka | Blair Fairman | Kim Strauss |
| Yukihito Tsuge | Jinpachi Nezu | Bob Sherman | Robert Clotworthy |
| Noa Izumi | Miina Tominaga | Briony Glassico | Julie Ann Taylor |
| Asuma Shinohara | Toshio Furukawa | David Jarvis | Doug Erholtz |
| Isao Ohta | Michihiro Ikemizu | Martin McDougall | Sam Riegel |
| Mikiyasu Shinshi | Issei Futamata | Ron Lepaz | Joe Ochman |
| Hiromi Yamazaki | Daisuke Gouri | Michael Fitzpatrick | Jason C. Miller |
| Shigeo Shiba | Shigeru Chiba | Edward Glen | Peter Doyle |
| Seitaro Sakaki | Osamu Saka | Blair Fairman | Jamieson Price |
| Matsui | Tomomichi Nishimura | Mac McDougall | Paul St. Peter |
| Kaihou | Toshihiko Kojima |
Production[]
Production of Patlabor the Movie 2 started after Kazunori Ito was appointed as the scriptwriter for the upcoming movie back in the early 1990s. The original plan called for the same plot used in the original OVA series episode "The SV2's Longest Day", which showed renegade JGSDF soldiers and officers conspiring to undermine and overthrow the Japanese government. However, it was soon abandoned when Mamoru Oshii told Kazunori Ito that maybe the scope of terrorists causing havoc under the cover of a coup would be a better movie idea.
Ito soon met with other members of HEADGEAR to create some ideas that can be used for the movie, based on the theory that Patlabor 2 will be their last work on the Patlabor franchise. Soon after realizing that he couldn't take most of their suggestions, Ito had told them that he would end his consultation with them and announced that he would brainstorm the movie's script alone and isolated himself from the rest of HEADGEAR to give him some space to work on the movie's script with Oshii working on the storyboard.
The amateur footage on the SSN new broadcast of the Yokohama Bay Bridge attack is a reference to Japanese history. The time shown on the amateur footage is 2:26, a reference to the February 26 Incident, where Kōdō-ha fanatics of the Imperial Japanese Army tried to occupy central Tokyo as part of a coup d'état attempt.
Media Info[]
Unlike following past iterations of the Patlabor series by heavily focusing on political themes, the movie is heavily focused on domestic and international issues that the Japanese government faced during the 20th century. The film focuses on the post-occupation status of Japan, during which the country had economically, politically and technologically progressed under prosperous years without being involved in another war after the nation surrendered and was occupied by the Allied Forces after the end of World War II.
Reception[]
Patlabor the Movie 2 has been very well received. One review from the Anime Cafe states that Patlabor the Movie 2 is an "intellectually stimulating anime," combining the movie's mecha concept with the plot similar to a Tom Clancy novel. Anime World Order states that while the sequel is better than the first in terms of action and drama, some viewers may not understand the political aspects of the film, though its philosophical themes may be easier to understand, especially with the concept of just war and unjust peace. Japan Hero's review of the movie commented well on the side story that the movie showcased the main characters who had to let go of their past and to move on and grow up, with the fact that they had to get back together and face a threat that could make a country ruled by civilian authority or one ruled by fear and paranoia. Anime News Network has noted the background music used in the movie "favors heavy, pulsing techno beats backed by airy, haunting vocals for the intense scenes and soaring synthesized scores in other places ... If you’re looking for something wholly dramatic, insightful, and mature then you’ve come to the right place."
In 1994, the film won the Mainichi Film Concours award in the category for Best Animated Film.
External Links[]
- Official Site (in Japanese)
- patlabor 2: The Movie (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- 機動警察パトレイバー２ ｔｈｅ Ｍｏｖｉｅ Patlabor 2 the Movie at AllMovie
- Patlabor 2: The Movie at IMDb
