Arguably one of the very best Japanese animated films ever made ( it definitely ranks in my top 5 and only behind favorites like AKIRA, Ghost In The Shell & Princess Mononoke ), Mamoru Oshii’s Patlabor 2 : The Movie 2 (1993) has finally been re-mastered in glorious 4K UHD. Here are some pictures of the fantastic box-set –

The set is housed in a thick sturdy cardboard slip-case, and the contents include the jewel case for the 2 discs ( 1 4K UHD disc + 1 SD blu-ray disc ), a small booklet that gives some background information on the film as well as select genga/BG art and settei pieces, and lastly a storyboard book drawn by Mamoru Oshii himself.

Now let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way; I’m really not a fan of the box cover art and found it rather sterile and boring; I feel any older illustration by the film’s character designer Akemi Takada would have made it much more appealing.

(above & below) Some BG art and layout drawings found in the small booklet, these are showcased much more extensively in the numerous Patlabor movie art books that I’ve reviewed in the past.

(above & below) Storyboards for the film draw by director Mamoru Oshii. They might not be as polished and/or visually pleasing as those done by Katsuhiro Otomo for AKIRA or Steamboy, but they certainly serve their purpose and are very faithful to the finished shots that appear in the movie.

And finally, about the video quality of the 4K UHD presentation; as a disclaimer I am not a professional physical media reviewer and can only offer my layman take, but the images are certainly a marked improvement from the prior SD blu-ray version of the film. The images are sharper but not overly enhanced, the colors more vibrant but not overly saturated, with an overall improvement in the fidelity that gives better details, both in the cel drawings as well as the BG art.

In summary, this is now the best presentation of the movie available on home video. The storyboard book is certainly a nice bonus to have, especially for the rather high price of the set, but the highlight is still the fantastic video quality of the 4K UHD, and this comes recommended.

“Patlabor 2 : The Movie 4K UHD details :

– 2 discs ( 4K UHD + SD blu-ray )
– 4K film scan re-master
– With English and Japanese subtitles

  
Buy From Amazon.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | CDJapan

You might also be interested in these items :