The first teaser trailer for the much talked about live-action Patlabor has been released, offering a first glimpse of the visuals in the series. Check it out below :
I’m somewhat curious as to why the personnel of section 2 are decked out in combat gear more suited for desert warfare ? Is it to make them look more badass ? The getup looks more suited for a UN mission to Afghanistan rather than police duties set in a city area (the premise does seem to indicate so).
Nitpicks, I guess. I’m a very big fan of the original anime series, the 2 animated films by Mamoru Oshii (who is also serving as director this time round), so I really hope this will turn out to be a great series.
All 7 Episodes will get a limited theatrical screening starting from the 5th of April 2014. More details on the official site (in Japanese only).
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December 30th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
You have good point about Patlabor crew dressed in combat gear.
Initially I thought they dressed like Marine Corps Armored vehicle crew, but they dressed like infantry soldier who is ready to fight outside of a vehicle, not from the inside.
January 5th, 2014 at 1:53 am
I hope the story is still good though, despite the strange choice of outfit. I guess we’ll see. :]
January 15th, 2014 at 9:56 pm
I already a big fan of Patlabor Series since junior high school. So, I am high expecting it and curious how the live action version close to anime series.
It will available in 2014 or 2015?
June 10th, 2014 at 1:45 pm
My friend and I had a discussion about the uniforms in the Next Gen Patlabor, and we both agreed: we don’t like the change. We chalk it up to Oshii Mamoru’s military fetish (GITS, Jin Roh, etc.) which overruled the choices made by the collective HeadGear group. Mamoru even states he hated the look of the Ingrams and would have changed them too for the NG show, but realized fans would have not liked it.
My issue with the uniforms goes back to the idea that the Police should not be militarized. They serve an important function as civilian body within the state, and symbolically were at odds with the military in terms of their respective roles. Patlabor 2 and the Early Days 2 parter dealt with this. It’s almost like Mamoru’s fan-boy military fetish overrode the idea of what Patlabor was supposed to be. That original police uniform and tie were symbols of the police force in the original show. They really should bring them back. I hate the new uniforms.