Patlabor
Japanese manga series
Mobile Police Patlabor (Japanese: 機動警察パトレイバー, Hepburn: Kidō Keisatsu Patoreibā), also known as Patlabor (a portmanteau of "patrol" and "labor"), is a Japanese science fiction media franchise in the mecha genre. It is produced by Headgear, an artist collective consisting of manga artist Masami Yūki, director Mamoru Oshii, screenwriter Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, and character designer Akemi Takada. The concept of Patlabor originated from a desire to create a more realistic and light-hearted mecha anime than militarized works like Gundam or Space Runaway Ideon which were popular in the 1980s.
Set in near-future Tokyo, construction mecha known as "Labors" are increasingly used in large-scale engineering work; the Tokyo Metropolitan Police also have their own fleet of police Labors. Incorporating elements of the workplace comedy and police procedural genres, the series follows the misfit Division 2 as they deal with Labor-related crimes, terrorism, and accidents.
The franchise began airing in 1988 with the Patlabor: The Early Days OVA, and quickly became a multimedia franchise including a manga, three TV series, four feature-length movies, three light novel series, and an animated short film compilation. Patlabor is known for using mecha not just for police or military purposes, but also for industrial and municipal jobs.
Plot
The story takes place in what was, at the time of release, the near future of 1998–2002. Mecha called "labors" are used in heavy construction work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police has its own fleet of patrol Labors ("patlabors"; as opposed to patrol cars) to combat crimes or terrorism and deal with accidents involving labors.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Patlabor” is japanese manga series. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Patlabor, Japanese and manga, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “japanese manga series” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q702520. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1988, 1998 and 2002.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Patlabor”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Patlabor primary sources, Patlabor archive and Patlabor research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Patlabor”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Patlabor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.