Mobile Police Patlabor Minimum: Minipato - Reviews

A short three-part series that gives supplementary information about the Patlabor series, presented as a mixture of fact and comedy.

The first episode, "Roar! Revolver Cannon!", discusses the weaponry and ammunition used by the Special Vehicle Unit 2. This first part is hosted by the laconic, chain-smoking Goto. The highlight for me was a ballistics demonstation using a tiny Ota (think: Patlabor's quick-tempered & gun-happy pilot) as an ersatz bullet.

Episode two, "Ah, Victorious 98 Model AV", hosted by chief mechanic Shigeo Shiba, goes into the history and considerable logistics behind the Type Shinohara 98 AV, AKA "Shinohara". It shows how coming up with the design drove the animation designers insane (we noticed!). Shiba has moments of monomania in which he elevates the importance of the mechanics crew into a supremacist movement, with himself as their Fuhrer.

Episode three, "The Secret of SVU-2" is a nicely bizarre side-story, presented as an exposee on a buried, sinister chapter in the history of the SVU-2: The Goby! The Goby is a type of sea bass that became a staple for the impoverished crew, whose budget went mainly to just keeping the labors running. They discover a way to marinate and dry the small fish, and it goes from being a supplementary food for the troops, to being a mad addiction among the SVU-2, leading to the proposal of the Goby Prohibition Law. This is when Goto becomes involved, eventually increasing goby catches and preparation to mass-distribution. For this he manages to procure a fishing boat from his gov't sources, and proceeds to flout fishing laws in his quest to make the SVU-2 financially solvent. Introducing the Fresh Seafood Unit 2! This last episode is hosted by Goto's co-captain, Shinobu Nagamo.

I wouldn't call this a must-watch, by any means. If you are already a Patlabour fan, you will likely find something in it to enjoy.

The animation is an oddball blend of computer-simulated paper cutout characters, dated CG (very little, thankfully), and very nice water coloured backdrops.

The one major flaw of this production: no significant Noa Izumi content!