Destroy All Podcasts DX Episode 229 - Mobile Police Patlabor OVA a.k.a. Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Original Series

It will come as no surprise that I don't agree with all of your comments, but this was a very enjoyable episode!

Regarding "typical" cop drama anime with obsessive female characters, you need look no further than "You're Under Arrest." IIRC Natsumi fills both the Noa and Ota roles as a combination mecha-otaku and loose cannon. Dominion Tank Police had a similar vibe with Leona, who named her tank "Bonaparte". I'd wonder about the source of this stereotype but one of my wife's friends is an ex-Yankee biker turned traffic cop; she's closer to Natsumi than Noa but overall fits the type to a tee.

I don't really agree that Patlabor could have worked as well without the giant robots. I mean, I could see it as a live-action show, but I don't think an anime show could be both a semi-comedic cop drama and a lens on social issues without something extra. Tank Police and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex have the same thing going. Even Bubblegum Crisis, with almost no pretenses of grander social commentary, needs its futuristic setting in order to have something to hang its mostly-perfunctory examination of the effects of the gradual replacement of humans with automatons on. Without the mecha, dystopia, or artificial bodies to subvert the genre, I doubt that anime cop dramas could be as effective - or even get made, really. You're Under Arrest is much lighter fare, I think, because it has to rely more heavily on comedy and romance than those other shows.

I'm surprised that you all were so surprised at the positive portrayal of female characters in anime, although given the production team I guess that's a little more understandable. On reflection, though, I suppose you have a point. We're currently watching Code Geass, Eureka 7, Strawberry Panic, and Toaru Majutsu no Index; of those four I'd say that only Eureka 7 has positive portrayals of female characters on the whole. But in my mind anime is no more guilty of negative stereotypes on the whole than any other form of entertainment media. Maybe the shows that do have strong and interesting female characters, being also generally higher-quality all around, have just stuck in my memory longer. Or I've managed to avoid the worst offenders somehow.

Regarding Kanuka, doesn't she remind you of anything? She's pretty much the stereotype "Americans" have about "Asians" - I'm using the air quotes because I realize that's a broad generalization about one generalized population's generalized stereotyping of another generalized stereotype. But still: super-serious, supercilious, over-achieving, smug, and incredibly skilled? I'm not sure, but I suspect Kanuka was made the American character to invert that sort of broad-strokes view a lot of Westerners seem to have - or to poke fun at it.

Later!

I decided to make an account to post a comment because I can't get the image of Ice T piloting a Giant Robot out of my head. As I see it, I would like to see Surviving the Game remade as Ice T given one of the cannon fodder type robots and going up against a handful of rich guys with Gundam prototype level machines. Naturally, Ice T will be a prodigy like every other protagonist in a show with giant robots. It really was a great thought you guys had there.

Anyways, that's all I have, but I felt like posting it since I always listen yet never post comments.

I mean seriously, David Caruso as Goto is something I would be behind, because then it would be Goto putting on his sunglasses all the time after ending his statements.

As I stated on the Fast Karate forums when you guys posted this on there, I mostly forgot what happens in this OVA, and with you talking about it I was reminded of a few things. I think the OVA had something (probably in New Files) where they explore the sewer systems for some monster or alligator or something like that. I would need to go back and re-watch the OVA again.

And Sleet01, I kinda have some reservations on you comments on cop dramas. Cop dramas have been out since the 50's so depending on what the content of the show is, you don't need to have them pilot robot suits or be cyberpunked decked out in every cop drama show. All that is doing is just adding more visual appeal to something when it really doesn't have much to do with the core of the show, with that being a cop drama. I agree that Patlabor wouldn't be the same if there was no labors in the show, since that is what the show is centered around and a really good cop drama thrown into it. And Bubblegum Crisis is as futuristic as one person might belive that Betamax players and Apple II computers would be in high use 20 years down the road (im not bashing that OVA by means, since it is my favorite anime ever and my podcast is doing the review of it right now).

I think you guys would have more comments if you reviewed more anime, or more anime like this. But hey, those other stuff has me looking into movies like "Hard Ticked to Hawaii" and "Forbidden Planet". If you are looking for other movies there is always the stuff by Reb Brown like "Robowar" and "Mercenary Fighters" as some examples. Catcha guys next time!

The "octopus hot dog" I was thinking of is the "octodog", a gadget which unfortunately appears to be no longer in production.

There is a wide variety of sausagey creatures described by the Nippon Ham Group: http://www.nipponham.co.jp/winny/kazari/beach.html