Manga sniffing out fan opinion on Patlabor...

Blimey. It would be nice if they'd release it, but I think I would have to commemorate the occasion by buying a hat and eating it.

If anything, I'd have thought it would make more sense to take a punt on the shorter oav run, at least to begin with.
 
Manga want fan opinion on Patlabor? Okay then...

Speaking as someone who imported the TV show at cost, I'd say it's a worthy title of release. But that comes with the proviso that it is NOWHERE NEAR as good as some people make it out to be. There are some strong episodes, that's true, but there's also a LOT of turgid filler.

Manga, go for the OVAs instead. It HAS to be a safer business option, and I'd wager it'll cost you less in terms of outlay. There seems to be a greater interest in / demand for those.

I'll also take the opportunity to say that Patlabor 3 is a damned fine monster movie, and somebody needs to get that out over here.
 
I would love it if they gave us some Patlabor, even if it was just the ova. I wouldn't get excited until the actually said they had it, cos I think he have all be burnt by manga before.
 
I love the Patlabor movies but I can't see this being a big money earner for Manga because the people who buy anime have probably never heard of it.

I back HdE's call for Patlabor 3 to be released in the UK!
 
Genkina Hito said:
I love the Patlabor movies but I can't see this being a big money earner for Manga because the people who buy anime have probably never heard of it.

I back HdE's call for Patlabor 3 to be released in the UK!
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+1
Preferably with the mini pato shorts as extras. That I would buy, not sure about the series.
 
Genkina Hito said:
I love the Patlabor movies but I can't see this being a big money earner for Manga because the people who buy anime have probably never heard of it.
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I think the brand name is pretty well known. It gets mentioned online enough, for one thing, and it was certainly much-talked about back in the eary '90s when aniem was mor eof a fan-driven phenomenon.

I think the bigger issue is that it's a 47 episode show, with an extra block of 16 episodes comprising the logical continuation. That's a LOT of material to put out. Realistically, given the current trends in buying and selling anime, you'd be looking at 2 or 3 box sets, I think.

Now, I'd most likely lay money down for it if it were to happen. But those OVAs are a higher quality product, and certainly easier to package and sell, unless I'm missing some detail.

So, to repeat, I think THAT would be the smarter option.

Genkina Hito said:
I back HdE's call for Patlabor 3 to be released in the UK!
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And thanks for that!

The movie gets a somewhat unfairly negative rap, but it looks gorgeous and it stands as a really unique entry into the canon. Definitely worth a look in.
 
One would have to concur with HdE regarding the viability of the Patlabor TV series. It's too long and too old and not enough people will care. I suspect that most who really wanted Patlabor will have already imported it.

The original OVA, on the other hand, would be a splendid idea. Oh, and I liked Patlabor WXIII as well. I think the reason the film was so poorly received (relatively speaking) is because the old cast were largely absent and thus it didn't really feel like Patlabor.
 
WXIII is a good film, but it's a terrible Patlabor film. As Fabio has said, the main characters from every other incarnation of the franchise (who are the best thing about Patlabor) are hardly in it at all. It's like a film which was written as a completely separate work just had the Patlabor name tacked onto it for publicity purposes.

I love everything Patlabor (except WXIII) but since I own everything else already on R1 DVD, I wouldn't be double dipping. Unless of course Blu-ray. But that will never happen in ten trillion years (thinks of Dirty Pair TV DVDs and does hopeful shifty eyes).
 
Tell you what - maybe it'd be a good idea if those of us who have posted here were to list our order of preference for the unreleased Patlabor stuff. Maybe if anyone from Manga sees it, that'll be useful.

In my case, it'd have to be:

1 The OVAs

2 Patlabor 3

3 The TV show
 
Never having seen WXIII, I don't feel hugely enthusiastic about the prospect of a Patlabor film with apparently little involvement from the usual cast, but I'd probably pick it up anyway if the price was right.

Having fought shy of buying the CPM releases with their awful, awful cover art, I'd quite happily purchase the series, but I would accept that I'm almost certainly in the minority. I can't understand why on earth Manga UK would consider it economically viable in the current climate, unless they've somehow picked up the licence for a pittance. The brand may be strong here due to the films, but the series' artwork has not aged anything like as well and the makeup of the show is so dramatically different, that I can't see enough of that same audience sticking around past the first box.

So yeah, you'd think the OAVs would be a far better bet, even just to test the water.
 
Professor Irony said:
Never having seen WXIII, I don't feel hugely enthusiastic about the prospect of a Patlabor film with apparently little involvement from the usual cast, but I'd probably pick it up anyway if the price was right.
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The movie is certainly an odd fish (is that a sly joke? I think it is!)

I think that, as an example of a genre piece / side story set in a pre-established universe, it works really well. It's certainly different enough to warrant the attention of anyone sufficiently invested in the Patlabor franchise. The fact that the familiar characters only appear briefly doesn't really bother me at all. A good story is a good story. It just represents a different texture in the palette.

As for the TV show... I saw somebody describe it elsewhere online as 'A prime example of how great anime can be when it reaches its potential.' I want to find that reviewer and slap him.

That's because the TV show is entertaining enough, but takes an AGE to hit its stride. There's literally about a half-dozen episodes in the 47-strong run that stand out as anything really special, and that's a poor batting average considering the hype around the show.

Which is not to say that I think 'Patlabor On The TV' is a bad show. It's not. It's just that it's by no means as earth-shakingly good as some folks have claimed. The 16 episode 'New Files' continuation fares a bit better, though.

To add some extra perspective, were I to review these, I'd award Patlabor WXIII a hearty 8 out of 10, while the TV show would garner a modest but respectable 7. 'The New Files' would most likely hover around a 7 or 8.

HdE has spoken.
 
HdE said:
HdE has spoken.
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...But he's wrong.

/Clarkson

Both sets of OVAs obviously had a better budget, but for me only the films are better than TV series, and even then for very different reasons. Why did I enjoy the TV series so much? Because it meant spending more time with the SV2 team. And I enjoy following them and their antics more than probably any group of characters in an animated series (or even all fiction). UY comes close, but the characters there are far more off the wall (though it's no surprise that the two series shared a lot of cast & crew members).

The Patlabor characters are still kind of over the top, but are also very human. And the more they interact and play off each other through the course of the series, the more I became aware of their less obvious character traits and personalities. They do grow and develop and some of the slower episodes are devoted to that (I would very much decline to call any of it "filler"). Rewatching, you know more about the characters than you did on the first viewing and to my mind that actually improves the experience second time around. And there are few series' I can say that of.

Simply put, if Patlabor was a one-room sitcom where all you had was the characters interacting without ever actually seeing them in action, I would still watch and enjoy it. So for me, watching WXIII was like someone who really likes US TV series "Friends" watching a feature film called "Friends" where the story is focused on completely new characters with no connection to the old ones (except for the fact that the series happens to be set in New York) and the main cast make a two-minute cameo, most of them in non speaking roles. WXIII didn't even need to be set in the Patlabor universe at all. In fact, I like it less precisely because it has the Patlabor name attached to it seemingly under false pretences.

I love Patlabor TV, would buy it in an instant (had I not done so already) and encourage all others to do so if indeed Manga do decide to risk it.
 
I agree, in the main, with the gentleman above (or the previous page, god damn it). My favourite episodes of Patlabor TV are those in which nothing much happens, where the characters and their interaction is the focus. What I don't like so much are the episodic Patlabor shenanigans - the police work, basically - which I find, well, just a little bit boring since they lack the scope and tension of the movie plots. I wish there were more of the former and less of the latter.

Also, Bud (Buddo?) is an irritating little twat and that four-eyes with the ****-eating grin needs a slap.
 
ayase said:
HdE said:
HdE has spoken.
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...But he's wrong.

/Clarkson.
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Heheh! Love it!

What arises from this thread, I think, is that there are clearly two polar opinions of the show. I've spoken to plenty of folks who, having seen it, would agree with either one of us.

So - perhaps there's the fan opinion Manga are sniffing for? It'll float some boats but not others.

Also, yes, Bud is EXTREMELY annoying, as is Neko.
 
I wonder if they wouldn't mind "sniffing" if fans would rather they licensed the Funimation titles that got biffed by Revelation when they bailed out of anime distribution? Titles like Beck, and Hell Girl? :wink:
 
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