With the rapid development of Hyper Technology came the Labor...
a multi-purpose, humanoid construction machine whose use...
spread into almost every field.
However, this gave rise to a new threat to society: Labor crime.
The Tokyo Metro Police founded the Special Vehicles, Section 2...
within the Security Division to combat these ever-growing crimes.
This was the beginning of the SV2 Patrol Labor... Patlabor... units.
You really threw a wrench into my works
If I can get my heartbeat under control, I think I'll make it
We're futurists, you and me; technicians of love
Higher, faster, I'll love you if I want to
I think I'll get to like
The way I get flushed at the touch of your metal body
Oh, don't stop this gravity-defying feeling
That goes way beyond mere imagination
You really threw a wrench into my works
When I hold him tight, my Alphonse can do anything
We're futurists, you and me; technicians of love
Anytime, anywhere, nothing's impossible
Nothing's impossible
SV2 maintenance here.
Chief!
We just got a confirmation call from the manufacturer!
Three Ingram AV-98 Patrol Labors, along with their transport trailers...
left their Hachiouji factory at 7 this morning!
Their ETA is 11:00 AM.
Good.
- Old Man. - What?
The new Labors are finally coming!
What about it?
I'm so happy I could cry!
We're supposed to be the Metro Police's high-tech vanguard squad...
the forerunners of the police of the future!
But the truth is, with all the budgeting and planning problems...
we're stuck out here in this reclaimed area...
and our "equipment" is just three second-hand construction Labors...
that were painted black and white!
In the three months since the SV2 was founded...
they've looked down on us, calling us the force's trash!
Their appendix! A fifth wheel!
It's been rough on the squad, especially us maintenance people!
But today, we'll kiss those hard days goodbye...
with the arrival of those three new Labors...
as we're reborn as a real Patrol Labor unit, a proud unit...
that will drive a wedge of justice into the tumultuous days to come!
Shige.
When I was 12, my dad beat me for taking apart...
our footwarmer-engine scooter.
In the fifty years since then, machines have been my life.
I don't have any pretensions or vanity anymore.
But...
I want to see those brand-new machines more than anyone;
I want to fiddle with 'em, take 'em apart.
I've been standing out here all morning with that on my mind.
I'm a machine moron, an outdated nuts 'n bolts kind of guy.
A shuttle from headquarters?
I wonder what they're doing out here at this hour?
I've seen something like this in a movie.
It was something like "Rabaul" or "Fighter Zero" or "One Family"...
with no women in them;
the mechanics were in the mafia, 'n were always drinking, gambling...
cooking rice in outdoor cookers, 'n bonding by fighting all the time.
So? That's the army.
Cops and the army both have ranks and guns... what's the difference?
He has a point. It certainly doesn't seem like Tokyo out here.
Now's the time to run.
Run if you want. But if you do, I'll shoot you for desertion.
Now that's the army.
Hey! You new guys out front!
Up here!
Bring your papers with you and assemble in the SV2 Chief's Office!
Damn, he spotted us.
Let's go!
Move it!
Hello.
Looks like your personnel got here first.
I hope you have some worthwhile people.
Why wouldn't I?
They passed up my unit of veterans and gave you...
those top-of-the-line Labors. You'd better have some good people.
That was HQ's decision. The same with the five people they chose.
Five?
I'm missing one.
Hey! This area's off-limits to civilians!
If you play around here, you're gonna get arrested.
Officer Noa Izumi reporting for duty with the Security Division's...
Special Vehicles Section 2, Second Unit.
Nice to meet you!
All right, here are your assignments:
Unit 1: Forward, Noa Izumi.
Yes!
Backup, Asuma Shinohara.
Unit 2: Forward, Isao Ota.
Backup, Mikiyasu Shinshi.
Power Crew, Hiromi Yamazaki.
I had planned to wait for the new Labors to get here...
and then assign them immediately so you could start their patterning.
Chief!
But it looks like it's still going to be a while...
so why don't you go grab something to eat?
Yes, sir!
Chief!
It's an urgent call from the transport driver, Chief.
Sakaki here.
We're stuck in weekend traffic!
With those bombings in Shiba and Takebashi, we can't move an inch!
We're right in front of the Miyakezaka interchange now.
I didn't wanna use the expressway because it's a priority delivery.
But with that Labor being hijacked on the highway just last week...
your chief told us to make sure we used the expressway.
He said the police would never live it down...
if one of their own Labors got stolen.
Huh? What?
QUIET!
Um, it's nothing. I was talking to someone over here.
Huh? You're going to wait until the Labors get there?
I don't mind, but I don't know when we're gonna get there.
So he's been waiting out there since this morning.
He can be pretty stubborn.
He must really like Labors. I think we'll get along!
From what I've heard, he's been a mechanic...
ever since they founded the motorcycle police corps.
When he goes down to HQ, they say...
the Maintenance Division Chief himself greets him at the door.
Heck, he's like God to us.
Wow.
No matter what it says on paper...
the top dog around here is Old Man Sakaki.
#2 is Captain Nagumo, the First Unit's chief.
And I guess way down there in a distant third is your Captain Goto.
Hey, what's the matter? Aren't you gonna eat any lunch?
I didn't bring one.
Man, I wish I had a girlfriend to make my lunch for me.
I made this. Would you like one?
Is there any place around here that delivers?
Heck, any place delivers if you order more than two items.
It'll take more than an hour, though.
There's a corner store run by an old lady a couple of miles away.
Want to borrow a bike? The handlebar's bent, though.
Guns? You mean the Labors' 20mm revolver cannons?
Sure, we keep 'em in here, but you need the Old Man's okay to open it.
You want me to let you use a 20mm because you want some practice?
If you want to practice, go get permission from your captain.
Shooting practice?
I ought to have experience with live ammo before I'm sent out.
How are you going to fire it without a Labor?
- I'll borrow one from the First Unit! - I doubt they'll lend you one.
Then once my Labor gets here...
You can only fire a gun of that caliber at the Fuji shooting range...
and the Self Defense Forces have it booked through winter.
What about shotguns? I've heard Labor Unit members can use them.
Ota!
You have to put in an application to get ammunition...
and it takes a month to get it after a strict review.
You can expect one shooting practice session a year, tops.
Then how am I supposed to fulfill my duties when the time comes?
Come on, Ota, call it quits.
You'll have to. "Don't waste valuable bullets...
and avoid live-fire practice as much as possible.
Should the need arise, do the job with one shot."
That's the way it is for soldiers and cops here in Japan.
That doesn't make any sense! Let me... Let me fire a gun, sir!
Let me...
Let me shoot a gun, damn it!
There's nobody here!
Does the First Unit have the day off?
Get real.
There was an explosion on an expressway interchange...
and they were sent out as backup a while ago.
Found one!
So this is the first Patlabor model.
Don't you think he looks like a bad guy, kinda?
It's called the first, but it's basically just an Asuka 95...
civil engineering Labor that's been upgraded.
But the Type-98 AV Patrol Labor is a whole different beast.
It was built for anti-Labor combat, and deliberately designed...
to have a psychological impact on anyone who sees it.
You're a strange guy, Shinohara.
For someone who doesn't know much about Labor units...
you sure seem to know a lot about Labors.
Yeah, I guess.
Hey, Asuma.
- Stop calling me "Asuma," okay? - Why?
I don't like being on a first-name basis so quickly.
What should I call you, then?
Figure it out yourself!
Geez, this guy sure acts high n' mighty.
Asuma Shinohara... Shinohara...
I know that name from someplace.
Shinohara Heavy Industries
Hey, Mr. Shinohara.
Don't call me "mister"!
Are you related to someone at Shinohara Heavy Industries, Asuma?
It's my dad's company.
No kidding. I had a feeling...
No way! It's your dad's company?
You're the son of the president of Shinohara Heavy Industries?
What? How come his son is a public servant?
- Well? - My parents suckered me into it.
Oh, there you are! We've got work to do!
Dad, you bastard. You go and sign me up on the sly...
and then use your connections to get me accepted.
"For my education," my butt.
Sounds like he didn't have much faith in you as his successor.
So what about you? What made you join up?
Me? To pilot Alphonse, of course.
"Alphonse"? What's that?
My Pattie's name!
I've been working on it since I decided to join up!
Man, it must be nice to get a job that you actually want to do.
Yeah, and I even got selected as a Forward!
I don't know what I would've done if I got into the Labor unit...
but couldn't pilot a Labor.
Shit! This sucks!
Why am I being forced to cut grass out here at the ends of the earth?
Let me shoot a gun, damn it!
I'm gonna run away!
Cut. And cut.
Patlabor
Uh, Tamiko? It's Mikiyasu.
I know it's sudden, but we're on the night shift starting tonight.
I'm sorry.
No, I've eaten.
Instant ramen and some melon-jam muffins.
It was delicious.
Because of these explosions, traffic on the Metro expressway...
is still at a standstill, and near the Takabashi interchange...
Akemi Ito, a housewife from Musashino, went into labor...
This stinks.
There's no telling when I'll finally get to meet Alphonse!
What were they thinking when they decided to go through a...
perpetual parking lot like the Shuto Expressway, of all places?
Thanks to them, just when I thought we were getting off with...
just a day of cutting grass, they stick us with night duty.
If we had some beer here, maybe we could enjoy it...
but all we have is oolong tea and some nuts. This is pathetic.
This stinks.
Watch it, slacker! You're on duty!
C'mon, nothing's gonna happen on our first day.
And even if something did, what can we do without any Labors?
Hey! Shinohara!
Now what?
Turn that up.
Report from 8th Precinct:
Unidentified Labor spotted near the mouth of the Sumida River.
It escaped from the Maritime Police and is moving up the river.
It is currently moving northward.
It is armed with an unidentified weapon. Use extreme caution.
Report from 8th Precinct:
Unidentified Labor spotted near the mouth of the Sumida River.
Come on, Shinshi! Hurry! We're meeting in the hangar!
Coming!
Dispatch orders for the Second Unit have just come down.
We're not sure what we're up against, but it's...
a powerhouse that took out a Maritime Agency boat with one shot.
As you all know, our Labors are still stuck near Edobashi.
With that in mind...
we're going to go pick them up.
Yamazaki will borrow the First Unit's #3 trailer and leave...
immediately for Edobashi with Izumi and Ota.
Izumi and Ota will then activate Labors 1 and 2.
They will then meet with Shinohara and Shinshi, who will go on ahead...
in their command cars, and run their initial pattern loads.
I'll contact you via radio as to where to meet and how to proceed.
Don't waste any time.
That's all.
Any questions?
- Yeah! - Right here!
I'm sorry for calling so late. My name is Goto, I'm with the SV2.
May I speak to your daughter Shinobu, please?
Systems E, F, G, L, M activated.
Unit 1, activated!
System C synchronized! Systems G, H, J, L, M activated.
Unit 2, activated! Raise me!
You sure? If anything happens, it ain't gonna be on my head!
Can it! Just do it!
You got it!
Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry.
Ota! Jump! Jump!
Hello?
What do you mean, "Hello?" How's it coming?
Both units have been activated. Now beginning retriev...
To all cars on patrol.
Target came ashore at the Asakusa-Azumabashi...
and is now heading for Kokusai Avenue.
Target ID'd as a Shinohara Type-98 "Pickle"...
mountain construction Labor.
Target's original intent believed to be terrorist activities in...
the New South Senjuu midtown area, but details are unclear.
Shinshi, you take Uguisudani. Shinohara, take Joumyou Temple.
Set up a dragnet.
Guide our guest off of Kototoi Avenue into Ueno Park.
Wouldn't it be better to take it on near Iriya, Captain?
- No. - Why not?
That's where I was born.
Have you finished the retrieval, Yamazaki?
Do you read me? Over.
Unit 2 has been retrieved, but Unit 1 is, uh...
What's wrong with Unit 1? What're you doing over there, Izumi?
No way! If I jump from here, I'll bust Alphonse!
Target now turning off of Kokusai Avenue onto Kototoi Avenue.
Target now turning off of Kokusai Avenue onto Kototoi Ave.
The Iriya intersection and Showa Avenue roadblocks are ready!
B Squad, back up C Squad! Guard the entrance to Ueno Park!
Almost all the civilians have been evacuated from the park!
Okay, good work.
"March, the month of Spring. Strangled and left behind, the dead...
dances in the flowers."
Oh, what the hell.
Looks like the gang's all here.
Okay, it's time to get to work.
All units, report in.
Uguisudani here. Unit 2 in position.
Joumyou Temple here.
Initial pattern load complete. Now in position.
Okay, looks like we managed to squeak by.
Don't worry. You both have Shinohara Labors...
but we have the advantage, specs-wise.
"Pickle." What a dumb name.
That's what I thought.
You want some? Come and get it, criminal!
You won't get one step past me!
What're you talking about? He's supposed to get past us!
Our job is to keep it from going north towards Nippori...
and guide it towards Ueno Park!
Shut up!
If I pump it full of lead right here, that'll be the end of it!
Here it comes!
Distance, 300... 250...
200... 150...
You just bought it!
H-His head! His head!
Ota! Ota!
The squad cars are wiped out? It knocked Ota's head off?
No!
That damned homicidal Labor.
Noa! That guy's a moron, but he's been your partner for a day!
Get even for him!
No way! I don't wanna take that thing on!
Stop babbling!
Stay away! Don't come this way!
Go away!
Noa! Go left!
This is Unit 1! Target is fleeing towards Ueno Park as planned!
Now in pursuit!
Noa! Hey, Noa! What're you doing?
Alphonse. Alphonse got turned into the One-Armed Man!
This is no time to cry! Go after him! Fight, Noa!
Turn that grief into rage and nail that three-legged bastard...
with the Fist of Justice!
That son of a...
That son of a bitch!
Man, I can't believe we ran out of gas.
This area's crawling with cops. Let's get out of here!
You are completely surrounded!
Throw down your weapons and exit the Labor immediately!
You are completely surrounded!
Throw down your weapons and exit the Labor immediately!
He's bluffing.
Listen up! This ain't one of the toys we've been using!
This is a real anti-tank missile!
If you move even an inch, I'll fire it into that museum!
This is why I didn't want to lead them in here!
He's bluffing, I'm telling you.
Okay! I want a getaway car here inside of five minutes...
along with food and a million bucks in old 10-dollar bills!
There you are!
Hold it right there!
Freeze! If you don't, I'll...
Shut up! Taste the Fist of Justice!
Rocket Punch!
Just when I thought I couldn't wait any more...
I get one with no head and another with one arm.
You can fix them... right?
I can fix them.
Please take good care of them!
- Shige! Get me cutting pliers! - Yes, sir!
Hey.
I thought you said I had the advantage, spec-wise.
Did I say that?
Yeah.
Well, it must've been that... what do you call it... arms gap.
I beat a three-armed Labor with just one.
Huh? Weren't those legs?
I'm sorry I called you in, but we couldn't have done it without you.
I don't let my personal feelings interfere with my work.
I still think that HQ screwed up somewhere along the line.
It would've been far more effective...
if they'd have given those new Labors to my unit.
You want them?
The new Labors, I mean.
I want them.
You can't have them.
Second Unit, Move Out!
Wrapped in an air of danger, a woman comes to the base.
What's the information that she brings to Tokyo...
which is on full alert before the mayor of New York comes to Japan?
I feel sorry for you, Asuma!
Next time! "Long Shot"!
Target, lock on!