Note : This is a 2 volume art book; read my review for the volume covering the character designs here.

To commemorate the 35th anniversary of the popular Japanese science fiction media franchise Patlabor ( starting with the comic by Masami Yuki, first published in 1988 ), publisher Genkosha has released several art books, the first of which is this massive 2 volume collection.

Titled The Mobile Police Patlabor Official Archives (機動警察パトレイバー35th 公式設定集), it is an exhaustive 528 pages resource that collects all the character and mechanic designs from the numerous OVA series, 3 feature films, short film ( Reboot ), marketing materials and more.

Because of the huge amount of content needed to be covered, I have split the review into 2 parts to cover each volume individually; this one will focus on the mechanic designs. You can read my review for the volume on character designs here.

Just like the coverage for the character designs, the material collected in this ( mechanic ) volume is very extensive as well, and to the best of my knowledge, I do believe every single Patlabor mecha that appeared at some point in TV series , the 3 feature films as well as the animated short are all included in this book; labor models like the Ingram, Helldiver, Asuka, Tyrant, Blocken, Abraham, Griffon, HAL Type X-10, Bulldog, and many many more ! Also included are the vehicles and aircraft like the Patlabor mobile carrier, the gunships from Patlabor 2, numerous other helicoptors, planes, etc.

If you are a long time reader of my blog, you might have seen reviews of older Patlabor art books I’ve reviewed that might have overlapping material with the ones found in this new book, but many of those older publications have lost since gone out of print, and so it is actually a much welcomed move by the publisher to give Patlabor fans another chance to collect these art work.

The 2 separate volumes that make up this collection; character designs (above) & mecha designs (below). They come housed in a thin cardboard casing will the full color illustration of Ingram and Noa ( image higher above ).

(above & below) On top of the mecha model sheets, this volume also includes a good collection of movie posters from the entire franchise; I only wished they had allocated a full page spread for every individual poster, as some of them are rather too small to enjoy.

This voluminous 2 book set is the most comprehensive collection of Patlabor character and mecha designs yet published, and makes for an excellent resource for fans of the franchise. Recommended.

Read my review for the volume covering the character designs here.

The Mobile Police Patlabor Official Archives 機動警察パトレイバー35th 公式設定集 art book details :

– Dimensions –‎ 29.7 x 21 x 3 cm
– 2 softcover volumes, total 528 pages
– Full color, in Japanese language

  
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