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Persona22 In reply to Zeonista [2018-10-20 02:30:54 +0000 UTC]

Tank Police and Patlabor

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Zeonista In reply to Persona22 [2018-10-20 06:30:53 +0000 UTC]

Good to see some appreciation of the past classics.  

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Persona22 In reply to Zeonista [2018-10-21 05:25:29 +0000 UTC]

To be honest I didn't really care about Tank Police. I consider it one of Shirow's weakest works, while Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell are clearly masterpieces, Dominion Tank Police doesn't have that impact or critisim on technology that his other works have, its more of a critisim on abuse of power, which when done right is great but Shirow doesn't do a great work on delivery. Tank Police seems to be more funny than serious, which might be the original intention. Artwise is amazing, sure, but storywise is kind of weak (when compared to other works by Shirow, of course)

As for Patlabor, well, that's a whole different story. I really enjoyed it, and consider it a precursor of what I call "the one difference sci-fi" genre. Basically "the one difference sci-fi" shows us a close future of humanity where society is exactly the same as it is now, but with ONE, just ONE single technological difference. In the case of Patlabor is giant robots. Giant robots are so commonplace that are used for menial everyday tasks, like construction work, and so a police division exists that uses them. And the genius of Patlabor is that it doesn't focus so much so on the giant robot themselves, but on how they affect everyday life. The Japan they show in it is no different from the contemporary Japan of when the series came out, except for the robots. If it wasn't the first, then it was the one that made "the one difference sci-fi" popular. The most recent example of it would be Sword Art Online (which isn't very good... personally I see it as an alternative of the .hack series)

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Zeonista In reply to Persona22 [2018-10-24 01:49:14 +0000 UTC]

Few people who have watched Patlabor dislike it. The series benefited from the production team of Headgear, of course, since they were all experienced anime producers who were collaborating together. Definitely a difference between making something they wanted versus something coming down from the suits, nee?   SV 2, a motley crew if ever there was one, really won many people over as heroic underachievers determined to do their job, no matter the situation, no matter the enemy, and no matter what the superiors were saying!   The series holds up; add a few tablets and cell phones, and it would raise nary an eyebrow today. 

Dominion Tank Police is proof along with Black Magic M-66 that Shirow-sensei could indulge himself a bit and have a fun time, along with dishing out the visionary stuff. Dominion in its own way (especially the sequel) could hold its technical head up alongside Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell. The story is serious in a few places, despite the tank shenanigans, and the two anime series join with the manga to give a fuller world view. Admittedly the follow-up story with Deunan promoted to platoon leader is more of a police show with tanks, and less wacky Gaiatastrophe sci-fi fun. (Or maybe Japan really saved itself after all?) There is some bleed-over from his other stories in that volume, but it's all for the good, and the Puma sisters and Brenten's family show up to keep things from getting too sedate!  

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history-nerd In reply to ColonelBSacquet [2013-10-22 21:22:33 +0000 UTC]

Never said the opposite!  

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XHawk16 In reply to grimaldus44 [2014-10-27 03:42:15 +0000 UTC]

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history-nerd In reply to AO968 [2013-03-21 09:06:22 +0000 UTC]

+1

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