You just can’t keep Noa “bloody” Izumi down. After dominating Japan back during the original run of the TV series, movies and OVAs, Japan was at one point rather overdone with this character as everything was Noa, Noa, Noa. And now, after quite a draught of Patlabor material being available in the US, the original seven episode Patlabor OVA series is making its return to the marketplace via Maiden Japan. The company is set to release the series on DVD and Blu-ray, along with digital distribution, later this year through Sectoin 23 distribution. The series has some strong credits to its name with direction by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) with scripts by Kazunori Ito (Dirty Pair), character designs by Akemi Takada (Kimagure Orange Road), mechanical designs by Yutaka Izubuchi (Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack) and music by Kenji Kawai (Vampire Princess Miyu).
Plot Concept: Drunk drivers are bad, but put a drunk driver in a giant robot called a Labor and you’ve got a disaster waiting to happen. And when REAL criminals get their hands on those same giant robots, the cops need giant robots of their own just to maintain the status quo, right? Well, in any case, that’s the logic behind the development of the Patlabor program and special Labor Crime units like Japan’s Section 2. But what logic fails to take into account is where to find police officers who’re equally conversant with both robots and the regulations? And THAT’s where the motley crew of Section 2, Division 2 comes in! With ridiculously perky tomboy Noa Izumi and gun-happy madman Isao Ohta as primary Labor pilots and the impossibly laid back Captain Goto in what passes for command, SV2 is ready to hit the streets with their twenty ton feet! But will they be taking a byte out of crime or have they bitten off more than they can chew? The law of the land and the laws of robotics are about to collide in MOBILE POLICE PATLABOR!
