Following the debut of Patlabor EZY File 1 on May 15, a trailer and visual for the next chapter of the Patlabor EZY anime have been released. As previously announced, Patlabor EZY File 2 is set to begin screening in Japan on August 14, while Patlabor EZY File 3 will follow in March 2027.
Patlabor EZY is part of the Patlabor franchise that features mechs called Labors, some of which are used for law enforcement in the face of Labor-related crimes. The new movies are set in 2030s Japan, where the move towards AI automation is causing the Labor mechs to become relics of the past. Despite the changing times, Special Vehicle Section 2 continues its role as guardians, now with the new AV-98Plus Ingram to assist them against crimes involving new technology.
Yutaka Izubuchi (Patlabor mechanical designer, RahXephon director, Metallic Rouge chief supervisor) is the director for Patlabor EZY, with Kazunori Ito (.hack//SIGN, Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days screenwriter) as series composer and screenwriter and Takamitsu Sato (Lostorage incited WIXOSS) as character designer and chief animation director. J.C.STAFF is the animation production studio.
Sumire Uesaka and Kikunosuke Toya are among the cast.
Patlabor was conceived by the creative unit HEADGEAR, whose members include Izubuchi, Ito, Masami Yuki, Akemi Takada, and Mamoru Oshii. The science fiction franchise, described by the official website as being a pioneer of the media-mix approach, began in the 80s with the Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days OVA series and a manga. More anime, including a TV series, three movies, and a new OVA series, came afterwards. There are also Patlabor novels and games.
2016 saw the release of the Mobile Police Patlabor Reboot short. Production on Patlabor EZY was announced the next year, and a pilot film was released in 2022.
Crunchyroll describes the Patlabor Special Edition Blu-ray, which includes the TV series, OVAs, and movies, as such:
Building the city of the future is a tough job, but the development of Labors… giant robots specifically designed for construction and other heavy duty tasks… is transforming the world. Unfortunately, when someone puts that much power in a machine, the one thing that’s certain is that someone somewhere will find a way to use it to commit crimes. That’s why Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has its massive Ingram Patrol Labors and the brave men and women of Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2… including the teams most recent recruit, the mecha obsessed Noa Azumi. Get ready for some of the wildest, most incredible adventures ever as Noa and her new comrades in arms hit the street in the ultimate collection of one of anime’s most legendary creations – Mobile Police Patlabor!
Production credits (credits that weren’t previously listed with older promotional material or in older versions of the anime’s website are listed as “new”)
• Director: Yutaka Izubuchi (Patlabor mechanical designer, RahXephon director, Metallic Rouge chief supervisor)
• Series composer and screenwriter: Kazunori Ito (.hack//SIGN, Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days screenwriter)
• Character designer and chief animation director: Takamitsu Sato (Lostorage incited WIXOSS)
• Character draft designer: Masami Yuki (Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days character draft designer)
• Mobility designer: Shoji Kawamori (new, Macross co-creator, Aquarion Evol co-creator and chief director et al., Macross: Do You Remember Love? co-director)
• Unit director: Kozo Kaiho
• Mechanical designer: Kanetake Ebikawa (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch of Mercury co-mechanical designer)
• Mechanical designer: Toshiaki Ihara (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time co-mechanical designer)
• CG director: Yoshinori Moriizumi (“Chocolat Cadabra” anime music video)
• CG production: GAZEN
• CG production: J.C.STAFF CG department
• Producer (previously credited as executive producer, and before that as producer): Taro Maki (Patlabor The Mobile Police: The Early Days co-producer)
• Animation production: J.C.STAFF
Cast
• Sumire Uesaka as Towa Kuga
• Kikunosuke Toya as Kippei Atori
• Ami Koshimizu as Saki Hirata
• Chikahiro Kobayashi as Akihiko Hazama
• Setsuji Sato as Yuta Yanai
• Yume Matsumura as Hachikuma Yuzuki
• Megumi Hayashibara as Kimika Saeki
Source: @patlabor0810