Patlabor movies

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
Rather shocking I know, but I'm yet to see any of the Patlabor movies.

I'm eyeing up the new premium release of the first two movies, both directed by Mamoru Oshii and both often cited as classics. It's an expensive release at £55 though, so I was wondering if these films are worth the asking price.
 
£55 seems a tad excessive, but when you consider you're getting one of the greatest anime double handers of all time, Limited edition artwork and a pair of hefty production journals it's a lot easier to swallow, hell I'm even quite tempted myself and I already own both on VHS and DVD. ;)
 
I own both movies on DVD (although not the premium release). They're everything you'd expect from a Mamoru Oshii movie featuring giant robots (ie, the giant robots really don't feature very much at all ;) and plenty of good characterisation) and definitely make me want to track down the original Mobile Police Patlabor manga/anime.
 
As the both set of both films is about a tenner in your local HMV these days, paying over 5 times that amount seems a bit excessive...

If you worship the director's other work (or the Ghost in the Shell films at least), then it might be worth it, but otherwise I'd say don't bother. Speaking of Oshii, have you seen the book written on him? I got it out of the library one time and it was pretty interesting. Might be your thing if you like his stuff:

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=ti ... =148&pa=sr
 
I loved the films (especially the 2nd one). The 2nd movie is one of the few really political movies I've ever watched. But £55 is definitely NOT something I'd pay for them. I wouldn't recommend it, especially since you havent seen them yet, and the movies are more of a 'love it or hate it' style of thing. I'd recommend you just get the two movies for £10 from HMV or somewhere.
 
I would buy the cheaper UK release and looked Play.com; it's listed, but marked as "Not currently available". I wonder whether Manga UK have dropped the UK rights? Or perhaps this is just an issue with Play.com.
 
Paul said:
I would buy the cheaper UK release and looked Play.com; it's listed, but marked as "Not currently available". I wonder whether Manga UK have dropped the UK rights? Or perhaps this is just an issue with Play.com.
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Manga's license expired toward the end of January and then Bandai snapped up the rights to both movies, therefore finding the DVDs outside of R1 may prove difficult. Ebay or the Amazon Marketplace would probably be your best bet for a cheap R2.
 
what i want to know is why we havn't got any of the other patlabor stuff. there's like another film and a tv series and lots of odds and ends floating about ain't there?
 
Paul said:
Rather shocking I know, but I'm yet to see any of the Patlabor movies.

I'm eyeing up the new premium release of the first two movies, both directed by Mamoru Oshii and both often cited as classics. It's an expensive release at £55 though, so I was wondering if these films are worth the asking price.
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It seems that that set is just for the first movie, which makes it even more expensive.
I can have a look to see if there are any of the Manga sets left that I can pick you up, if you like.
 
Warmaster said:
what i want to know is why we havn't got any of the other patlabor stuff. there's like another film and a tv series and lots of odds and ends floating about ain't there?
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Yeah, i've tracked down most of the Patlabor stuff from the US. There is one 49 episode TV series, two OAVs (one older than and one newer than the series) and three films. The latest film in its deluxe box set also comes with a quirky little three episode OAV called 'Mini Pato', a digitally animated paper puppet theatre (!!) in which the patlabor characters talk to us about some aspects of the show, such as the technical difficulties with having a revolver the size of an artillery piece!
 
yeah, i've seen it, and i'd have to agree. It's an amazing movie, but it doesn't really deserve the title of Patlabor. It's pretty much a godzilla remake with a few Labors dotted around and a Goto cameo here and there. Worth a watch, though.
I haven't seen Jin-Roh though...
 
Benimaru said:
I haven't seen Jin-Roh though...
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Jin-Roh is brilliant, and easily one of my favourites. IIRC, you can get the SE release from up1 for a decent price.

Haven't seen WXIII yet though, so I can't comment there. I want to though, since I'm still a big Patlabor fan at heart. Anybody seen the mini-Pato shorts? Funny to think the director of those went on to direct a serious show like SAC. :mrgreen:
 
I confess that the first two Patlabor films hold a special place in my heart and I bought the Limited Edition Boxset of the first film.

I admit, I don't like paying that kind of money for anything, but to be fair the product is fantastic (and thank goodness the picture was restored proper this time!).

Roll on number two and, Heaven's forbid, 'Wings Of Honneamise'. ;-D

By the way, I've heard from numerous sources that the main reason the Patlabor OVAs and TV series haven't been released here is because their style and themes are a world away from the three films?

As far as I'm concerned the underrated 'Gasaraki' series from the late nineties and the 1st and 2nd 'Gigs' of 'Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex' more than make up for that...
 
Hovis! said:
Roll on number two and, Heaven's forbid, 'Wings Of Honneamise'. ;-D
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I can dream. A proper version of Honneamise would totally rock.

Hovis! said:
By the way, I've heard from numerous sources that the main reason the Patlabor OVAs and TV series haven't been released here is because their style and themes are a world away from the three films?
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Its more likely because
-the US licensor (CPM) isn't strongly affiliated with the UK distributers
-the DVD release of Patlabor TV & OVAs have not been strong sellers, despite how brilliant they are
-Patlabor fans are hardcore enough to import the CPM releases
-CPM's license is about to expire

Hovis! said:
As far as I'm concerned the underrated 'Gasaraki' series from the late nineties and the 1st and 2nd 'Gigs' of 'Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex' more than make up for that...
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Ghost in the Shell is good ... but neither of those titles make up for Patlabor. Patlabor is one of those titles that is very odd even when you take into account the full spectrum of anime wierdness. Its a mecha show where the mecha aren't the stars. Its a show about a bunch of misfits. The characters are great, the writing is fantastic and the various small and large stories are great.

Its a highly loveable show, its very funny, and funny in a way that a western audience can appreciate (not parody style, or japanese zaniness - just good old fashioned humour).

Early on theres a great episode where Noa being helpful, gives a local Yakuza Oyabun some labor piloting tips, as he is a bit of a labor-fan. The outcome of that episode had tears streaming down my face ... theres just too many good moments in that show.

Its kind of wierd as well - the Patlabors are police equipment, so their weapons are underwhelming, designed for limited or restrained use. Eventually, when they actually bring out the big guns for a particular nasty threat, you feel the same disgust as the characters do at their use ...

As for Patlabor 3/13/whatever its simply not that great really. The dynamic between the two leads is especially good. It starts well, but falls flat on its face once the threat is exposed.

Calling it a Patlabor flick is a bit much. It doesn't have the feel or the cast, and its not as good as the first ones. The first patlabor flick practically ends the TV series - the Babylon project was a constant feature of the TV series, part of the background art, and progressively being further completed. The fact that section 2 have to dig up their old Ingrams, instead of the Zero is an important factor too.
 
Isn't the third Patlabor film more of a spin-off set in the same 'universe' with cameo appearances from the original cast? :)
 
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