It’s Winter Break for the Second Unit. While Asuma tries to find something to do and
a friend to share the holiday with, something big brews in the streets of
Tokyo. Without warning, the city is put
on lockdown under the threat of civil war.
Someone in the shadows, out for revenge, is pulling the strings and SV2
is directly in their crosshairs. With
their team scattered and resources low, it’s up to Goto and Shinobu to reunite
their forces and counterattack quickly before Tokyo begins to tear itself
apart.
It’s really a shame the original Patlabor OVA is only 7
episodes because wow, they’ve all been really, really good.
What it lacks in mecha action it makes up for
with fun scenarios that are never the same and even tackle different
storytelling genres.
The final three
episodes continue this trend with an epic two parter that plants a lot of
creative seeds for a larger project down the line and a finale that delivers
some action good and has a pretty heart tugging conclusion.
Lets get into these two stories across three
episodes and see why the shows lack of a conclusion isnt a negative at all
(unlike say Bubblegum Crisis which I have been thinking a lot about during this
review and I’ll touch on that too).
The OVAs first and only two parter kicked off this set
with a disgruntled former lawman gathering a small band together to attempt a
coup d’etat against the Japanese government. If that sounds even a little bit
familiar, it’s because SV2’s Longest Day is basically a rough draft of what
would eventually become Patlabor 2: The Movie.
The only major differences are motivations of the villain and the
central character.
In Patlabor 2, it’s
Shinobu with the close relationship with the mastermind while in the OVA it’s
Goto.
The OVA has done such a great job
with getting viewers to underestimate Goto because he can be a laid back
slacker who just wants to chill out.
Watching him play chess against Kai while on the run is pretty
awesome.
Dude not only has connections
everywhere but is able to basically avoid a potential civil war in Tokyo with
the only shots being fired being done during the trailer chase in Part 1 (which
wasn’t his fault mind you) and the quick takedown of Kai by Noa and Hiromi in
the finale.
I also like the build up in Part 1 as we continue the
OVAs business as usual motif with the bulk of SV2 on winter break and Asuma
trying to find someone to hang out with.
You can see all of the military vehicles moving into the city in the
background and signs that because a major military exercise is going on,
something bigger is about to go down.
But the shows still content to see Asuma look for a friend to spend
vacation with.
Naturally he settles on
Noa (even if he has to travel to Hokkaido and damn I like the Samurai to Noa is
rocking).
My favorite of these little
mini adventures was Asuma trying to hang with Kanuka.
Him offering her a rose only to have a gun
pointed in his face was hilarious, though Kanuka did point out how the gesture
before the rose reveal could be taken a different way.
It makes me wonder if it was ever considered
to have Asuma in a Macross style love triangle with Noa and Kanuka.
He has good chemistry with both ladies and
while Noa’s the obvious choice, Kanuka is no slouch either (honestly I’d choose
her myself so Goto can have Shinobu lol).
If SV2’s Longest Day has one major flaw, it’s the
ending.
There’s no wider ramifications
or resolution for Kai’s misdeeds and by the time we get to the final episode of
the OVA, things are pretty much back to normal for SV2.
I mean hell Goto and Shinobu almost lost
their jobs for going rogue to ensure Kai’s capture.
Honestly this is where Patlabor 2 is far
suprerior (though this version is fun too), with Shinobu getting to confront
Tsuge in person and arrest him.
The
movie just ends after that but still I think it’s a better wrap up for a
theatrical feature.
Speaking of the
final episode, its more of the same old same old but this time we get some
actual Labor on Labor action with Noa getting to tango with a pair of Armored
Trooper Votoms looking Labors in a very well animated fight scene that shows
what the Patlabors are really capable of.
The overall hijacking of a truck carrying said Labor and the huge
misunderstanding that went along with it was kind of funny but the ending, oh
man I was in tears.
All of this drama
just so one guy who hijaked the wrong trailer and got ropped into another
situation, just so he could get to the hospital to see his cute as hell newborn
kid, brings a tear to your eye (also Goto and Shinobu let him off cause he did
help them arrest the other hijacker and saved Noa during her Labor duel).
Guess we should get to Final Thoughts.
Even though the series doesn’t have an
overall arc or a proper ending, that doesn’t stop Patlabor: The Mobile Police
from being a true underrated gem in the Mecha genre and a very fun ride.
The characters are great, especially Goto,
Kanuka, Shinobu, Sakaki and Noa.
While
they don’t get a lot of time to do anything, the Patlabors are pretty sweet
looking police mecha and they always look shiny and badass, much like a lot of
this OVA does.
No one episodes structure
and topic is the same as the previous ones, always offering something fresh
with each subsequent story.
Its not
flawless as I’ve discussed some of the shortcomings in these final three
episodes.
Plus some characters like
Shinshi getting nothing to do and Ota somehow making it out of the academy
despite being a trigger happy idiot who could legit get someone killed.
Overall, Patlabor is great and if you love
the movies, especially the first one, you’ll love getting the backstory leading
into it. It may not be an action juggernaut but that doesn’t stop the Mobile
Police from doing their jobs right and somehow lucking into looking good (ish)
while doing so.
9/10
Well now that we’ve had a nice chill Post Otakon break,
it’s time to return to the Danger Zone.
We’re headed back to the Macross universe with
Macross Frontier,
starting Next Monday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment