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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:723#1552] |
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This sequel to the 1989-90 Patlabor TV anime offers up expanded details on some plot elements from the TV anime (the Griffin arc) and new stories that serve either to explore more of the characters within Section 2 or feature them in some comedic antics. Like the TV series, Patlabor: The New Files does quite good at balancing the comical antics of Section 2 with the more serious character-driven stories that allow more fleshing out of the group's members. The bath house case and the mechanic riot episodes were my favorite comical episodes in this OVA series, while the episode involving a homage to tokusatsu movies and TV shows was a little too far out there for me. The animation for The New Files isn't much different from the TV series, though there are diverse OP and ED musical selections to listen to throughout the title's run which are quite pleasant on the ears. If you got enough enjoyment out of earlier offerings in the Patlabor franchise, then this is a definite recommendation to watch.
Last updated Wednesday, August 22 2012. Created Wednesday, August 22 2012. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Stretch
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[series:723#628] | ||||||
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After a break of around two years the highly popular Patlabor TV series was revived as an OVA series. The story picks up right where it left off. The awesome and mysterious Labor known as the "Griffon" is back. Though defeated in the exciting final episode of the TV series, it wasn't clear whether it had been completely destroyed, and the bad guys were still at large (did Captain Goto LET them go?). A rematch is in order. Though different artwork on the VHS boxes initially had me suspecting that this series might not live up to the standards of it's predecessor, the animation has actually improved a little. Also, I think the writing has gotten slightly better. Don't miss the episode in which the men of SVD2 try to track down a terrorist bomber in a bath house--possibly my new favorite of all Patlabor episodes! Another winner involves Captains Goto and Nagumo (the female leader of the 1st Patlabor section) getting caught in a storm and forced to spend the night together in a hotel suite designed for honeymooners. Goto has got to be my favorite charachter of the various Patlabor series, with his totally laid back yet sometimes mischievious personality. Anyway, everything seems virtually identical to the TV version. In fact, I suspect that more than one website has simply added the respective numbers of episodes together and consider both the TV and OVA series to be the same show. In short, more of the stuff Patlabor fans have come to love, and with the quality ratcheted up a notch. Those with the "acquired taste" for this highly unusual Mecha genre must Buy the New Files, whereas the average viewer ought to Rent (but it would be better to wait until you've seen the TV series). P.S.: Seldom does an anime series change it's OP/ED sequences more often than Patlabor: The New Files. I've identified at least five combinations from this 16 episode series! Last updated Saturday, March 20 2004. Created Friday, January 16 2004. | ||||||||
