Patlabor 2: The Movie

1993 1h 53m JA

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 159

AnimationScience FictionActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Japanese police unit who use giant anthropomorphic robots (called Labors) is caught up in a political struggle between the civilian authorities and the military when a terrorist act is blamed on an Air Force jet. With the aid of a government agent, the team gets close to a terrorist leader to stop things from going out of control when after the military is impelled to impose martial law.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Mina Tominaga
Noa Izumi (voice)
Toshio Furukawa
Asuma Shinohara (voice)
Ryusuke Ohbayashi
Kiichi Goto (voice)
Yoshiko Sakakibara
Shinobu Nagumo (voice)
Michihiro Ikemizu
Isao Ohta (voice)
Daisuke Gori
Hiromi Yamazaki (voice)
Shigeru Chiba
Shigeo Shiba (voice)
Issei Futamata
Mikiyasu Shinshi (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mamoru Oshii
Writers: Kazunori Ito, Masami Yuki, Kazunori Ito
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Patlabor Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mamoru Oshii, shot by Akihiko Takahashi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kenji Kawai. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yoshiyuki Wada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mina Tominaga and Toshio Furukawa and Ryusuke Ohbayashi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0124770 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mamoru Oshii directs. Akihiko Takahashi behind the camera. Kenji Kawai scores. Yoshiyuki Wada cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Patlabor Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Mamoru Oshii, shot by Akihiko Takahashi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Kenji Kawai. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Yoshiyuki Wada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Mina Tominaga and Toshio Furukawa and Ryusuke Ohbayashi carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0124770 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Akihiko Takahashi
Original score: Kenji Kawai
Editing: Yoshiyuki Wada
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Original language: JA
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)

Part of

Patlabor Collection

The story takes place in what was, at the time of release, the near future of 1998-2002. Robots called "Labors" are employed in heavy construction work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police has its own fleet of Patlabor robotic police officers to combat crimes and deal with accidents involving Labors. The story arcs usually revolve around Tokyo Metropolitan Police Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2. Noa Izumi is the main protagonist of the series, but all of Division 2 play roles. The feature films follow separate continuities, referred to as the "movie timeline" and the "TV timeline." The different OVA series follow either the movie or TV timelines.

Also by

Mamoru Oshii

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Production companies

Who made it

Production I.G
JP
Bandai Visual
JP
TFC
JP
IN
ING
JP

Key crew

DecoratorSatoshi Kon
Key AnimationAkio Takami
Key AnimationAkiharu Ishii
Key AnimationKumiko Kawana
Key AnimationAtsushi Takeuchi
Key AnimationSumio Watanabe
Key AnimationAtsuo Tobe
Key AnimationEiji Suganuma
Key AnimationKazunobu Hoshi
Key AnimationMasahiro Koyama
Key AnimationMasatsugu Arakawa
Key AnimationHiroyuki Okiura
Key AnimationKiichi Takaoka
Key AnimationHiroaki Oogami
Key AnimationManabu Tanzawa
Key AnimationKouichi Hashimoto
Key AnimationMasahiro Ando
Key AnimationTakahiro Kishida
Key AnimationMorifumi Naka
Key AnimationYasushi Muraki
Key AnimationTakahiro Komori
Key AnimationYoshimi Katsumata
Key AnimationAkira Oguro
Key AnimationKazuya Takeda

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

police
mecha
anime
real robot

Release history · US

When it landed

Physical2015-07-21PG-13· Blu-ray / DVD
Physical2006-07-11NR· DVD
Physical2018-11-06PG-13· part of Patlabor the Mobile Police: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray

Also known as