“Onward to adventure!”
Mobile Police Patlabor #5
Viz Comics (1997)
originally published by Shogakukan, Inc.
WRITER/ARTIST: Masami Yuki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Yuji Oniki
TOUCH-UP ART/LETTERER: Wayne Truman
COVER DESIGN: Viz Graphics
EDITOR: Julie Davis
The plan now is to drive the bad guy to Ueno Park, although Ota is going to be the first line just before the park. As Isumi gets into position the Labor that has bested Division 1 has arrived. Goto is hoping a victory here will prove the oddballs that have been sent to Division 2 can finally prove themselves. Not much else to summarize here.
What they got right: Isumi being a country girl and not understanding the geographic locations being tossed out means that they show her, and the readers, a map of the area they’re setting up the ambush for the fugitive Labor. That’s good for people who don’t live in Tokyo, including (most likely unintentionally) the international audience. We also learn a bit more about Goto’s…questionable compassion for his fellow officers in the name of proving his team are worth their badges. In a more serious story he’d be a jerk but in a more comedic action series like this it works well enough.
What they got wrong: Isumi is already a high-spirited woman who loves giant robot anime. Why did they have to add an unwillingness to get her Labor scratched up? I suppose it counter’s Ota’s lack of caring if the thing gets wrecked as long as the criminal is caught but it just feels unnecessary since she already has enough character traits.
Recommendation: I’m still pushing getting this, but I hear the anime is different from the comics.
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