The novel "Mobile Police Patlabor: Sushi Restaurant Owner Goto" (Bungei Shunju), based on the popular anime and other media series "Mobile Police Patlabor," was released on June 25th. This highly anticipated work saw a massive reprint ordered just one week after pre-orders began. Written by Kazunori Ito, the series' scriptwriter and composition writer, this "legitimate (?) sequel" features Captain Kiichi Goto as a sushi restaurant owner. The cover art was drawn by Masami Yuki, the author of the "Mobile Police Patlabor" manga.
The mook "Weekly Bunshun Entertainment + Special Feature: Mobile Police Patlabor" (published by the same publisher) released on May 15th has sold out at bookstores everywhere, and has gone into its fourth printing and surpassed 30,000 copies in just about two weeks since its release. The first chapter of the new anime "Mobile Police Patlabor EZY," which premiered in theaters on May 15th, has been a hit, grossing over 200 million yen at the box office, and related books also seem to be doing well.
"Goto the Sushi Chef" sees Kiichi Goto, the former captain of the Special Vehicles Division 2nd Platoon, appearing as a sushi chef 30 years after "that day." Goto runs a small sushi restaurant in Atami, and former members of Special Vehicles Division 2, including Yuma, Noa, Ota, Shinji, Yamazaki, and Kanuka, visit the restaurant. Some bookstores are distributing short stories featuring the characters as a bonus for purchasers.
Ito commented, "Rather than a legitimate sequel, I intended it to be more like a fan fiction by the author himself. As I was writing, I felt that I couldn't just leave ' Mobile Police Patlabor: The Movie 2' as it was, so I added quite a few episodes. What!? A reprint has been decided before release!? Oh, that's scary, scary, scary..."
Yuki said, "It was much more interesting than I had imagined! At first I thought, 'A sushi restaurant?' (laughs)."
"Mobile Police Patlabor" is a multimedia project created by the legendary creative group "HEADGEAR," consisting of Yuki, Yutaka Izubuchi, Ito, Akemi Takada, and Mamoru Oshii. It began in 1988 with an OVA (Original Video Animation) called "Early Days," and has since expanded into manga by Yuki, television anime, theatrical anime films, novels, audio dramas, games, and live-action films.
"Mobile Police Patlabor EZY" will consist of three chapters and eight episodes in total, with the second chapter being released in theaters on August 14th and the third chapter in March 2027.
