Review
This 1988 original video animation (OVA) is based on the near-future sci-fi anime series that was a huge hit across all genres, including TV, video games, and feature films. It includes all four episodes, episodes 1 through 4.
-- Contents (from the "DVD NAVIGATOR" database)
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Original Story: Masami Yuki
Original Story and Screenplay: Kazunori Ito
Character Design: Akemi Takada
Voice Cast: Mina Tominaga, Toshio Furukawa, Kazunari Futamata, Michihiro Ikemizu, Daisuke Gori, Ryusuke Obayashi, and Yoshiko Sakakibara
-- Contents (from the "CD Journal" database)
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This seven-episode OVA served as the foundation for the "Mobile Police Patlabor" anime series, which expanded into 23 OVA episodes, 47 TV series episodes, four feature films, and even manga and novels. The script was written by Kazunori Ito, and directed by Mamoru Oshii and Naoyuki Yoshinaga.
The members assigned to the Second Platoon of the Second Special Vehicle Section along with their Labors are a diverse bunch. Izumi Noa, a female member who names her Labor Alphonse; Ota Isao, a hot-blooded man with an uncontrollable urge to fire a gun; Shinohara Yuma, the heir to a company famous for manufacturing Labors; Yamazaki Hiromi, a kind-hearted giant; and Shinji Mikiyasu, a former office worker. The story follows these men as they grow up surrounded by Captain Goto and Maintenance Squad Leader Sakaki... but in this early OVA, there are many episodes in which the characters' clumsiness is prominent. Amidst all this, the tense atmosphere of episodes 5 and 6, "Second Section's Longest Day," in which Goto's old friend Kai of the Self-Defense Forces launches a coup d'état, leaves a strong impression. (Saito Morihiko)