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2 Patlabor Films Get UHD-BD 4K Remastered Releases in 2026; Revival Screenings in Japan in October
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
Bandai Namco Filmworks announced on Sunday (August 10 is officially Patlabor Day in Japan) that the Patlabor: The Movie and Patlabor 2: The Movie films will have limited two-week revival screenings in Japan on October 3 and October 17, respectively. The films will also get 4K remastered releases on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc and Blu-ray Disc, with English dub and English subtitles, in 2026.
The first Patlabor film will be screened with the "Theatrical Release version audio," and a separate 4K version. The second film will also screen in 4K.
The two films' UHD-BD releases will be fully remastered using 4K film scans, and will include a special booklet and a large collection of storyboards. The first film will launch on both UHD Blu-ray Disc and on regular Blu-ray Disc on January 28, 2026, and the second film will release in both formats on March 25, 2026.
GENCO revealed the Patlabor EZY anime project in 2017, with a booth at the MIFA film market at Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The pilot for the project aired in August 2022. The anime project will start in 2026.
Yutaka Izubuchi (Patlabor mechanical designer) is directing the anime at J.C. Staff. Kazunori Itō (Patlabor the Mobile Police) is writing the script. Masami Yuuki (Patlabor creator) is designing the characters. Takamitsu Satou (Lostorage incited WIXOSS) is the chief animation director and character designer. Kenji Kawai (Patlabor) is composing the music. GENCO representative director Tarō Maki (Patlabor the Mobile Police, Nodame Cantabile, Millennium Actress) is producing. GAZEN is handling CG production. The HEADGEAR group is credited for the original story.
Akemi Takada is collaborating on the costume design (Patlabor character designer). Kanetake Ebikawa (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury) and Toshiaki Ihara (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time) are the mechanical designers. Masanori Kikuchi (Star Blazers 2199) and Yūta Akiyama (Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma) are credited for art. Yoshinori Moriizumi (Pokémon movies) is the CG director.
Robotics company MOVeLOT unveiled a pilotable Ingram mecha in 2024.
The Patlabor franchise's original concept of police officers piloting robotic mecha (patrol labors or "Patlabors") was developed by HEADGEAR, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers), script writer Kazunori Itō (.hack, Dirty Pair), mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi (Eureka Seven, Mobile Suit Gundam franchise), character designer Akemi Takada (Kimagure Orange Road, Urusei Yatsura, Fancy Lala), and manga creator Masami Yuuki (Birdy the Mighty). The franchise spawned two original video anime, a television anime series, and three anime films. The last anime film, Patlabor WXIII, was released in theaters in Japan in 2002.
The "Mobile Police Patlabor Reboot" anime short debuted in Japan in October 2016 and began streaming on the Japan Anima(tor)'s Exhibition's (Japan Animator Expo) official website in November 2016.
The live-action The Next Generation -Patlabor- project, which debuted in 2014, consisted of a seven-part series and a feature length film.
Maiden Japan has licensed the Patlabor OVA series, Patlabor the Mobile Police: The New Files OVA, Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2: The Movie, and Patlabor WXIII.
Source: Press release
