Patlabor fans have a new one-shot manga (and a movie trilogy) to look forward to

The mecha subgenre runs deep in anime and manga, but the most popular stories tend to focus on massive, deadly mech-suits used in epic wars and battles. But while heavy-hitters like Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion tend to define mecha trends, one popular franchise offers a more nuanced take and is making a surprise comeback later this month.

Mobile Police Patlabor secured an iconic position within the mecha subgenre with its grounded approach to a fantastical trope. Masami Yūki’s Patlabor manga ran between 1988 and 1994, spawning a robust franchise that includes (but isn’t limited to) a beloved anime, two OVAs, three memorable films, and a dedicated line of merchandise.

Now, 32 years after the manga’s serialization officially ended, we are getting a Mobile Police Patlabor one-shot manga in the May 18 issue of Weekly Big Comic Spirits. Per Masami Yūki Spirits’ official X account, the one-shot also includes an “introductory feature” to the upcoming Patlabor EZY trilogy, whose first installment — titled Patlabor EZY: File 1 — will hit theaters on May 15. Character designs and manga panel stickers will also be included in the one-shot as a bonus.

The events of the Patlabor manga take place in near-future Tokyo between 1998 and 2002. In this world, mecha aren’t used solely as fighter units. They’re also dedicated to mundane tasks like heavy construction work. Patrol mechs called Patlabors are used by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to fight crime, with Special Vehicle Section 2’s mecha pilot Noa Izumi serving as one of many franchise protagonists.

It’s worth noting that the manga and its numerous adaptations take place in separate continuities. The seven-episode OVA, Patlabor: The Early Days (1988-1989), occurs during the late 1990s, while Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993) centers on the winter of 2001-2002. Similarly, the live-action The Next Generation: Patlabor titles shift the setting to the 2010s in order to refresh the rules of this futuristic world. In the same vein, the three Patlabor EZY installments (which are essentially eight episodes divided into a trilogy of films) fast-forward to the 2030s, where manually piloted mechs are steadily being replaced by autonomous robots.

The one-shot Patlabor manga could potentially bridge the gap between the original four-year run and the new series’ 2030s setting. After all, a lot has changed between those two stories, especially with AI technology rendering Patlabors obsolete. What does this mean for Special Vehicle Section 2, which has historically vowed to keep Tokyo safe from technological threats? While Patlabor EZY: File 1 will effectively answer these questions soon, the one-shot manga is taking advantage of a unique opportunity to catch up to the present. This also feels topical amid the ongoing surge in AI technology seeking to replace human workforces across sectors, holding up a mirror to our dystopian present.

Patlabor’s utterly realistic bent feels groundbreaking even by today’s standards. Contemporary genre standouts like Knights of Sidonia brilliantly fuse intricate sci-fi tropes with operatic scale, setting the story 1000 years after Earth’s destruction by a race of shapeshifting aliens. Such fantastical inclinations are also present in grounded Gundam entries like Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway, which features intuitive precognition and larger-than-life mech battles.

In contrast, Patlabor feels refreshingly mundane. The expected tropes of a police procedural blend with those of a military thriller, catering to different moods. The franchise’s early installments greatly experimented with tone, flitting between lighthearted slice-of-life elements and grittier sociopolitical themes. Compared to the world-ending implications of a somber genre film like Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the stakes in every Patlabor story are rooted in everyday struggles. Bureaucratic threats carry genuine weight in such a world, which, in turn, fleshes out the motivations of humble protagonists like Asuma Shinohara and Isao Ohta.

Both the upcoming Patlabor one-shot and the EZY installments are here to revitalize expectations associated with the franchise. This is great news for those in search of new mecha stories, such as the pleasantly intriguing Snowball Earth or Yoko Taro’s upcoming Evangelion anime. Perhaps Patlabor’s comeback will herald something beautiful.