New Poster Art And Stills For THE NEXT GENERATION: PATLABOR

The upcoming episodic theatrical release of Mamoru Oshii‘s series, The Next Generation: Patlabor, is out and about again with more new promotional stills from Shochiku. The series is set to premiere on seven dates beginning on April 5, 2014 through January 1 of next year, followed by a feature film later that Spring. Reports also show that the upcoming feature film release itself will also mark the first use of Dolby ATMOS technology for a Japanese cinemas, implementing its system comprised of 64 speaker channels for a more immersive theatrical experience.

Based on the award-winning concept and original 1988 manga/anime/OVA property from Headgear, The Next Generation: Patlabor stars Toshio Kakei, Erina Mano, Seiji Fukushi, Rina Ohta and Shigeru Chiba, and will comprise of a 10-minute prequel episode (Episode 0) with twelve 48-minute episodes. Oshii is overseeing the seven-part project as its as chief director and writer with further screenwriting assistance by scribe Kei Yamamura and soundtrack composer Kenji Kawai. Episodes 2, 4 and 8 are directed by Takanori Tsujimoto with Kiyotaka Taguchi behind episodes 9 and 10, and Hiroaki Yuasa helming episodes 3, 5, and 11. International sales are being handled by Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, who are producing the series and film in association with FX studio Omnibus Japan.

Following the development of the humanoid work machines called Labors, technology propelled forward at a high speed, eventually resulting in the use of Labors in all facets of society. 

With global warming causing the rising of sea levels around Tokyo, and the 1995 great earthquake causing mass destruction around the city,the Babylon Project was developed. It was designed with the intent of fixing the problem concerning the overwhelming lack of land, Labors from around the country were pulled into the city to begin work on the project.  

With such a large number of the machines in one area, Labor crimes began to increase at an alarming rate. In order to combat this new problem, police headquarters made the call to introduce Labor into their special units. This was the birth of the Patlabor unit.  

Fast forward to Tokyo, 2013. The first stage of the Babylon Project has been completed. Due to a long term recession and the amount of time and money they cost to maintain, Labors have been discarded. The First Labor Platoon of the 2nd Division has been disbanded, leaving behind the Second Labor Platoon to inherit their work. The Type 98 Ingram has been left to this new generation.  

This is the story of the 2nd Division and their struggle to stay afloat. This is the story of the 3rd generation.