A screening of the first episode of "Mobile Police Patlabor EZY," a new anime adaptation of the popular "Mobile Police Patlabor" franchise, titled "The Trend is #SecondPlatoon," was held at Musashino Public Hall (Musashino City, Tokyo) on February 14th. The new work is directed by Yutaka Izubuchi, a member of the legendary creative group "HEADGEAR" who was in charge of mechanical design, and Kazunori Ito, also of "HEADGEAR," is in charge of the script and series composition. JCSTAFF will produce the anime. "Mobile Police Patlabor EZY" was announced in 2017, and the pilot film was released in 2022. Approximately nine years after the announcement, the first episode has finally been unveiled. Izubuchi spoke about the new work.
The new work will consist of eight episodes in three chapters, with the first chapter being released in theaters on May 15th, the second on August 14th, and the third in March 2027. The screening was attended by Sumire Uesaka, who plays Kuga Towa, the pilot of Ingram Unit 1, Kikunosuke Toya, who plays Amatori Kippei, the commander of Ingram Unit 1, and JCSTAFF producer Yuji Matsukura, with Osamu Kobayashi acting as MC.
Izubuchi said, "It was JCSTAFF from the beginning. There was talk even before (Mamoru) Oshii made the live-action version. There were a lot of things that happened, and the director dropped out twice. I didn't intend to take on the role of director." However, producer Matsukura pushed him, saying, "It won't come together without the key people," and he ended up taking on the role of director.
Izubuchi said with deep emotion, "The scenario started with the two of them (Towa and Kippei) joining the army, so it was a different format. A lot of things happened, so it took this long. Now that it's on track, we can unveil it like this."
"Mobile Police Patlabor REBOOT" was also released in 2016. Izubuchi explained, "Towa and Kippei follow on from 'REBOOT'. Kippei is on board. I had thought of Towa taking command, but Ito-san told me at the beginning that it would be difficult to do so. He asked if it was okay to put them in the positions of Noa and Yuma from the past."
Uesaka, who plays Towa, said, "As a Patlabor fan, I thought of her as Noa's successor, but when I read the materials, I feel that her personality is more like Ota's. You can feel the original's ideology in every character, which makes me happy as a fan." Kippei said, "It has the feel of the Second Platoon, and the buddy feeling between Towa and Kippei is there."
Matsukura said, "It's a new work, but in a good way it feels like déjà vu. It has the same Patlabor atmosphere. It's an atmosphere that comes from Izubuchi being the director." Izubuchi added, "I tried to go back to my roots. I thought, 'What would it be like now?' but would it be interesting if I did that? I want to create a one-off feel that is typical of Patlabor. When I thought about what makes Patlabor unique, I went back to my roots and made fun the main focus. In the past I was conscious of what would happen about 10 years from now, and I'm conscious of depicting the new work about 10 years from now as well. The characters that appeared in the past have gotten older. I'm trying to make sure I don't disappoint you."
Set in a near future where walking work machines called Labors have become a practical tool, "Mobile Police Patlabor" depicts the exploits of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Special Vehicle Unit 2 (Special Vehicle Unit 2) as they fight against Labor crimes, as well as the daily lives of Izumi Noa and other members of the unit. Masami Yuki's manga was serialized in the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan) from 1988 to 1994. An anime TV series aired from 1989 to 1990, and the animated feature film directed by Mamoru Oshii also gained popularity. A live-action version was also produced, which generated a lot of buzz.
"Mobile Police Patlabor EZY" is set in Japan in the 2030s, a time of declining labor force and increasing automation through AI technology. Labors, once cutting-edge technology, have become an integral part of social infrastructure. Standalone labors piloted by humans are increasingly being replaced by autonomous robots, making them obsolete. Even as times change, the Special Vehicle Section 2's job remains the same: to protect people and the city. Together with the AV-98Plus Ingram, a tuned-up version of the old Type 98 AV Ingram, the Second Platoon uses their wisdom and courage to confront new technology-based crimes.
