A staff talk event for the first chapter of "Mobile Police Patlabor Mobile Police Patlabor " series, titled "Bucchan's Room <Part 2>," was held on June 2nd at Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro (Toshima Ward, Tokyo). Director Yutaka Izubuchi, scriptwriter and series composition writer Kazunori Ito, and character designer Masami Yuki appeared at the event. In addition to "Mobile Police Patlabor EZY," which marks the first new anime in approximately 10 years, new developments in novels and manga have also been actively pursued, and Izubuchi, Ito, and Yuki spoke about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the production.
◇ Mamoru Oshii gives permission for the trailer to be used.
The film's homage to the trailer for Mamoru Oshii's "Kerberos - Hellhound" has also become a topic of discussion. The storyboards were done by Shinji Higuchi, who, according to Ito, "was different in the script," and Izubuchi was surprised, saying, "When I saw the storyboards, I thought, 'I've seen this somewhere before...'"
Oshii will be credited as "Trailer Approval," and Izubuchi said, "When I asked Oshii for permission, he said, 'Okay.' I thought something was missing, so I had drawn a Helldiver for Hobby Japan a long time ago, and I talked to Ebikawa-kun (Kanetake Ebikawa, the mechanical designer) and asked him to draw it. People wouldn't recognize it unless it had two red eyes. I had them made black for special specifications and for night combat," showing his meticulous attention to detail.
◇ "Goto the Sushi Chef" is "a derivative work created by the person himself"
A novel written by Ito, titled "Mobile Police Patlabor: Goto the Sushi Chef" (Bungei Shunju), will be released on June 25th. The novel features Captain Kiichi Goto as a sushi chef, and the cover was illustrated by Yuuki. Ito explained, "I added two chapters to something I originally wrote for the fan club, and made revisions and additions. I wrote it after 'EZY,' so it's more of a fan fiction by myself than a direct sequel."
A new one-shot manga by Yuuki was published in the May 18th issue (No. 25) of the manga magazine "Weekly Big Comic Spirits" (Shogakukan), which also generated buzz. This new work comes approximately 32 years after the end of the series, and Yuuki shared some behind-the-scenes stories, saying, "It was hard to get the atmosphere back. Fukushima is probably the only one who will be mourned after his death. I even thought up a line where Nagumo asks Goto, 'What are you doing after retirement?' and he replies, 'I'm a detective, I run a sushi restaurant,' but it didn't fit, so I cut it out."
◇Mamoru Oshii said, "The basis is a cute person."
Izubuchi also revealed that he had suggested to Oshii that he participate in "EZY." "I asked him if he would write one episode, but he shook his head. It seems he had had enough of just doing storyboards for other people's books or only writing the script. Something must have happened," Ito said, and while sharing an anecdote about how he and Oshii had a falling out over how to keep dogs, he added, "At heart, he's a lovely person."
"Patlabor" is said to be a pioneer of media mix, with various creators participating. Ito likened it to "Oshii clearing a mountain, Yoshinaga (Naoyuki) building a road, and Yuki building an autobahn alongside it. Izubuchi is driving a six-wheeled armored vehicle on the completed road."
At "Butchan's Room <Part 1>" held on May 26th, producer Taro Maki, CEO of Genco, announced that they are "making a French version of Patlabor," which has also become a hot topic. It seems that Izubuchi had not heard about the French version, but Ito said, "I had heard about it," to which Izubuchi replied, "America is also working on it. We don't know yet..."
"Mobile Police Patlabor" is a multimedia project created by the legendary creative group "HEADGEAR," consisting of Yuki, Izubuchi, Ito, Takada Akemi, and Oshii Mamoru. It began in 1988 with an OVA (Original Video Animation) called "Early Days," and has since expanded into manga by Yuki, television anime, theatrical anime, novels, audio dramas, games, and more.
"EZY" is set in Japan in the 2030s, a time when the working population is declining and automation through AI technology is advancing. Sumire Sumire Uesaka plays Towa Kuga, the pilot of Ingram Unit 1, and Kikunosuke Toya plays Kippei Amatori, the commander of Ingram Unit 1. Ami Koshimizu, Chikahiro Kobayashi, Setsuji Sato, Yume Matsumura, and Megumi Hayashibara also appear in the cast. The series consists of three chapters and eight episodes in total, with Chapter 1 released in theaters on May 15th. Chapter 2 will be released in theaters on August 14th, and Chapter 3 in March 2027.
