Patlabor WXIII (2002)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Yuuki Masami and Tori Miki
Directed by Takuji Endo and Fumihiko Takayama

Features:

• English and Japanese trailers
  
• Glossary
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• A little grisly in places
• Mega-conspiracies
• You’ll never look at trout the same again

Released by: Pioneer
Region: 1
Rating: R
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Buy it

Tokyo Bay seems to be under assault. Experienced detective Kusumi and young, eager Hana have been assigned to find out what is causing the deadly Labor accidents and also what's inspiring the tales of a deadly, giant fish in the bay. Terror starts to reign as the biological entity in Tokyo Bay strikes even more horrifically, and only Kusumi and Hana can get to the heart of the matter...before the international conspiracy stops them cold and leave the people unprotected.

The film is a bit oddly paced for American audiences, but stay with it, and you’ll be rewarded. The first half of the movie is devoted to character development and the increasing tension of the mysteries of Tokyo Bay. There is even a hint of romance going on. But about halfway through the film, there is a plot crisis, and the pacing changes radically, escalating to horror-movie weirdness and more action than you can shake a stick at.

The characters are very interesting here. We have the usual police drama tension between the two lead investigators that also nicely represents the tensions between the Net-savvy younger generation and the wiser, more experienced older generation. A society currently struggling to reconcile different ways of approaching life and success is always interesting and works well in science fiction.

The audio and video are in good shape here. The colors are moody and subdued, befitting the subject matter, but clear and attractive. The sound in both English and Japanese are good, and we are treated to a voice cast who not only knows how to represent characters, but also mood and feeling--and they managed to be terrified at times without being screechy.

Fans of the other Patlabor titles might be a bit disappointed at the relatively little time spent on Special Vehicle Unit 2 or on any of the other known aspects of the world. Just sit back and try to see this as a way to make the world more fully real and detailed. Besides, if it didn’t have the name, you might not have picked it up, and that would be a shame.

The features for this version are much reduced from the special edition, but there are still a couple of interesting inclusions. A nice touch is the soft subtitle option that allows viewers to listen in English, but still have the Japanese signs translated at the bottom of the screen. We also get the trailers in both English and Japanese for the theatrical release, and a very handy list of terms for fans new to the franchise.

In short, fans of police dramas or milder horror will greatly enjoy this one. Mecha fans will be disappointed that they only have a couple of scenes to cheer for, but they should be rewarded by a fine story and intriguing characters. Anime fans who tend to like anything Patlabor will also appreciate it, even though the SVU2 folks are minimally important, as will people who just enjoy an interesting story told through well-fleshed-out characters. Even if you resent the name being attached to a mainly non-Patlabor story, try this one and see if you aren’t sucked into the fine story and well-done characters.