"Kidô keisatsu patorebâ" (1989) TV series

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Naoyuki Yoshinaga

Writer:

Kazunori Itô (writer)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The misadventures of a police robot pilot squad and its support crew in a futuristic Tokyo.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Police | Futuristic | Manga | Giant Robot

Cast

Mîna Tominaga	...	Noa Izumi
Toshio Furukawa	...	Asuma Shinohara
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Isao Ohta
Yô Inoue	...	Kanuka Clancy
Issei Futamata	...	Mikiyasu Shinshi
Daisuke Gôri	...	Hiromi Yamazaki
Shigeru Chiba	...	Shigeo Shiba
Osamu Saka	...	Seitaro Sakaki
Ryûnosuke Ôbayashi	...	Kiichi Gotoh
Yoshiko Sakakibara	...	Shinobu Nagumo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adriana	...	Shinobu Nagumo (voice: English version)
Jonny Asch	...	Mikiyasu Shinshi (voice: English version)
Jack Beam	...	Asuma Shinohara (Eps 1-5) (voice: English version)
Roxanne Beck	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jessica Calvello	...	Kiyama, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Robin Custeau	...	Ayano Fujii (voice: English version)
Sonny Dey	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Curt Gebhart	...	Shige, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Dan Green	...	Asuma Shinohara (Eps 6-26), Fujioka (voice: English version)
Keith Howard	...	Sakuma (voice: English version)
Tara Jayne	...	Fuwa, Grandma, Takao Kumagami (voice: English version)
Vibe Jones	...	Kana Matsumoto, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Manny Mineo	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Chunky Mon	...	Hiromi Yamazaki (voice: English version)
Christopher Nicholas	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Debora Rabbai	...	Kanuka Clancy (voice: English version)
Frankie Rome	...	Sakaki, Nekowatari, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Matty Sawyer	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Schwartz	...	Kiichi Goto (voice: English version)
Gabriel Seador	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Veronica Taylor	...	Prince, Satoru, Tamiko Shinshi, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Elisa Wain	...	Noa Izumi (voice: English version)
Tom Wayland	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Bruce Winant	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Greg Wolfe	...	Hiromi Yamazaki (voice: English version) (as Gregory Wolfe)
James Wolfe	...	Isao Ota (voice: English version)
Yotee	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

"Mobile Police Patlabor"

Runtime:

25 min (47 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Spanish | Portuguese | Italian | French | English

Color:

Color

Movie Connections:

Followed by Kidô keisatsu patorebâ 2 (1990) (V)

It is the best Mecha Anime ever!

Following the success of the OVA series from 1988. Came a TV series, that had all the ingredients for the perfect fighting robot related anime.

This isn't a continuation from the Original OVA. It's an alternate retelling of the story and universe. Noah joining Division 2 is entirely different as well as the encounter of Kanuka Clancey is different. The plot and background story is the though. It takes place in an alternate future. Set in the late 90's to the early 2000's. Where robot carriers called Labors are used to make the world progress quicker and cut down manual labor. But it created a raise in crime and terrorism. Which lead to improving the police forces by creating Patlabors. Labors specially used by the police to fight crime and make the public feel safe to roam the streets.

Patlabor the TV series ran for 47 episodes. Each one continues from the other. And through out the whole series, Noah, who gets the spot light more than the other main characters. Adapts to her passion for operating a Patlabor. And develops from a rowdy red head to a reliable woman. And the thing I like most about Patlabor, is it has a lot of character development. And it makes you feel like you're watching real life rather a Sci-Fi anime. Because everyone you see has a personality, goal, problem, and daily schedule.

The series has been around for more than a decade. Making it worthy of being classified as a classic. And is a highly under-rated anime. Very few people know it's existence. But those who like unique fighting robot anime, or anything from the 80s. Will likely to enjoy Patlabor.

Read my review on the Original OVA series for more info on how the franchise began.