Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993) [Anime Review]

Patlabor: The Movie 2; or, Tinker, Tailor, Ingram, Spy
     The line that separates a just war from an unjust peace isn't very clear. Ever since hypocrites have made peace their just cause, we've lost faith in that peace. Just as wars give rise to peace, peace also gives rise to war. An empty, hollow "peace" that only defines itself as "not war" will eventually be replaced by something that is a state of war in all but name.
After the successful Patlabor: The Movie (1989) and Patlabor: The New Files OVA (1990-1992), Headgear decided to put the franchise to a rest with Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993) directed by the famous Mamoru Oshii. In contrast to the previous entries, the final chapter of the Patlabor series feels like an espionage thriller with philosophical ponderings about life known from Ghost in the Shell (1995). However, first and foremost, this anime feature is Oshii’s personal protest against Japanese politics.

Release Info

Directed by: Mamoru Oshii Voice actors: Yoshiko Sakakibara, Ryuusuke Oobayashi, Miina Tominaga, Toshio Furukawa

Language: Japanese Original Title: 機動警察パトレイバー2 the Movie Runtime: 108 min

Synopsis
Three years after the events from the first movie, we see that the members of SV2 Section 2 have gone their separate ways. Noa and Shinohara are now Labor testers, whereas Ota has become an instructor at the police academy, and Shinshi has been transferred to Tokyo MPD. The only people who stayed in SV2 are Hiromi Yamazaki as well as Captain Goto and Captain Nagumo. All of a sudden, the Yokohama Bay Bridge is destroyed by a military missile. This event sets into motion a domino effect which leads to a growing conflict between the Japanese government and JSDF forces. Goto and Nagumo believe that a person responsible for all this is a former UN soldier, Tsuge, who wants to stage a fake coup d’état.

All the good things…
I have to admit that I loathed reviewing this particular film because I had a really hard time understanding what exactly Mamoru Oshii tried to get across with this story. Only after rewatching the film three more times, reading a couple of online essays, and consulting fellow Patlabor fans, Oshii’s intentions became clearer to me.

Patlabor 2: The Movie, contrary to the first theatrical movie, is not an adventure story with comedy elements, but an evaluation of Japan’s participation in the Cold War. When America and the Soviet Union were putting missiles against each other and stealing vital information, Japan claimed that it was neither participating nor taking sides in the conflict. Oshii puts to the test this illusion of a peaceful nation in Patlabor 2. What is more, the existence and purpose of the Japan Self-Defense Forces seem problematic to the director. The opening sequence of the movie serves as a reference to the Cambodian incident, in the course of which two JSDF officers lost their lives. In other words, Patlabor 2 is not a story about clumsy policemen and an optimistic future, but it is about the hypocrisy of politicians who create “unjust peace.”

Oshii’s thoughtful statements uttered through the characters of Goto, Nagumo, Aragaki, and Tsuge are indeed intriguing, but they consequently slow the picture down. The director stated that a lot of action waters down the ideas conveyed in scenes, so he opted for the usage of long shots. As a result, we get a very serious and long winded movie with characters constantly talking and often doing nothing more than just sitting. These cold espionage vibes may be good for an adaptation of John Le Carre’s novel, but they do not work that well in the Patlabor world.

Interestingly, the premise of the story (former mentor of an SV2 officer trying to overthrow the government) greatly resembles the finale of Patlabor: Early Days OVA. Mamoru Oshii himself actually predicted in The Making of Patlabor 2 (1994) documentary when he stated: “So, in the third one, we’ll make an involved story and create a non Patlabor movie.” He also added that he could continue making new Patlabor stories if there were new characters and a somewhat different world  (indeed, that’s what happened with The Next Generation: Patlabor (2014) drama series).

Speaking about performances, the characters of Noa and Shinohara are a bit sidelined in this film, so do not get to her a lot from Miina Tominaga and Toshio Furukawa, respectively. However, Ryuusuke Oobayashi as Goto and Yoshiko Sakakibara as Shinobu are pushed to the foreground in this picture. I could listen to their voices all day long. There is also a great supporting part done by Naoto Takenaka.

Recommendations
All things considered, Patlabor 2: The Movie is a classic anime feature. Even though the first movie is my favourite theatrical film, I shall always regard the sequel as the final chapter of the wonderful science-fiction franchise. If you love the characters of Goto and Shinobu as much as I do, then check it out.
Overall score: 7/10

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