Rating: 
Summary: Slow... Slow... and still slower....
Review: I purchased this movie have never seen it before. I thought that it would be a safe bet because of all the stellar reviews of it. After all people were comparing it to Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononoke, it had to be good.Unfortunatly, I did not find it to be entertaining at all... in fact, I was just waiting for it to end. The plot was slow, and the characters were developed poorly. I agree that it was a bit thought provoking, but there wasn't too much to think about, its no Ghost in the Shell in this aspect. Also, the animation is a bit dated, which would be ok if the series lived up to the standards of films such as Castle of Caglistro, but it doesn't. I cannot reccomend the purcahse of this film, though with all of the other positive reviews, you might want to think about renting it to see if it suits your fancy.
Rating: 
Summary: deep ideas and big robots
Review: I watched this film expecting another generic anime about crazy giant robots, big guns, even bigger explosions and not a lot else. What I, in fact got took me a little by surprise. The action is there, and executed incredibly well, with crisp, detailed animation and believeable machines. Lurking behind this, however I found Patlabour to be a dark, phychological and clever thriller. It traces the path of the villians decent into insanity with remarkable feeling and compassion. The soundtrack adds to this atmosphere with soft, orchastral strains. One of my favourite films, bar, well, not many. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: I watched this movie for the 3rd time last night and it's the only time I really followed the movie from the beginning to the end. I must say that this movie is a work of art. Pure genius it is. The whole story goes way beyond what hollywood could realise. a total must!
Rating: 
Summary: A respectable series worth watching
Review: If I wanted to introduce someone to the world of quality anime, this wouldn't be the title I'd pick. There ARE better out there... BUT this is nothing to hoist your nose at, Patlabor has style and class. It's in my library and it's going to stay there. So if you are a fan of mechs or a good detective story and demand a higher level of quality in artwork and plot than most, this is a good choice. If you are on the edge of buying this let me tip you over to the "yes" side.
Rating:
Summary: Great for non-anime or neo-anime fans
Review: If you're wondering where to start in investigating anime this is a great place to start. The plot is easy to follow, and very enjoyable, especially for westerners (who are not versed in the eastern mindset or oriental paradigms), yet it doesn't compromise when it comes to the dramatic asian animation style. As to the dialog: I wish DVD producers would offer two English dubbed versions: original and PG-rated so my younger kids could watch this.
Rating:
Summary: Great for non-anime or neo-anime fans
Review: If you're wondering where to start in investigating anime this is a great place to start. The plot is easy to follow, and very enjoyable, especially for westerners (who are not versed in the eastern mindset or oriental paradigms), yet it doesn't compromise when it comes to the dramatic asian animation style. As to the dialog: I wish DVD producers would offer two English dubbed versions: original and PG-rated so my younger kids could watch this.
Rating:
Summary: Smart Mecha Movie of the Not So Action-Packed Kind
Review: In Gateway country, people rule. Well, at least until someone plants a virus into the system before he dies and all of the sudden labors are on the rampage, and it would take more than Pinkerton's Men to stop these guys. If you are looking for a fast-paced in your face action with a hyper cool robot title, look no further... for another anime. But, if you a are looking for an anime that poses deep questions such as "Who am I really?", "My purpose is?", "Will the Cubs ever win a World Series?, and...aw nevermind, it's not like that either. All I can say is that Patlabor is a smart, and stylized mecha movie with enough techno stuff and mystery to boot. But of course, the Patlabor series is one of the best mecha anime series ever, so what's not to expect? Especially at the hands of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). The big difference about Patlabor is that instead of focusing on the mecha, it focuses on the people. Labors aren't the solve-all, end-all super robots out to save the world, they're functional machines, and could be related to much like cars today. That's where Patlabor works its magic, with the characters. Masami Yuki, one of the creators of Patlabor, and Headgear, took what was originally a parody of Gundam into an anime that has come into a light of its own. Patlabor is great show and a great movie, and Patlabor 2, even beter that the first, is considered Oshii's masterpiece. Highly recomended to dedicted fans and the casual otaku alike, Oshii show us that technology does not always mean progress, and nothing is ever failsafe.
Rating:
Summary: Slow moving, thought provoking, and intresting
Review: It's a calm, slow, intresting science fiction in the style of the director's later film, "GHOST in the SHELL". Plus it has giant robots! Very cool, thoughtful, original anime. Not a lot of action, so if your one of those people who want and expect tons of meaningless explosions in an anime, you'll be disappointed. If you liked "Wings of Honneamise" or "GHOST in the SHELL", you'll enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: sci-fi thriller with massive robots and mad scientists
Review: it's actually much more sophisticated than my summary lets on. The director Mamoru Oshii just happens to be one of my favs... thoughtful and ambitious, this movie also has a pretty good sense of humor. recommend this to anybody who likes a good sci-fi flick, probably one of Oshii's best films. basically this computer programmer devises a virus in which a whole mess of robots and computers go berserk, and since he works for one of the most powerful mecha (read giant robot) companies in the world, he can easily get his evil virus diseminated throughout witless robot owners everywhere in Japan... so now it's up to the intrepid cops in their giant robots to figure out how to stop this robot holocaust, and hopefully make sure that their robots don't freak out before that happens... cool stuff, highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Yet another wonderful Oshii Mamoru creation
Review: Let me start by saying that the movie itself rates a 5-star. I'm giving this 4 stars only because I am fairly annoyed at the English dubbing because it is obiously aimed more at children. This is NOT a movie which should be treated this way. If you're not fluent in Japanese (I only know barely enough Japanese to tell if a translation is WAY off), watch this one with the literal English subtitles. OK, a passing knowlege of post-WWII Japan helps a lot too, but that's true of any of the great Japanese Animes (Akira, Ghost in the Shell, etc). OK, to be fair, it's probably to keep a more PG rating since this Anime doesn't feature gratuitous sex, outfits as not-there as Jennifer Lopez's Acadamy Awards gown, or naked, bathing females with large bouncy...ehm...you get the idea. While not quite as "deep" as Ghost in the Shell, it is still definately more of a thinking person's Anime than an animated Action/Adventure flick. As with other Anime directed by Oshii Mamoru, defitately worth buying, if only to save money on the rental fees, because this is one to watch multiple times to catch the dramatic layers you'll miss the first couple times. If you enjoy Drama and Anime, this is a great one to get. If you are looking more for giant robots destroying each other then there a wealth of other amime with less drama and more action to suit your taste.
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