A trailer and key visual for Patlabor EZY File 1, the first of the new three-part Patlabor anime, have been released.
These come with the announcement of hololive VTuber Mori Calliope as Patlabor EZY‘s opening song artist and voice actor Mariko Nagai (The Idolmaster Shiny Colors‘ Juri Saijo) as the ending song artist. The opening song’s title is “Reimei Compass,” while the ending song is “Baton.”
Patlabor EZY File 1 will begin screening in Japan on May 15 (JST). The other two parts will follow on August 14 (JST) and March 2027. Production was announced in 2017, and a pilot film was released in 2022.
The anime takes place in 2030s Japan, where the move towards AI automation is causing the Labor mechs to become relics of the past. Despite the changing times, Special Vehicle Section 2 continues its role as guardians, now with the new AV-98Plus Ingram to assist them against crimes involving new technology.
Patlabor was conceived by the creative unit HEADGEAR, whose members include Yutaka Izubuchi, Kazunori Ito, Masami Yuki, Akemi Takada, and Mamoru Oshii. The science fiction franchise, which is described by the official website as being a pioneer of the media-mix approach, began in the 80s with the Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days OVA series and a manga. More anime, including a TV series, three movies, and a new OVA series, came afterwards. 2016 saw the release of the Mobile Police Patlabor Reboot short. Patlabor novels exist as well.
Crunchyroll describes the Patlabor Special Edition Blu-ray, which includes the TV series, OVAs, and movies, as such:
Building the city of the future is a tough job, but the development of Labors… giant robots specifically designed for construction and other heavy duty tasks… is transforming the world. Unfortunately, when someone puts that much power in a machine, the one thing that’s certain is that someone somewhere will find a way to use it to commit crimes. That’s why Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has its massive Ingram Patrol Labors and the brave men and women of Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2… including the teams most recent recruit, the mecha obsessed Noa Azumi. Get ready for some of the wildest, most incredible adventures ever as Noa and her new comrades in arms hit the street in the ultimate collection of one of anime’s most legendary creations – Mobile Police Patlabor!
Staff
• Director: Yutaka Izubuchi (Patlabor mechanical designer, RahXephon director, Metallic Rouge chief supervisor)
• Series composer and screenwriter: Kazunori Ito (.hack//SIGN, Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days screenwriter)
• Character designer and chief animation director: Takamitsu Sato (Lostorage incited WIXOSS)
• Character draft designer: Masami Yuki (Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days character draft designer)
• Costume design assistance: Akemi Takada (Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days and Kimagure Orange Road character designer)
• Unit director: Kozo Kaiho
• Mechanical designer: Kanetake Ebikawa (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch of Mercury co-mechanical designer)
• Mechanical designer: Toshiaki Ihara (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time co-mechanical designer)
• CG director: Yoshinori Moriizumi (“Chocolat Cadabra” anime music video)
• CG production: GAZEN
• Executive producer (previously credited as producer): Taro Maki (Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days co-producer)
• Animation production: J.C.STAFF
Cast
• Sumire Uesaka as Towa Kuga
• Kikunosuke Toya as Kippei Atori
• Ami Koshimizu as Saki Hirata
• Chikahiro Kobayashi as Akihiko Hazama
• Setsuji Sato as Yuta Yanai
• Yume Matsumura as Hachikuma Yuzuki
• Megumi Hayashibara as Kimika Saeki
Sources: Bandai Namco Filmworks channel, @patlabor0810 (1), (2)
