‘Labors’ are giant robots operated by drivers used in the near future to enhance industrial strength, speed and productivity. They are essential to the completion of the Babylon Project, an urban renewal scheme in Tokyo Bay designed to solve the city’s housing and drainage problems. The appropriation of Labors by some criminals has led to the formation of a Special Vehicle Division of the police, equipped with Patrol Labors (‘Patlabors’) of its own.Oshii used these concepts (from Manga by Yuuki Masami) as the basis for six video shorts and two theatrical features. The 450-Million-Year Trick is the third of the shorts. It serves here to introduce the SVD’s Captain Goto Kiichi and his team of six young policemen and women – and the mix of sci-fi, horror and humour which characterised the series. The plot turns on a suite of ominous disappearances in Tokyo Bay.The feature Patlabor the Movie is darker in tone and much more ambitious. The scientist who designed a new operating system for Labors has committed suicide, but left a malign legacy in the form of a computer bug which causes Labors to run riot. The SVD team has to find out what triggers the bug – as a massive typhoon bears down on the hi-tech Ark in Tokyo Bay. (T.R.)
