Patlabor

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AndyThomas
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Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2001 12:42 am
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Patlabor

Post by AndyThomas »

I recently indulged in the new(ish) Patlabor double DVD set featuring both movies, and it may be of interest to the more artistically inclined amongst you as there's quite an interesting 60 minute making of feature on the first disc. This includes a fair amount of discussion on the use of CGI in the films, both the obvious and not so obvious examples, which may be of interest.Oh, and there is a Star Fleet link - Peter Marinker, better known as Dr Benn and a long time UK anime dubbing veteran, plays one of the lead characters in the films.
Andy Thomas - SFXB Webmaster and Forum Moderator
FZeroOne
Posts: 419
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2002 1:42 pm

Patlabor

Post by FZeroOne »

I thought one of the voices was familiar... in fact a quick refresh of my memory reveals that he plays none other than Captain Goto, one of the best scripted anime characters ever created!May I suggest, Andy, that if you liked the movies that you investigate the "Patlabor on TV" TV series? Its my third favourite anime (after Kikis Delievery Service and Urusei Yatsura). Its more humorous than the rather serious-toned movies, but exceptionally well written - Captain Goto steals every scene hes in, even when hes standing in the background not doing anything!Its also been noted by others that Patlabor shares with Thunderbirds a similiar setting - that of a near future world where technology brings both good and bad fortune to those that employ it.
"The power of bakers, the power of artists; even the power of witches! It must be a power given by God... sometimes we suffer for it."- Ursula, Kikis Delivery Service.
AndyThomas
Posts: 1706
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2001 12:42 am
Contact:

Patlabor

Post by AndyThomas »

Well, Patlabour addresses very common anime themes - man coming to terms with the technology he has created. I've heard of the TV series but not seen any official releases of it, it'd certainly be something I'd be interested in. For a mecha show the movies really didn't rely on the mecha aspect a huge amount, which is interesting as a lot of the time they're really on a par with the characters, as in the Gundam series...
Andy Thomas - SFXB Webmaster and Forum Moderator
FZeroOne
Posts: 419
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2002 1:42 pm

Patlabor

Post by FZeroOne »

You know, I seem to spend most of my life arguing that theres more to mecha shows than giant robots bashing each other... and then something like the Patlabor movies come along and people think they're boring... sigh. I guess always being on the losing side is the fate of many a mecha pilot... Patlabor appeared at the beginning of the 90s, and after a time when it was generally thought that mecha shows had lost ground to more "human"-based stories, like Kimagure Orange Road and Touch. Even Yoshiyuki Tomino tried to kill Gundam off for good with Chars Counterattack in 1988. [1]Patlabors "trick" was that it combined mecha with humour and well-written character interactions. One of the best episodes of the TV series revolves around the crisis that befalls Section 2 when they can't get any take-out food delievered! (Patlabor went on to become a huge hit, and Gainax took the human factor in a much darker direction a few years later with the equally successful Evangelion. It also helped that Patlabor had an exceptionally talented production crew, including Mamoru Oshii and Akemi Takeda - the character designer for Kimagure Orange Road... )The TV series isn't available in the UK, Andy, but is available on Region-1 DVD. Alternatively, if you can find them, you could probably pick up the earlier NTSC video release for a song. One thing I've never been able to understand is that for all its greatness, Patlabor on TV just doesn't get the attention it deserves...[1] Boy, that worked...
"The power of bakers, the power of artists; even the power of witches! It must be a power given by God... sometimes we suffer for it."- Ursula, Kikis Delivery Service.
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