A simple plot that even then wasn't fully developed. The main antagonist is nothing but a name - neither physically present nor any hint of any motive or rationale. There's one minor twist in the plot but it's revealed too early on to register as anything particularly special; and isn't really believable in the context either.The characters are similarly simple and undeveloped. All you really get is a bit of goofiness and an overdone grump. There were family elements, differences in opinion, unique relationships, etc, that could've been exploited to good effect but were left empty.So what drives the movie? An odd mix of: a) Typical anime action. Nothing new - just robots and robot suits bashing on each other. b) Art-house style trying-to-be-philosophical long pauses and random quotes.Might be intriguing if you like both of the latter. But don't watch it for either the story or the human element.

While I was only about 12 when I first saw this movie, I think it is fair to say that I initially enjoyed the ending scenes (aboard the Ark)due to the labour action- and because of this, I wasn't quite as keen on the second one.It's a film that hits on many levels- younger audiences will enjoy it for the robots, while more mature viewers will become wrapped up in the cunning, socio-political plot with more twists and turns then a labour wiring diagram.Make of it what you will, everyone will see something differet but either way, its 100 minutes well spent.

Isaac Asimov meets Akira in this detective-oriented science-fiction Japanese Manga film. Set in the near-future, Tokyo is undergoing a huge re-development program: old suburbs are being demolished and man-made islands are being constructed in Tokyo Bay. Most of the work is being done by giant man-operated robots called Labors. Labors are prone to go out of control and cause chaos, so units of the Police force have been set up to deal with them. These units, divided into squadrons, also use giant robots to tackle the out-of-control Labors. Asuma Shinohara is a sergeant in Second Squadron, who discovers that the crazy behaviour of the Labors is due to a bug in their operating system which was deliberately put in by Eiichi Hoba, the OS programmer. Hoba has since committed suicide confidant that his plan to destroy Tokyo will take effect...Patlabor is typical Manga with plenty of action and violence, but also a good deal of appeal and characters. These range from Asuma, quick-tempered and insubordinate, but a good detective; Captain Goto, the quietly manipulative commanding officer; and Officer Noa Izumi, Asuma's long-suffering, child-like colleague-cum-girlfriend, who ultimately saves the day.

These giant robots in Tokyo known as Patlabor all go crazy and knock down stuff. I did'nt understand the plot becuase it was all in subtitles and would prefer a dubbed version.