History Anime / Patlabor

** [=SV2=] has three prototype AV-98 Ingram mechs. One episode of the series focused on the introduction of a mass-produced line of Ingrams, subverting the trope in that the prototypes weren't exceptionally good so much as the mass-produced ones were exceptionally shoddy. Also, other kinds of mass-produced military mechs are shown to be close in quality to the Ingrams, if not flat out ''better'' in certain regards, but the Ingram has a distinct lead in agility and the experience of its pilots.
*** Shinohara Heavy Industries is actually savvy about this trope. After the poor showing their first massproduction Ingram makes, they get [=SV2=] to help them develop a new one. The resulting "Economy Model Ingram mk. II" is actually superior in some respects to the original AV-98.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: In 1998, there is still a Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall still exists (with West German "Brocken" labors standing guard). Judging by the 2nd movie, it has ended, so it either [[AlternateHistory ended later than in]] RealLife or it was a {{Retcon}}.

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The climax of the second movie takes place in an aqueduct big enough for Second Section's Ingrams to walk upright inside it, and is almost wide enough for two of them to stand side by side.

* DeconReconSwitch: In the second movie, any time Labors go up against war machines like tanks and helicopters, they get annihilated due to the factors of superior firepower vs. light armor. However, the movie still ends with a mecha battle between bipedal bots and [[SpiderTank spider tanks.]]

* GiantWallOfWateryDoom: Izumi barely escapes one of these in the second movie when the tunnel the protagonists are fighting in is flooded.

* RousseauWasRight: Even at its darkest, the show remains very optimistic about human nature and the future, where men and machines work together to save the day and while authority figures are far from perfect, they're much more likely to be [[HanlonsRazor harmless bumblers rather than malicious bullies]]. Nowhere does this shine through more than the second movie, where the Greater Tokyo Area being put under martial law by the Japanese Defense Agency amounts to little more than a minor inconvenience for both the civilians and the bored and put-upon [=JGSDF=] soldiers, who uncomplainingly humor onlookers who want to take pictures with their tanks.

* ThrowAwayCountry: Could be averted. According to an interview with the production crew, the country that shows up in the prologue of the second movie has background references to suggest that it can be Cambodia. Which does lead to TruthInTelevision since Japanese soldiers and police officers were deployed in Cambodia, years after the end of the Second Pacific War as [=UN=]-mandated personnel.
* TrialByFriendlyFire: In the second movie, a pair of JASDF interceptors very nearly fired on allied aircraft over Tokyo, due to hacking of Japan's air defense network [[spoiler:thanks to Tsuge's hackers]].

''Anime/WXIIIPatlaborTheMovie3'' is a prequel movie that takes place prior to the events of the 2nd ''Patlabor'' movie.

* BattleDiscretionShot: In ''Patlabor 2'', after shooting their way past the robot tanks in the tunnels, Nagumo enters an elevator in her labor [[OhCrap only to find another robot tank about to open fire at point-blank range]]. Nagumo charges towards it screaming, "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Cut to the elevator rising to the surface carrying Nagumo's totaled labor, whereupon she hits the eject and walks the rest of the way.

Set in the not-so-far-off future of 1998, this late-80s/early-90s anime, ''Mobile Police Patlabor''[[note]]pronounced ''pat-lay-ber''(**Pat**rol **labor**), not ''pat-lah-BOOR''[[/note]], is the story of police officers fighting crime with giant robots. The Special Vehicles Unit's Division 1 are a corps of competent, hard-working police who always get their man -- but ''Patlabor'' isn't about them. No, it's Division ''2'' that gets the spotlight, that scruffy, rag-tag band of half-competent cops with a propensity towards massive property damage.

Set in the not-so-far-off future of 1998, this late-80s/early-90s anime, ''Mobile Police Patlabor''[[note]]pronounced ''pat-lay-ber''(*Pat*rol *labor*), not ''pat-lah-BOOR''[[/note]], is the story of police officers fighting crime with giant robots. The Special Vehicles Unit's Division 1 are a corps of competent, hard-working police who always get their man -- but ''Patlabor'' isn't about them. No, it's Division ''2'' that gets the spotlight, that scruffy, rag-tag band of half-competent cops with a propensity towards massive property damage.

Set in the not-so-far-off future of 1998, this late-80s/early-90s anime, ''Mobile Police Patlabor''[[note]]pronounced ''pat-lay-ber''(''Pat''rol ''labor''), not ''pat-lah-BOOR''[[/note]], is the story of police officers fighting crime with giant robots. The Special Vehicles Unit's Division 1 are a corps of competent, hard-working police who always get their man -- but ''Patlabor'' isn't about them. No, it's Division ''2'' that gets the spotlight, that scruffy, rag-tag band of half-competent cops with a propensity towards massive property damage.

** One of the earliest examples occurs in the first chapter. Noa complains she can't keep track of all the geographical data, so Asuma tells her [[MrExposition he'll explain]] [[http://www.mangareader.net/patlabor/1/130 two pages later.]] And ''he does '' - complete with [[http://www.mangareader.net/patlabor/1/132 a map]] [[http://www.mangareader.net/patlabor/1/133 and pointer!]]
** Noa breaks the 4th wall, herself, by turning her back to the reader while taking her physical exam [[http://www.mangareader.net/patlabor/1/43 so we can't see her topless.]] While in [[http://www.mangareader.net/patlabor/1/50 this scene]], she notes that the manga's becoming more like a cartoon.

** Seen [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/patlabor/c001/102.html here]] and [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/patlabor/c001/103.html here]], for the manga version, which used an actual map of the city of Tokyo for accuracy. Also seen in the following link with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwNRv-lubCg the intercept sequence]] of the 2nd Movie.

** This is also the case where Bado/Bud is concerned, since his name alternates between both spellings, as seen in the subtitles of different episodes of the anime. This is also the case of [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/patlabor/c007/20.html the manga version]], which initially referred to him as "Baddo" (with two d's, rather than one), but eventually settled on calling him "Bud".

* RedShirtReporter: Momoko Sakurayama won't let a little thing like danger get in the way of a good story--or being made into unknowing hostages by a criminal labor pilot. Her antagonistic relationship with Section 2 just makes all the more fun to see Otah stuff them back in their news van by hand.

%%* AsTheGoodBookSays: The first movie.

Anime/WXIIIPatlaborTheMovie3 is a prequel movie that takes place prior to the events of the 2nd Patlabor movie.

* FloodedFutureWorld: The HumongousMecha were originally developed to construct barrier dams to protect coastal cities from being flooded due to ClimateChange. {{Downplayed|Trope}}, as the flooding is not catastrophic and is merely part of the background.

* ClimateChange: While HumongousMecha are AwesomeButImpractical in RealLife, the crisis of global sea waters rising is what made their development a priority in this universe, where they were primarily valued as powerful and versatile construction machinery for efficiently building things like seawalls and levees. The police models frequently shown (and military models infrequently shown) are outgrowths of the technology used to deal with the crisis.

* VillainTeamUp: Episode 42 of the TV series, titled appropriately enough "The Men Who Returned" features 3 previous villains teaming up--and forming a PowerTrio.

Set in the not-so-far-off future of 1998, this late-80s/early-90s anime, ''Mobile Police Patlabor'', is the story of police officers fighting crime with giant robots. The Special Vehicles Unit's Division 1 are a corps of competent, hard-working police who always get their man -- but ''Patlabor'' isn't about them. No, it's Division ''2'' that gets the spotlight, that scruffy, rag-tag band of half-competent cops with a propensity towards massive property damage.

A live-action project, set in 2013, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-06/live-action-patlabor-to-feature-real-life-mecha is a sequel]], not a reboot, of the series. Known as ''Film/TheNextGenerationPatlabor'', thirteen episodes were shown in theaters in seven parts, and a feature-length film airied in spring 2015.

* DependingOnTheArtist: While not too jarring in the long run, the designs differ between each incarnation as a result of them being produced by different studios- Creator/StudioDeen for the original OVA, Creator/ProductionIG and Creator/{{Madhouse}} for the films and Creator/{{Sunrise}} for the series and ''The New Files'' OVA.

* GlobalWarming: While HumongousMecha are AwesomeButImpractical in RealLife, the crisis of global sea waters rising is what made their development a priority in this universe, where they were primarily valued as powerful and versatile construction machinery for efficiently building things like seawalls and levees. The police models frequently shown (and military models infrequently shown) are outgrowths of the technology used to deal with the crisis.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** A large point of praise for the series is how it takes great pains to not depict just a realistic robot in the Labors themselves, but in how it incorporates Labor and technological development into something coherent and unique. Just about every element of the series is accounted for in some way, be it the Labors being extremely fragile so they can support their own weight, or the fact that the Patlabors are usually supported by multiple small vehicles to relay orders and intel on-the-fly thanks to Labors having shielded cockpits and thus limited ability to see. Plus for every actual robot in the field, they have about twenty people back at base to do the maintenance.
** The series touches upon a significant aspect of public bureaucracy in the fact that the [=SVU2=] is seen as a huge liability and a waste of taxpayer's money. In one episode of the series, Ohta is put under insurance review following some property damage he produced during an operation, recounting the events and how everything happen. The insurance reviewer approves the claim in favor of the [=SVU=], as she deems that it would be nigh impossible to prevent property damage, and that Ohta acted on good faith and protecting the public order, justifying the damage.

* RealityEnsues:

** This is also the case where Bado/Bud is concerned, since her name alternates between both spellings, as seen in the subtitles of different episodes of the anime. This is also the case of [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/patlabor/c007/20.html the manga version]], which initially referred to him as "Baddo" (with two d's, rather than one), but eventually settled on calling her "Bud"(which is a mistake because it create some confusion. Baddo being a girl in Anime and Manga).