Happy Monday everybody! Did you know that today is a holiday in the US? Feel free to use that as an excuse to not do work wherever you find yourself today! Instead, feel free to make use of the new general thread. Feel free to ask questions, talk about things you have watched, give recommendations, etc.
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I have been watching the original Patlabor TV anime and I am absolutely loving it. I’ve been needing an outlet to gush about it, so here goes.
Noa is one of the tomboys of all time.
My interest was piqued by this clip from one of the movies, and the idea of a future where police mechs exist, but are armed with simply a giant revolver, which the pilot has to jump out of their mech and manually insert shells into to reload, is equally hilarious as it is charming.
I expected something somewhat serious, but I should have guessed that the series is basically just a police-work slice of life, but with mechs. (Though there are more serious story arcs, as well.)
I adore the lead characters, and some of the villains genuinely get me pissed. There’s more than meets the eye to all of them, and everyone is SV2 (special vehicles section 2) is likeable on some level. Though I find Ota difficult, I can’t tell if he’s a badly designed character, or a genius one meant to be genuinely disliked, while sometimes showing redeeming qualities.
Noa and Asuma are probably my favorites, but I also like Kanuka and Hiromi a lot. I LOVE how low-energy Captain Goto is, and the old married couple vibe between him and Captain Nagamo is cute af.
The animation is impressive, especially for the time (The original series aired in 1989). And I’m normally super bothered by watching things in 4:3, but I’ve barely noticed that the series isn’t widescreen.
The OP is also something didn’t skip as often as I usually do.
If your interest is piqued as mine was, give it a shot! It’s a forgotten gem, IMO.
I might check this out. I have a friend irl that is a big Patlabor fan and has tried to get me to watch it in the past. I just started watching Squid Girl this past week since I am a big fan of the manga, but I haven’t really been digging it. So, I might just bail and switch over to this next week.
You’ve good friends.
I’m closing in on having watched it all now. I totally see why people who’ve gotten into the series become big fans. The franchise has me utterly charmed.
It’s a wholesome anti-drama with a really endearing cast that frequently get up to all kinds of antics. And it somehow combines that with the seriousness of public service to the point that characters can have full on crises of confidence when things go wrong.
It’s like watching a kids show, that does fun and cool things because they are fun and cool, but also without the show talking down to you like you’re actually 12.