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Live-Action Patlabor Film Promotes Toho Cinemas Rewards Card in Video
posted on by Sarah Nelkin
A commercial for TOHO CINEMAS' Cine-Mileage rewards card featuring over-dubbed footage from the upcoming The Next Generation Patlabor: Shuto Kessen (Capital City Battle) film began streaming on Friday.
Shigeo: All right! Everyone, keep it up! Oh no, we got done in! The arm!
Man: Shige, do you know about the Cine-Mileage card?
Shigeo: What are you talking about at a time like this!?
Man: When you watch six movies at a TOHO CINEMAS theater, the next one is free!
Shigeo: We're getting clobbered! Well, forget it. Hey guys, let's go see a movie!
Man: Yes!! (The seventh film is) free!!!
Shigeo: Let's sign up for a Cine-Mileage card and go see The Next Generation Patlabor: Shuto Kessen!
Man: If you sign up now, you can get a clear file!
The card allows owners to see a movie for free in a TOHO CINEMAS theater after paying for six previous films. Those who apply in the coming days will receive a Next Generation Patlabor clear file, and five people will be chosen at random to receive a maintenance team shirt.
The film will premiere in Japanese theaters on May 1.
The Next Generation -Patlabor- project is not a remake of the earlier Patlabor anime stories, but a completely new work. The story is set in Tokyo in 2013, and it represents the "third generation" of Patlabor. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police has disbanded its Section 2 Division 1 of police robots, and Section 2 Division 2 barely survived the budget cuts due to the long recession.
The project began with a seven-part series, which is composed of the "episode 0" and 12 full episodes helmed by chief director Mamoru Oshii and other directors. Each full episode is approximately 48 minutes long. Finally, Oshii is directing and writing the feature-length film, which is expected to run about 100 minutes long.
Former Hello! Project singer and actress Erina Mano stars as pilot Akira Izumino (as opposed to the earlier anime's heroine Noa Izumi). The cast also includes Seiji Fukushi as Yūma Shiobara, Rina Oota as Ekaterina Krachevna Kankaeva ("Kasha") from Russia, Shigeru Chiba reprising his anime role as maintenance crew chief Shigeo Shiba, and Toshio Kakei as Captain Keiji Gotōda (the successor to the anime's Captain Kiichi Gotō).
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 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.
Oshii commented that the seven-part series will have a "slapstick" ambiance, while the feature film will be serious. Oshii and Kei Yamamura wrote the scripts for the series, and Kenji Kawai is returning to the franchise to compose the music for both the series and the feature film.
