Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor 2 the Movie

Three years after the Babylon Project conspiracy is resolved, the members of Kiichi Gotou's Patlabor unit have gone their separate ways. Gotou remains with the Patlabor team, accompanied by Shinobu Nagumo, his romantic crush and comrade.

Playing into the public's skepticism toward the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, a terrorist organization begins to work from within the military to cause destruction and mass civil unrest throughout Japan. Nagumo learns that the mastermind behind the growing terrorist plot is none other than Yukihito Tsuge, her former mentor and lover.

Gotou reassembles his former Patlabor team, spearheaded by pilot Noa Izumi. Leading the team into a mission to arrest Tsuge, Nagumo must come to terms with her complicated past relationships in order to save Japan.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Gotou, Kiichi Main

Oobayashi, Ryuusuke Japanese

Nagumo, Shinobu Main

Sakakibara, Yoshiko Japanese

Izumi, Noa Supporting

Tominaga, Miina Japanese

Shinohara, Asuma Supporting

Furukawa, Toshio Japanese

Oota, Isao Supporting

Ikemizu, Michihiro Japanese

Tsuge, Yukihito Supporting

Nezu, Jinpachi Japanese

Yamazaki, Hiromi Supporting

Gouri, Daisuke Japanese

Sakaki, Seitarou Supporting

Saka, Osamu Japanese

Shiba, Shigeo Supporting

Chiba, Shigeru Japanese

Arakawa, Shigeki Supporting

Takenaka, Naoto Japanese

Ishikawa, Mitsuhisa Producer

Unozawa, Shin Producer

Oosawa, Nobuhiro Assistant Producer

Oshii, Mamoru Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Jan 1, 2010

Archaeon

Recommended

If you ask the average anime fan for an intelligent, well crafted movie directed by Oshii Mamoru that has politics and philosophy mixed into a complex plot that featured high tech shenanigans, and that had great animation, sound and characterisation, then the chances are that the answer will be Ghost in the Shell.

Or, they'll tell you about Patlabor 2.

Released in 1993, four years after the first Patlabor movie, the sequel once again united the talents of Headgear, in particular those of scriptwriter Ito Kazunori and Oshii himself. The movie received widespread critical acclaim, and although it's emphasis on taut drama rather than mecha action alienated ... some hardcore fans of the genre, the majority of people enjoyed the more mature stance taken by the film.

Patlabor 2 is set in 2002, three years after the first movie. The members of Section 2's Special Vehicles 2nd Division have matured during this time, with several of them leaving to pursue careers in different departments or in the public sector. All is peaceful until the day a missile destroys the Yokohama Bay Bridge, at which point the JGSDF (Japanese Ground Self Defense Force), declares martial law in the beief that the attack was commited by the JASDF (Japanese Air Self Defense Force).

Captain Gotoh Kiichi however, suspects that there is more at play than a simple military coup, and secretly brings together the old members of SV2 to find out what is at play, and more importantly, what is at stake.

In a departure from the standard mecha format of guts winning the day, Ito Kazunori opted for something far more subtle and mature when developing the plot for this movie. There are those who believe that any show involving mechs must follow certain rules, however Headgear has chosen to, once again, blow those beliefs out of the water. Patlabor 2 is anything but a typical mecha anime, and while the action is still present in the movie, at times it's more of an afterthought to the drama that has gone before.

In terms of writing though, this movie is head and shoulders above many others of the time, and many today as well. The plot, with it's heavy focus on political machinations and philosophical justification, can seem to drag at certain times (Gotoh's conversation with Arakawa on the boat is one example of this), however these moments are worth hearing if one remembers the politics that are at play. The machinations of the JGSDF, the Government, the JASDF, and all other involved parties is wonderful to behold, with nothing that occurs being as simple or straightforward as people might think. The complexity of the plot can, at times, be a little bewildering, however this movie isn't simply designed to be enjoyed, but also to make one reflect.

One of the most noticeable things about this movie, especially in comparison to the first one, is how much more mature the characters look. Takada Akemi has really paid attention to what she was doing as, while the majority of characters are the same as the first movie, they look a little different because the effort has been made to give them some physical growth. Given the penchant for characters in mecha anime to remain unchanged and unchangeable in terms of their physical appearance from one season to the next, the fact that the characters are presented as older in Patlabor 2 makes this a rarity in the genre.

As for the other visuals, the backgrounds and settings are very, very good. The detailed scenery adds and air of realism to the movie, which is understandable when one considers the fact that much of the city and it's environs is based on that of the first movie, which in turn was based on photos of Tokyo. This realistic approach is also prevalent in both the character design, hence the physical aging, and also the mecha designs, which follow the utilitarian principles of the franchise.

In terms of animation Patlabor 2 is actually better than the original movie. There are some extremely well choregraphed action sequences, however given the fact that much of the movie is free of combat, the difference in quality is more difficult to recognise unless one pays attention to the movements of the characters themselves. There's also a small amount of CG incorporated into the movie, however this is difficult to spot as pains have been taken to mesh the CG seamlessly into the standard animation.

One of my gripes with Patlabor 2 is the music. The movie has little music in it, but what is there is very techno based. While this is well choreographed for the most part, the music just isn't really to my tastes. That's not to say that the choice of tracks is bad, no, it's simply a personal preference. That said, there are some tracks which fit extremely well with the on screen action, and there are some pieces that, while being electronic, are more orchestral, and rather atmospheric.

The area where this movie does shine though, is in the voice acting. The cast from the first movie have been reprised once more, and in a rare occurence, this is true for not only the Japanese dub, but also for both English dubs as well. One of the benefits of this is that in all three dubs the characters seem far more self-assured and composed (for the most part), something which enhances the viewers recognition of them being older and more mature. Also, unlike the Bandai dub of the first movie, the acting in Patlabor 2 is far more competent, and many consider it to be better than the release by Manga Entertainment.

As for the effects, well, as with the first movie the quality of the aural sensation is very good indeed, which should be no surprise given that the production teams behind this film are, for the most part, the same as before.

Unlike the first movie, which was very much a character driven piece, Patlabor 2 is far more of a political drama, with a healthy dose of philosophical justification. That's not to say that the characters don't get any development though, as they do in certain ways. However it should be noted that this movie isn't really about developing the characters, hence the reason why there is such comprehensive characterisation at work. That said, this format works extremely well for the movie as, while the effects of the attacks and martial law do have consequences for the characters, the audience knows that this is simply a chapter in their lives.

As with any chapter in anyone's life, growth isn't always immediate, or apparent.

In all honesty I found this movie intruiging and rewarding. The emphasis on politics and philosophy, especially as this is supposed to be a mecha show, made for a refreshingly different story. The fact that the movie isn't afraid to use big words and concepts was also unusual in that Oshii and the rest of the crew seem to be trusting in the intelligence of the viewer rather than feeling the need to explain every tiny detail. Granted there are other mech shows that also use big words and concepts, but a good number of those have a penchant for over-explaining, which can often come off as patronizing.

Like the first movie, Patlabor 2 is aimed at a more mature audience, however unlike the first movie this is far more relevant to the time it was made. At the time of it's production and release there was a great deal of tension in Japan, much of it focused on the status of the JSDF within the UN Peacekeeping forces. The movie's premise of internal conflict, political byplay, terrorist activity, and civil unrest, made very clear comparisons to real life, and the fact that a number of real life events were either cited in the film, or used as a reference for the plot, meant that the story had an air of plausibilty about it that made it difficult for people to ignore. In addition to this, the fact that the movie is essentially a mystery thriller (something of a rarity in those days), rather than a no brain action flick meant that audiences, especially fans of political thrillers, could more easily relate to the story, something which meant that the movie appealed to the public in general rather than to the average anime fan.

If you liked the first movie, or Ghost in the Shell, then this is definitely one to watch. The fact that Patlabor 2, like the first movie, doesn't place an emphasis on the mechs may dissuade some diehard fans of the genre from giving the franchise a chance, however this is very short sighted given the content and quality of both movies. In truth, while the first movie was a tad naive in certain areas, Patlabor 2 more than makes up for this, and I believe it to be at least on par with GitS in terms of plausibility and conceptualisation. Viewers shouldn't be put off by the fact that this movie is also a little more "wordy" than the first one either, as it's the dialogue in Patlabor 2 that really separates it from the pack.

All in all, this is an excellent political thriller (that just happens to include mechs), one that, even now, holds a degree of relevance given the current state of the world.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Dec 16, 2024

FAKEANIMEGIRL

Mixed Feelings

(Check out my profile for a link to my site containing more up-to-date reviews and bonus media!)

From the moment I learned about the Patlabor franchise, all of my watching it was for the purpose of reaching this movie. It's widely regarded as the peak of Patlabor and one of Mamoru Oshii's greatest films. Being a major landmark in anime movies, the mecha genre, and allegedly one of Oshii's best political thrillers made it an essential point for several reasons. Oddly, approaching this movie chronologically almost makes it seem out of place. The Patlabor Early Days OVA was a character personality-driven mix of comedic slice of ... life police adventures with a dystopian undercurrent, and in my review for the first Patlabor movie I noted how it went in a logical direction by continuing the more serious tone reached by the end of the OVA. I also expressed some disappointment how large the stride was, with the cast largely being pushed to the background to stage pure expositionary plot and that I thought it was getting away from the things that made Patlabor stand out. It doesn't necessarily benefit it to become a convoluted political procedural, but Patlabor 2 brings it in that direction even further. Literally for both better and worse.

A significant improvement of Patlabor 2 over its predecessor is that while it remains a dense political drama it pushes its thematic weight to the forefront and deals with more ambiguous and more personal themes than the first movie's which were quite buried (fairly acceptably, since it fell into the set-up of that dark underbelly mentioned in the OVA). The most difficult aspect of Patlabor 2 is that personal business: it's a movie made by Japan, specifically about Japan, and is understandably not too concerned with bridging the viewer's understanding of the deepest mechanisms of contemporary Japan's political status. Allusions are made in passing to previous real-life Japanese political turmoil in comparison with the movie's events with the assumption that the meaning is all implicit. Heaps of expository dialogue are thrown at the viewer and are always outpacing itself, rapidly establishing the political context of the movie's situation without spending the time to explain it because the setting wasn't built up to a suitable extent by previous Patlabor works in order to house the movie's plot and statements.

This leads into what feels so odd about Patlabor 2 when having come to it chronologically. It feels exactly like Mamoru Oshii, or perhaps the writers, wanted to make a political story expressing their thoughts on Japan and used Patlabor as a vehicle, it being an existing franchise presumably making it easier to get financial backers and talent on board. What made Patlabor "Patlabor" is pushed to the backdrop for these philosophical diatribes. The comedy is almost completely gone, the mecha barely used, and the previous cast is nearly non-existent as the movie is forced to revolve around Gotou and Nagumo, the most serious characters. After attachment has been built up for the others, it's disappointing that they're only forcibly brought to the head at the movie's climax as some sort of quota but without closure. The climax of the movie is also the only place it truly becomes action-oriented, and I'd never begrudge the movie for wanting to focus more on drama, so I only bring up this up for the fact that the previous movie had a similar structure but its final set-piece was much larger in scope and with a more complex strategy dictating the events.

Patlabor 2 is centered around civil unrest that begins when a bridge bombing sets up suspicion among Japan's numerous political bureaucracies. The country enters a cold war-like state with the police, ground forces, and air force all biding their time waiting for one branch to slip up so they can wrestle more political control out of the situation. This scheme is masterminded by Nagumo's former captain and ex-lover, who was previously unmentioned. This brings the opportunity to develop the implied romantic tension between her and Gotou, but although they are the most prominently featured characters in the movie no development is made on this front despite the movie concluding this Patlabor timeline. This demonstration seems to be done to criticize Japan's distancing from global conflict for the sake of peace while simultaneously assisting said conflict by still trying to profit from it under the table economically and by allying themselves with those fighting the actual wars. This brings up the topic of a just war and unjust peace, with the idea that Japan has avoided war to be an illusion. It's an interesting idea that bodes a lot of ambiguity about how to ethically handle Japan's new position on the worldwide political spectrum, and it's a theme that has increasing relevance for countries across the globe as indirect involvement in war keeps the public distanced and satisfied while the country still profits. It's a tenuous peace at best with no true allies but with moral grandstanding.

The least surprising thing about Patlabor 2 is Mamoru Oshii's direction. My favorite thing about the movie was its cinematography, with numerous shots of the cold, grey cities of Japan stuck in an empty stasis. Backgrounds are densely detailed with a nearly endless trading off of packed stills of zoomed out city-scapes. This glacially austere tone is assisted by Kenji Kawai's icy electronic new age score that glides by and only briefly shows signs of life with cooed vocals. Strong background stills are this movie's aesthetic backbone and it's light on movement overall, but I recall liking several shots. One is how a sniper is concerned about shooting down birds that obstruct his target, but then is ordered to fire anyway and shoots them down, symbolic of how Tsuge is risking the public's safety by luring them out of their illusion. The handcuff scene towards the end where Nagumo caresses Tsuge's hand before cuffing it is a great trade-off between her attachment to her job's responsibility replacing her attachment to the past.

When all's said and done, Patlabor 2 is one of Oshii's most literary works. The emphasis on its political drama and themes pushes the individual stories to the background which makes the former more of a success than say the unbalanced Jin-Roh, but it bears the unfortunate decision of attaching itself to the Patlabor name without really earning it. It's an extremely wordy demonstrative political drama, a political thriller without much in the way of thrills because of its sterile handling of the human emotions underneath it. It's in one sense the most interesting part of the Patlabor franchise for its thematic diversity, and yet another sense it's the least interesting by being the most ordinary and straightforward. There was nothing quite like Patlabor among its genre, yet Patlabor 2 feels like a straight-shooting political statement with the framework of something that had more personality. If Japan's political issues don't hold much relevance to you, this movie's implied emotional undercurrent gained by association will barely expose itself.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Feb 26, 2024

Sloth_Cafe

Not Recommended

Patlabor is a really cool idea for an anime, in theory. One of the worst things a movie or show can do is have "tell don't show" story telling for most of what it tries to convey to the audience. Patlabor in general has this problem, but this movie is rampant with dull moments of characters just rambling on instead of actually doing anything interesting. A lot of exposition dumping where the scene is not dynamic in anyway with either people just sitting in a room or shifting between stale backgrounds. This movie's story is more philosophical strain of thought than anything interesting. Which is ... rambling is definitely something Oshii does occasionally. This movie was around 110 minutes, and it easily could have been 80-90. Just a lot of slow scenes that could have been better organized, or flat out cut. Almost as if they needed to make the movie a certain length.

The story here is framed as a political drama, but the way it is told is just so dull with too much being left vague to the audience. It is hard to care about what is going on when we never even see the human element of how this is affecting normal people in Tokyo. The OVAs and first movie rely heavy on the main cast of characters, and a fair bit of comedy to keep it fun. Here most of the main cast is barely even in the movie. Noa is on screen for maybe 5 minutes. Clancy is not in the movie at all, and she is probably the most fun character. Which that highlights the biggest issue with this movie compared to what came before it. This just is not fun. That includes the barely built up villain who is just a repeat of a story line from the OVA. Except it was probably better in the OVA. The ending is also super anti-climactic, but let me move on.

I have not watched the main show yet, and I wonder if it somehow explains better how we ended up here. Because this movie feels 5-10 years after the first movie. Visually it has it's moments for sure, but I feel like the colors are washed out or something compared to the earlier works. Maybe something was up with my version though. Visually it was not good enough to make up for it's shortcomings. There is a change in art style and character design in this movie that I think is a downgrade to how the series has looked before.

Once again we have Patlabor which is a mech anime with very little mech action. Except this time it is really low for how long the movie was. It is very strange to me that this is the highest rated Patlabor thing on MAL that people seem to claim is the best from the franchise. This movie does not even feel like a Patlabor story, and probably would have been better off not using the characters or this world. It easily could have just been any futuristic Japan setting while still being almost the exact same movie.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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