It has been revealed that the popular character Isao Ota will appear in " Mobile Police Patlabor Mobile Police Patlabor EZY," a new anime in the popular "Mobile Police Patlabor" series, and that Michihiro Ikemizu, who voices Ota, will also be appearing in the series. The announcement was made on May 16th at a stage greeting event held at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) to commemorate the release of the first chapter of " Mobile Police Patlabor EZY." Ikemizu made a surprise appearance at the stage greeting and said, "It's been revived after more than 30 years!" and "I was deeply moved to see that Patlabor is still loved."
Ota played the Ingram Unit 2 Forward (pilot) in the Special Vehicles Division 2 Company (Special Vehicles Division 2) of "Mobile Police Patlabor." It has also been revealed that Shinji Mikiyasu, who was in charge of the Ingram Unit 2 Carrier in the Special Vehicles Division 2, will appear in the new series "EZY," and that Futamata Kazunari, who played Shinji, will also be appearing.
Director Sumire Uesaka Izubuchi, Kikunosuke Toya(who plays Kippei Amatori), and Chikahiro Kobayashi (who plays Akihiko Hazama) also appeared on stage for the greeting.
Ikemizu commented on the recording, saying, "As soon as I saw Ota's face, I went back to normal," and expressed her delight at working with Futamata, saying, "It was nostalgic. We hadn't seen each other for a while. It was nice to see my Patlabor comrades again."
Director Izubuchi explained the difference between the previous Ota and the new Ota: "Oshii's Ota is driven crazy by Happy Trigger. Yuuki Masami's manga also depicts his honest and righteous side. (The new one) also has a loving side, and he messes with Shinji and screams whenever something happens."
The appearance of other former Special Vehicles Division 2 members besides Ota and Shinji is also something to look forward to, and Director Izubuchi revealed, "We'll have them appear as guest characters. I've talked to Ito (Kazunori) and we've decided not to bring them in too much. The old members are all strong personalities, so we'll bring them in little by little in a fun way. Sadly, some of the cast members have passed away, but their characters live on in this world. There are hints, and you can make connections when you look at the pictures."
According to director Izubuchi, "In the past, Ikemizu-san did the opening sequence, but this time it's Furukawa-san (Toshio Furukawa, who plays the role of Yuma Shinohara)." Ikemizu-san added, "I met Furukawa-chan yesterday. We talked about Patlabor."
"Mobile Police Patlabor" is a multimedia project created by the legendary creative group "HEADGEAR," consisting of Masami Yuki, Izubuchi, Kazunori Ito, Akemi Takada, and Mamoru Oshii. It began in 1988 with six OVAs (Original Video Animations) called "Early Days," and has since expanded into manga by Yuki, television anime, theatrical anime films, novels, audio dramas, games, and more.
"Mobile Police Patlabor EZY" is set in Japan in the 2030s, a time when the working population is declining and automation through AI technology is advancing. Labors, once cutting-edge technology, have become an established part of supporting the social infrastructure. Standalone Labors piloted by humans are being replaced by autonomous robots and are becoming obsolete. No matter how times change, the work of Special Vehicles Division 2 remains the same: protecting people and the city. The Second Platoon, along with the AV-98Plus Ingram, a tuned-up version of the old Type 98 AV Ingram, confronts new technological crimes with wit and courage. The series consists of three chapters and eight episodes in total, with Chapter 1 released in theaters on May 15th. Chapter 2 will be released in theaters on August 14th, and Chapter 3 in March 2027.
