Reviews (1)

Side Hurting Funny
I was just going to rent anything so i saw urusei yatsura on the bottom of the shelf and i said what the heck and rented it and let me tell you its very funny its about a boy and an alian princess and he likes a whole bunch of other girls and they get into a whole bunch of fighting and the voices are great i saw the subtitled one of course and later on i bought it and have all of the vidros and movies and let me tell you its good and funny all the way through ^_^ ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great video, contains some great episodes!!
In this volume of the science fiction series by Rumiko Takahashi, the characters of "Urusei Yatsura" take us on a number of crazy and fun adventures.

Inthe first episode, the character Ataru moroboshi, eats a special bean-paste cake that had all the evil of the world sealed into it. Upon consuming it, his good and bad sides (i.e. his lustful side and his noble side) are split, providing a welcome relief to the two girls who want him: the alien girl Lum, and his former girlfriend Shinobu. following this episode, sleeping in class, Ataru runs into the dream demon Mujaki, and his nightmare-eating pig Baku. But soon, things begin to spiral out of control, as only the best of Urusei Yatsura does.

In the next episode, Ataru's mother recaps a brief summary of the first Tv season's episodes and characters. It provides good insight if you're curious about the earlier volumes 1-5. After this, we are treated to an extended animated episode where on a school field trip, Ataru meets a female ninja, her childhood friends bent on killing her, and a tiny gaggle of childlike ninjas. The episode has plenty of jokes for all.

The finla episode has Lum's father asking her to return home to their planet. Little does Lum know that she is actually part of a plan for her father to marry her off to someone "better" than Ataru. When Lum's cousin Ten tells Ataru, he seems not the least interested, but he is worried to say the least. These series have very good humor to them. Even if the animation quality is very, very crude in these early episodes, the messages still get across. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The first Japanese animation video that I ever purchased.
Relying on word of mouth popularity, I purchased this video back in 1992. I was a bit nervous because at the time, the publisher(Animeigo) was still releasing their videos at very high prices. I wasn't disappointed. It was what made me a fan of Rumiko Takahashi cartoons and comics. I have also read the english translation of the comics and I think that this video is every bit as good as Takahashi's origional work. Now, when you start purchasing videos about bikini clad aliens that mildly resemble Japanese folk villians, people will think you are crazy. However, I can assure you that the stories are as intelegent as completely off-the-wall humor can get. If your video collection contains Mr. Bean and Betty Boop. . . well then, Have I got a video for you!

Those Obnoxious Aliens keep on coming!
Rumiko Takahashi's Urusei Yatsura is a must for Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, or One Pound Gospel lovers. This is the first video in the TV Series where Lum, our loveable, but crazy, alien appears. She wants to marry the luckless Ataru, when he only wanted to marry Shinobu. And now, Lum's family and friends start showing up... A household of crazy aliens! END ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Near Future Detective Science Fiction
This isn't the kind of Anime that really moves fast and has alot of violent action. It's kind of different seeing an Anime with no gore or blood. This is something Hollywood sure as hell could never do. This is like a combination of detective and investigation type movies, merged with a little bit of mecha action. If you like Anime and detective, mystery movies than this is definately for you. It's interesting throughout and sometimes very suspencefull but it's pretty slow moving, some would call it dull, but it's pretty good, though it could have used a little more action, violence and music to go along with it. The dubbing is OKAY at best, try the subtitles. I would actually give this 4 1/2 stars but I can't. and deciding between 4 stars(80%) or 5(100%), I'm gonna have to say that it's close to 5 stars. This is the kind of movie that stars out with a 0 percent excitement level then steadily rises. It could have been more suspencefull at it's climax, but considering it's a detective, cop, investigation movie, what do you expect.

No gore here.
People looking for gore should turn to Ninja Scroll (my favorite movie, which I highly recommend). I think it's refreshing to see an anime that contains very little violence. It operates on detective work and technology.

The story takes place in the near future. Labors are robots that humans operate, and they're used for policing. The robots have been going berzerk; E. Hoba, the person who wrote the program for the labors, committed suicide, so it's not like anyone can turn to him. Also, it seems that Hoba was the one who created the bug in the labors anyhow.

Noah and Azuma take matters into their own hands and begin to investigate. They're basically only rookies, and it's hard for them to get approval from their superiors. It makes for quite the interesting story. I liked it a lot.

Perfectly Watchable But Basically A Jazzed-Up TV Episode
* Fans of the PATLABOR anime series know the basic scenario:
in the near future, big robotic machines known as "Labors"
are common in industrial and military roles, and to combat
crimes performed by Labors a police "Patrol Labor" group is
set up. The heroes of the series are the personnel of
"Patlabor Division 2", a self-described "gang of losers" that
manage to get things done in spite of a maverick reputation.

The PATLABOR 1 movie involves Division 2 dealing with a rash
of Labors running amok, with suspicion falling on the operating
system for the Labors. Suspiciously, the chief designer of the
OS, an E. Hoba, committed suicide under bizarre circumstances.
The devious Captain Goto of Division 2 enlists (using a
little trickery) officer Asuma Shinohara to get to the bottom
of things, and soon a frightening plot emerges ...

The PATLABOR 1 movie is a reasonably well put together piece
of work, with good (if not extraordinary) production values,

and an intelligent (if not extraordinary) script. It is certainly
better than much of the indifferent anime that gets churned
out on a regular basis by Japan's animation studios.
However, PATLABOR 1 is basically just a scaled-up PATLABOR
TV episode, and the only thing it really brings to the party
is better production values over the TV show.

If you like the PATLABOR TV series, you'll probably like this
movie. If you were lukewarm on the TV series, you might not
find the movie very stimulating. In comparison to the
follow-on and outstanding PATLABOR 2 movie, it looks more like
a creditable practice exercise for producer Mamoru Oshii,
preparing him for better work to come.

A respectable series worth watching
If I wanted to introduce someone to the world of quality anime, this wouldn't be the title I'd pick. There ARE better out there...

BUT this is nothing to hoist your nose at, Patlabor has style and class. It's in my library and it's going to stay there. So if you are a fan of mechs or a good detective story and demand a higher level of quality in artwork and plot than most, this is a good choice. If you are on the edge of buying this let me tip you over to the "yes" side.

PATLABOR 1 THE MOVIE ROOLZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is a smart mecha tronic movie
i like azuma shinohara and noah izumi
this is a brilliant movie,even though i did not see the series
they say the 'd' word a few times but this movie is so cool! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Rebels on the moon in Japan¿s first made-for-video anime
DALLOS (1983) is the 83-minute cut of the four-episode series which constituted Japan's first OAV (Original Animation Video). It was directed by Mamoru Oshii who went on to do PATLABOR MOBILE POLICE, both the original OAV series and the two feature film versions, PATLABOR - THE MOBILE POLICE 1 and PATLABOR 2, as well as the 1995 sci-fi anime classic, GHOST IN THE SHELL.

DALLOS tells a story of armed resistance by worker colonists on the moon against a repressive Earth-backed government. In a strategy that foreshadows PATLABOR, the rebels use construction and mining equipment as weapons against the security forces. The main character is a teenaged boy, Shun, who is taken under the wing of the rebel leader and joins their cause, despite the opposition of his family. Dallos itself is a massive technological structure worshipped by the colonists. Its origin and purpose are unknown but when it's attacked, it comes to defensive life, firing off a series of laser beams at all combatants occupying its interior.

The character animation is somewhat simple and relatively crude, by Oshii's later standards, but the production design is spectacularly rendered, encompassing the sprawling city of Monopolis, the massive interiors of Dallos and other moonscapes, robot combat vehicles, spacecraft, and mining equipment. In addition, some of the battles are quite breathtaking, with fast action and sharp detail, rivaling similar battles in other anime space sagas such as "Mobile Suit Gundam" and "Robotech."

The U.S. dub is 83 minutes, 37 minutes shorter than the Japanese feature-length compilation of the original four-part series. Many dialogue scenes are cut which might have given key background information about the characters. Action scenes are shortened as well and bits of gore are excised. The English dub job is unusually poor. A new release would be most welcome, with a new dub and an alternate Japanese track with English subtitles. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Near Future Detective Science Fiction
This isn't the kind of Anime that really moves fast and has alot of violent action. It's kind of different seeing an Anime with no gore or blood. This is something Hollywood sure as hell could never do. This is like a combination of detective and investigation type movies, merged with a little bit of mecha action. If you like Anime and detective, mystery movies than this is definately for you. It's interesting throughout and sometimes very suspencefull but it's pretty slow moving, some would call it dull, but it's pretty good, though it could have used a little more action, violence and music to go along with it. The dubbing is OKAY at best, try the subtitles. I would actually give this 4 1/2 stars but I can't. and deciding between 4 stars(80%) or 5(100%), I'm gonna have to say that it's close to 5 stars. This is the kind of movie that stars out with a 0 percent excitement level then steadily rises. It could have been more suspencefull at it's climax, but considering it's a detective, cop, investigation movie, what do you expect.

No gore here.
People looking for gore should turn to Ninja Scroll (my favorite movie, which I highly recommend). I think it's refreshing to see an anime that contains very little violence. It operates on detective work and technology.

The story takes place in the near future. Labors are robots that humans operate, and they're used for policing. The robots have been going berzerk; E. Hoba, the person who wrote the program for the labors, committed suicide, so it's not like anyone can turn to him. Also, it seems that Hoba was the one who created the bug in the labors anyhow.

Noah and Azuma take matters into their own hands and begin to investigate. They're basically only rookies, and it's hard for them to get approval from their superiors. It makes for quite the interesting story. I liked it a lot.

Perfectly Watchable But Basically A Jazzed-Up TV Episode
* Fans of the PATLABOR anime series know the basic scenario:
in the near future, big robotic machines known as "Labors"
are common in industrial and military roles, and to combat
crimes performed by Labors a police "Patrol Labor" group is
set up. The heroes of the series are the personnel of
"Patlabor Division 2", a self-described "gang of losers" that
manage to get things done in spite of a maverick reputation.

The PATLABOR 1 movie involves Division 2 dealing with a rash
of Labors running amok, with suspicion falling on the operating
system for the Labors. Suspiciously, the chief designer of the
OS, an E. Hoba, committed suicide under bizarre circumstances.
The devious Captain Goto of Division 2 enlists (using a
little trickery) officer Asuma Shinohara to get to the bottom
of things, and soon a frightening plot emerges ...

The PATLABOR 1 movie is a reasonably well put together piece
of work, with good (if not extraordinary) production values,

and an intelligent (if not extraordinary) script. It is certainly
better than much of the indifferent anime that gets churned
out on a regular basis by Japan's animation studios.
However, PATLABOR 1 is basically just a scaled-up PATLABOR
TV episode, and the only thing it really brings to the party
is better production values over the TV show.

If you like the PATLABOR TV series, you'll probably like this
movie. If you were lukewarm on the TV series, you might not
find the movie very stimulating. In comparison to the
follow-on and outstanding PATLABOR 2 movie, it looks more like
a creditable practice exercise for producer Mamoru Oshii,
preparing him for better work to come.

A respectable series worth watching
If I wanted to introduce someone to the world of quality anime, this wouldn't be the title I'd pick. There ARE better out there...

BUT this is nothing to hoist your nose at, Patlabor has style and class. It's in my library and it's going to stay there. So if you are a fan of mechs or a good detective story and demand a higher level of quality in artwork and plot than most, this is a good choice. If you are on the edge of buying this let me tip you over to the "yes" side.

PATLABOR 1 THE MOVIE ROOLZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is a smart mecha tronic movie
i like azuma shinohara and noah izumi
this is a brilliant movie,even though i did not see the series
they say the 'd' word a few times but this movie is so cool! ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Superb political thriller
The fact that this is an anime film is quite besides the point; it is an outstanding film in its own right. The movie chronicles a civil crisis in Japan spurred on by a disgruntled former peacekeeper. Due to manipulation, the police and the military square off, threatening democratic rule. History and philosophy are dealt with extremely well.
The characters, principally the portagonist (a wizened police captain named Goto) are well-sketched and sympathetic. You needn't have seen any prior Patlabor to enjoy this movie thoroughly-but pay attention, lest you miss the suberbly intricate plot!

Drag of an anime movie....
This is NOT your typical Cowboy Bebop action anime. Rather it's about political intrigue and dialogue after diagolue that it left like I was watching a radio-show. Absolutely boring. I didn't care much for the animation either or even the characters. The characters look japanese this time, unlike what we're used to. I guess they want to make the story a more realistic trying to deal with mordern day issues.
There's barely any action. I must admit that I couldn't finish the movie because it was way too boring with all the cloak and dagger stuff going on. Likely, I was able to get this from the public library. I would have been upset if I rented this movie. This movie is recommended to hardcore anime fans. Those of you looking for action, humor etc go watch Cowboy Bebop or something like that. Not this movie!!!

Wonderful
The first thing the audience will notice is the beautiful animation. It's realism makes all the difference, which will be obvious for those who are familiar with "Ghost in the Shell". This anime is guided more towards the intellectual fans of anime, however I am sure cinema fans of all genres can enjoy the film. It does move slowly at some points, however this is due to the targeted audience and the director's attempt to make the film relate to real-world situtions. This brings up another point about realism; the film definately has a "not-to-distant future" feeling about it. It is somewhat reminiscent of a Tom Clancy story gone Sci-Fi. I highly recommend this film to any true anime fan.

Zzzzzz....
Perhaps I am just a miserable bugger, but I genuinely am better able to express why I *don't* like something that I am able to say why I *do*.

So, "Patlabor 2." A terrorist act sets in motion a chain of chaotic events which threaten to plunge Tokyo into anarchy. Sound interesting? Certainly does.

Too bad it's not.

"Patlabor 2" is very easy to compare to "Ghost in the Shell," except it's nowhere near as engaging. It suffers from "GitS" biggest flaw - idiotically long streams of overblown, expository dialogue which the viewer must strain to pay attention to, not helped by the fact that for the majority of these sequences, the animation is little more than a static shot, or a dull still pan. It doesn't stop there - you will have to sit through a ridiculously complex plot which could have been a lot simpler and not lost anything, and devastatingly, gut-wrenchingly, soul-destroyingly slow pacing that leaves the viewer genuinely *bored*.

It is fair to say the the Patlabor series and movie are not about mecha action, but the amount of Labor action in this film is so disgustingly low that it hampers it even further - those who tell you there is enough action in it are not being truthful. Given the chaotic nature of the story, one would think action was inevitable, yet it has somehow been worked around in favour of boring the audience to tears.

Additionally, the woefully overdone bird imagery of the film - which has no evident *meaning* - is rammed down the viewer's throat in a clumsily-constructed, unending stream which rapidly becomes intrusive and infuriating.

That all said, "Patlabor 2" has it's heart in the right place - it's a meticulous tale that has been painstakingly crafted, with beautiful, atmospheric animation. The problem is, it has been made without regard for the viewers. It's an overlong film, which pretends to be more than it is, because on closer inspection, it's actually about an hour of plot, stretched out into a shockingly empty two-hour movie.

Hardcore anime fans have a tendecy to praise this movie, and, yes, there are elements that are praiseworthy. The intent, if nothing else, is a great one. But the simple fact is, that the final composition of the praiseworthy elements is, bluntly, not a good movie.

An intellectual masterpiece
Like the first, the Patlabor Police are on the move to solve problems set in the future of Japan. This is full of action and something children should not be allowed to see! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

If only the rest of the Urusei Yatsura series was dubbed...
The story is about an alien race called the Oni, (a type of demon in Japanese mythology,) coming down to earth with plans of global conquest. They give us one chance to keep our freedom: A human must defeat thier princess, Lum, in a game of tag withing 10 days. The human selected is Ataru Moroboshi, a 17-year-old boy who just might the biggest letcher in the world-possibly even the universe. After nine days of failure, his girl friend Shinobu promises to marry him if he succeds. He does manage to beat Lum on the 10th. day, but when he cries,"Now I can get married!" Lum thinks it's a proposal to her! That's just the beggining. Unfortunatly, this tape only covers the first two episodes. (The subtitled videos have four episodes on each tape.) Also, aside from the second Urusei Yatsura movie, Beautiful Dreamer, this is the only tape in the series that was dubbed. Still, this is a great way to be introduced to the UY legacy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The family that watches UY together stays together!
This is a true testament to the genius of Rumiko Takahashi: When I was home for Christmas I brought this video, along with a few others, to show my sister. By the time we got to the third episode, my entire family as well as five of my sister's friends and one of their mothers were all sitting down to watch it together. Most of these people had never seen anime before, and probably wouldnt have wanted to if I had just asked them. But we all watched it and enjoyed it, and even talked and laughed about it afterwards. The moral of the story: Urusei Yatsura is genius, even to people who dont watch anime! ^_^

If you like Lum & Ataru as a couple, you'd love this video.
The first episode on here is when Lum and Ataru go on a date, and Ataru shows some emotion to let the viewer know how he truley feels about Lum. The second episode is when a watermelon god goes on a mad rampage. The third episode is about a typhoon coming, this one's funny.The last episode is about how Lum and Ten get drunk by eating pickled plums. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

DUDE! IT'S SO WEIRD! I mean COOL!
This is one of the BEST anime movies I've seen! I think I'm the youngest person to watch this movie(ten years old, dude!). SO even the younger ones might love this movie! Well, probably not be able too...

Great starter for those new to the series
This is simply one of the best anime movies I have seen. It combines great characters with a great story that throws you off just as you think you have it figured out. Beautiful Dreamer is not only fun for veteren Urusei Yatsura fans, but is a fantastic way to introduce people to the series. Granted, very few (two, in fact) alien characters are used, but for this plot the others wouldn't really fit anyway. This movie focuses mainly on our earthbound heroes as they struggle to find out what the heck is going on with their world. Trust me. This one's lotsa fun, with just the right blend of mystery and comedy to make a winner.

Wonderful movie, terrible DVD...
This is an awesome movie. Five stars, all the way. Unfortunatly, this DVD must have been taken from one of the worst film elements in existance. Three stars, at best.

When this disc was first announced, I assumed that CPM would license the newly-restored, anamorphic widescreen video released on the Japanese R2 DVD. What CPM chose to do was clean up the cropped-to-fullscreen video from the original R1 DVD and release that for this edition. Proof? Check out the 2:15 position, close to the edge of the screen. That red dot that appears repeatedly throughout the movie was on the first release, too. Also note the hard subtitles for signs are same font/color as the older disc, while the soft subs have been improved for better visibility.

Just to rub salt into an open wound, the original Japanese trailer on this disc *is* widescreen. Aarrghh!

On the plus side, the ending is complete now, including the Japanese credits and the full version of "Ai wa boomerang." Sweet! I think the subtitle translation was updated, too.

I was hoping for a new dub, but that was never going to happen. Not for a twenty year old anime movie with one U.S. release already. Even if the existing dub sucks. Even if the movie is the GREATEST film ever.

Overall, if you have the first release, don't bother with this one unless you're obsessive and/or a rabid Urusei Yatsura otaku. If you don't have the original, buy it NOW. You'll enjoy it.

Dream, dream, dream...
"Beautiful Dreamer" is the second Urusei Yatsura movie, and universally accepted as the best UY movie of them all. While not my favorite UY movie (that honor goes to "Only You"), I still throughoutly enjoyed "Beautiful Dreamer", and am glad that it's a part of my collection.

Comedy wise, this movie is full of the wacky antics we've come to expect from UY. Fans of Mendou will probably enjoy this movie a lot, since he gets plenty of screen time. Two scenes of his that especially stand out are: 1) where he giggles like a madman while trying to find an exit; 2) where he suddenly prances around in joy, laughing and giggling "Oh, you really don't know??!" at Ataru. Both scenes are hilarious because they were unexpected YET expected -- expected because this is Urusei Yatsura, and unexpected because of how unpredictable the character of Shutaro Mendou is.

Mendou aside, there are also many characters that get to showcase their unique personalities. Unlike the first movie, "Beautiful Dreamer" focuses on the humans rather than the aliens this time around. In fact, other than Lum and Ten (which are main characters, anyway) + a few other really small cameos, you don't see any other aliens in the movie. The spotlight is mostly put on Lum, Sakura, Mendou, Megane + Fan club, and even Onsen-Mark. Ataru Morobishi, the main character himself, gets a piece of the action during the last third of the movie. My only grip is that some of the other funnier supporting characters don't get much slice of the pie -- Ryuunosuke gets a few lines, but doesn't contribute anything and disappears early on; her father, Mr. Fujinami, gets about two or three lines at most, and isn't seen again. Worse of all, Cherry, of whom would've been extremely useful in regards to this movie's plot, goes completely AWOL for most of the film (which sucks, as I'm a big fan of the deranged monk).

Anyway, moving on: the english dubbing is quite good. While there'll probably never be another person who can play Ataru as well as his original seiyuu, the english VA here comes very close. Vinnie Penna captures Ataru's sleaziness perfectly, and even adds another dimension to the character in some scenes. His Mendou is also great (especially at the comedy scenes mentioned above), although I personally would've given the character a slightly deeper voice. Marnie Head plays a PERFECT Sakura. I've always found the original seiyuu's voice to be a bit.. old, and thus slightly unfitting for a character that's supposed to be jaw-droppingly beautiful. Marnie's voice is younger, yet maintains the maturity and sophistication that we expect from Sakura. Honorable mentions are Megane, Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi, and Mujaki.

Unfortunately, the dub has its flaws. Lum's voice does not have the spunk that the seiyuu had; Shinobu sounds like she's supposed to be in college; Cherry's voice is too high (I personally WOULD give him a high voice, but not THAT high..); and Ten just sounds weird.

The film's music is excellent. The score sets the mood for a lot of the scenes -- you have the bizarre music for the wacky scenes, cheesy music for the [intentionally] cheesy scenes, and happy music for the happier scenes. The ending song, "Ai wa Boomerang", is a catchy piece of pop music that'll stay in your head for a long time.

Finally, if you're hesitant to pick this movie up because of its age, then let me tell you that it's really a non-factor. For a film that's about 20 years old, the animation here is superb. The quality is much better than the TV show (which, unfortunately, does show its age -- well, the early episodes, anyway), and it should certainly be able to satisfy today's anime audiences.

Speechless
This was one of the first anime I'd seen... years ago, before I became a huge otaku... I was completely unfamiliar with the series, the characters, or the plot. Needless to say, I didn't get it upon the first viewing, but I watched the movie several times, until I finally got a grasp on what was happening. I have to say that even though the animation is not the most detailed - certainly no Jin-Roh or Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door - on every viewing there were details, shots or scenes that I hadn't noticed before... All in all, every time you watch this bittersweet movie you will see more of its beauty, its nostalgia, its humor, its philosophy, and its strangeness. And herein lies its brilliance.

---
Bonus points for the amazing soundtrack by the Grand Daddy himself, Kenji Kawai ("Ghost in the Shell," "Avalon," "Vampire Princess Miyu," "Patlabor" movies... need I go on?) ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Near Future Detective Science Fiction
This isn't the kind of Anime that really moves fast and has alot of violent action. It's kind of different seeing an Anime with no gore or blood. This is something Hollywood sure as hell could never do. This is like a combination of detective and investigation type movies, merged with a little bit of mecha action. If you like Anime and detective, mystery movies than this is definately for you. It's interesting throughout and sometimes very suspencefull but it's pretty slow moving, some would call it dull, but it's pretty good, though it could have used a little more action, violence and music to go along with it. The dubbing is OKAY at best, try the subtitles. I would actually give this 4 1/2 stars but I can't. and deciding between 4 stars(80%) or 5(100%), I'm gonna have to say that it's close to 5 stars. This is the kind of movie that stars out with a 0 percent excitement level then steadily rises. It could have been more suspencefull at it's climax, but considering it's a detective, cop, investigation movie, what do you expect.

No gore here.
People looking for gore should turn to Ninja Scroll (my favorite movie, which I highly recommend). I think it's refreshing to see an anime that contains very little violence. It operates on detective work and technology.

The story takes place in the near future. Labors are robots that humans operate, and they're used for policing. The robots have been going berzerk; E. Hoba, the person who wrote the program for the labors, committed suicide, so it's not like anyone can turn to him. Also, it seems that Hoba was the one who created the bug in the labors anyhow.

Noah and Azuma take matters into their own hands and begin to investigate. They're basically only rookies, and it's hard for them to get approval from their superiors. It makes for quite the interesting story. I liked it a lot.

Perfectly Watchable But Basically A Jazzed-Up TV Episode
* Fans of the PATLABOR anime series know the basic scenario:
in the near future, big robotic machines known as "Labors"
are common in industrial and military roles, and to combat
crimes performed by Labors a police "Patrol Labor" group is
set up. The heroes of the series are the personnel of
"Patlabor Division 2", a self-described "gang of losers" that
manage to get things done in spite of a maverick reputation.

The PATLABOR 1 movie involves Division 2 dealing with a rash
of Labors running amok, with suspicion falling on the operating
system for the Labors. Suspiciously, the chief designer of the
OS, an E. Hoba, committed suicide under bizarre circumstances.
The devious Captain Goto of Division 2 enlists (using a
little trickery) officer Asuma Shinohara to get to the bottom
of things, and soon a frightening plot emerges ...

The PATLABOR 1 movie is a reasonably well put together piece
of work, with good (if not extraordinary) production values,

and an intelligent (if not extraordinary) script. It is certainly
better than much of the indifferent anime that gets churned
out on a regular basis by Japan's animation studios.
However, PATLABOR 1 is basically just a scaled-up PATLABOR
TV episode, and the only thing it really brings to the party
is better production values over the TV show.

If you like the PATLABOR TV series, you'll probably like this
movie. If you were lukewarm on the TV series, you might not
find the movie very stimulating. In comparison to the
follow-on and outstanding PATLABOR 2 movie, it looks more like
a creditable practice exercise for producer Mamoru Oshii,
preparing him for better work to come.

A respectable series worth watching
If I wanted to introduce someone to the world of quality anime, this wouldn't be the title I'd pick. There ARE better out there...

BUT this is nothing to hoist your nose at, Patlabor has style and class. It's in my library and it's going to stay there. So if you are a fan of mechs or a good detective story and demand a higher level of quality in artwork and plot than most, this is a good choice. If you are on the edge of buying this let me tip you over to the "yes" side.

PATLABOR 1 THE MOVIE ROOLZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is a smart mecha tronic movie
i like azuma shinohara and noah izumi
this is a brilliant movie,even though i did not see the series
they say the 'd' word a few times but this movie is so cool! ... Read more