Image source: Patlabor EZY anime’s website, Good Smile Company’s YouTube channel, Comic Natalie — via Anime News Network
The official website for the Patlabor EZY anime project began streaming on Monday a teaser trailer for "File 3," the anime's third compilation film containing its seventh and eighth episodes. The video revealsthe film's March 5 opening.
The website also unveiled a visual and two cast members:
The Blu-ray Disc for "File 3" will ship on March 12.
In related news, Good Smile Company streamed a commercial for it and developer Chime Corporation's Patlabor the Case Files, a new 3D action game based on the Patlabor franchise, and it reveals that the game will launch on September 17 for PlayStation5 and PC via Steam.
The story is now set in the 2030s, with Japan facing increased labor shortage and increased automation via AI. Labors, the piloted mecha that was once considered cutting edge technology for manual labor, has become just another part of life, with piloted Labors themselves increasingly being replaced with autonomous robots. SV-2's job of preventing Labor crimes remains the same even in this age, as they use a tuned-up version of their original SV-98 Ingrams.
Previously announced cast members include:
In addition, Shigeru Chiba is reprising his role as Shigeo Shiba in the anime. Chiba has played the role since the original anime's debut almost 40 years ago.
The AV-98Plus Ingram is the updated refit of the original AV-98 Ingram. The Ingram frame has seen service for almost 40 years, and is called by some officers as an"old piece of junk." Nevertheless, the "Ingram Plus" features an upgraded frame, mechanical capability, and software. The pilot helmet features a helmet-mounted display with augmented reality projection to display vital information to the pilot, and complements the heads-up display physically in the cockpit.
Yutaka Izubuchi (Patlabor mechanical designer) is directing the anime at J.C. Staff. Kazunori Itō (Patlabor the Mobile Police) is writing the script. Masami Yuuki (Patlaborcreator) is designing the characters. Takamitsu Satou (Lostorage incited WIXOSS) is the chief animation director and character designer. Kenji Kawai (Patlabor) is composing the music. GENCO representative director Tarō Maki (Patlabor the Mobile Police, Nodame Cantabile, Millennium Actress) is producing. GAZEN is handling CG production. The HEADGEAR group iscredited for the original story.
Other staff members include Kōzō Kaihō as line director, Yoshinori Sayama for display design, Yukiko Itō as color key artist, Yoshio Ōkouchi as the compositing director of photography, Maki Sendo (REAL-T) as editor, GAZEN and J.C. Staff CG Dept. for CGI production, Kazuhiro Wakabayashi as sound director, Kaori Yamada for sound effects, Magic Capsule for sound production, and Yūji Matsukura as animation producer.
Akemi Takada (Patlabor character designer) is collaborating on the costume design. Kanetake Ebikawa (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury) and Toshiaki Ihara (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time) are the mechanical designers. MasanoriKikuchi (Star Blazers 2199) and Yūta Akiyama (Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma) are credited for art. Yoshinori Moriizumi (Pokémon movies) is the CG director.
Mori Calliope performs the opening theme song "Reimei Compass" (Daybreak Compass), and Mariko Nagai performs the ending theme song "Baton."
GENCO revealed the Patlabor EZY anime project with a booth at the MIFA film market atAnnecy International Animation Film Festival in 2017. The pilot for the project debuted in August 2022, and then played alongside a one-week 35th anniversary revival screening runof Patlabor: The Movie that started on September 20, 2024. Izubuchi directed the video.
The Patlabor franchise's original concept of police officers piloting robotic mecha (patrol labors or "Patlabors") was developed by HEADGEAR, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers), script writer Kazunori Itō (. hack, Dirty Pair), mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi (Eureka Seven, Mobile SuitGundam franchise), character designer Akemi Takada (Kimagure Orange Road, Urusei Yatsura, Fancy Lala), and manga creator Masami Yuuki (Birdy the Mighty). The franchise spawned twooriginal video anime, a television anime series, and three anime films. The last anime film, Patlabor WXIII, opened in theaters in Japan in 2002.
The "Mobile Police Patlabor Reboot" anime short debuted in Japan in October 2016 and began streaming on the Japan Anima(tor)'s Exhibition's (Japan Animator Expo) official websitein November 2016.
The live-action The Next Generation -Patlabor- project, which debuted in 2014, consisted of a seven-part series and a feature length film.
Maiden Japan has licensed the Patlabor OVA series, Patlabor the Mobile Police: The NewFiles OVA, Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2: The Movie, and Patlabor WXIII.