Synopses for Patlabor On Television

31   Tragedy in the Rain
Division 2 are on hand to provide security at the Tokyo International Labor Show. Utsumi and Bud meet Noa and Asuma again while looking at the new Economy Ingram. Utsumi realises for the first time that they're from Division 2. Bud and Utsumi are actually there to plot their attack on them. Asuma decides to test the new Ingram without telling Captain Gotoh. Ota unhappy at the situation decides to challenge him with his Ingram. Suddenly a truck collides with the Labors and gas starts pouring out creating a smoke screen. The Griffin Labor smashes out of the truck and starts attacking Ota. Noa is unable to help him as Asuma is using her movement disc in the Economy Ingram. Both Ingram labors are defeated and an injured Asuma passes the disc back to Noa. The Griffin attempts to take Ota's moment disc, but Noa begins to fight. Rain causes the smoke screen to disperse and Bud is given orders to retreat. To everyone's amazement the Griffin Labor takes off and flies like a jet. Meanwhile Kumagami sees a car nearby and asks them to leave the area. Inside is Utsumi who is giving Bud directions via radio. Kumagami recognises him as Richard Wong. Utsumi's driver panics and shoots Kumagami and they flee from the scene. Screenplay by Satoshi Namiki.

Kataoka makes his first of only three appearances in the TV series. He is Matsui's partner, and also appears in the first Patlabor film. This episode is based on the manga story "Out of Standard (Parts 7 to 11)", which appears in the fourth graphic novel (1989). Screenplay by Satoshi Namiki. Originally broadcast 6 June 1990.

32   Reunion
The members of the SV2 discuss yesterday's events. How could the Labor fly, and who has manufactured it? At least they have demonstrated to headquarters that the Economy Ingram isn't good enough for police work, and thankfully Asuma and Kumagami are both in a satisfactory condition in hospital. Meanwhile the remains of the Griffin are found in the Chiba Mountains. In reality Schaft have faked the crash landing and destruction of the Labor and have taken Bud and the Griffin to a safe place. Kumagami gives Detective Matsui a description of Richard Wong for a police sketch. Asuma who is visiting Kumagami's room sees the picture and identifies him as Utsumi. Asuma suddenly makes the connection between him, Schaft and the Griffin. Matsui goes to Schaft to talk to Utsumi. The manager finds out the police are after Utsumi and immediately orders the cancellation of the project. But he knows that Utsumi won't give up without a fight and calls in Schaft Security Systems, or Three-S for short. They are essentially a private army for Schaft, and have a bad reputation for getting things done no matter what the cost. With Three-S coming to Japan, Kanuka returns to the SV2 to investigate why Three-S are there. With Asuma out of action for a while Kanuka becomes Noa's backup.

This episode is based on the manga story "VS. (Parts 1 to 3)", which appears in the fifth graphic novel (1990). Screenplay by Kazunori Ito. Originally broadcast 13 June 1990.

33   The Dogs of Schaft
Utsumi and Kurosaki are cornered by Three-S, but escape with the Griffin. The division manager of Schaft orders Three-S to capture them. Captain Gotoh discovers that the crash was faked, and the Griffin Labor is still out there somewhere. Noa is upset at the news. She doesn't want to fight it. After Three-S track Utsumi down, he decides to take the Griffin and flees to Tokyo to show what it can do. Matsui is in pursuit and tells Gotoh that they will be entering by boat through the "Castle Gate", the entrance to the Babylon Project. Three-S know this too and plan to stop Utsumi there. Division 2 plan to head Three-S off before they get a chance to attack. Unfortunately Ota's Ingram is still out of commission, so Noa will have to go it alone.

The TV crew in the helicopter have NTV written on their gear, and are from the same station as Momoko Sakuryama, which would imply that she works for the same station that broadcasts Patlabor (Nippon Television Network or NTV). However other episodes her TV crew have TTV on their equipment, same as the manga. This episode is based on the manga story "VS. (Parts 4 to 7)", which appears in the fifth graphic novel (1990). Screenplay by Kazunori Ito. Originally broadcast 20 June 1990.

34   Battle at the Castle Gate
The Griffin lands on the far side away from where Division 2 are, and they have race to the other side. Meanwhile Three-S attempt to ambush the Griffin but several of their Labors are destroyed. Asuma, who has been discharged from hospital, watches the events on TV and tries to find away to get the the scene. He has been ordered not to go. Sasaki decides he can come with him to deliver a back up battery by helicopter. Noa goes in to attack but Momoko Sakuryama's TV crew arrive and she can't take a shot at the Griffin because they're in the way. Three-S decide to blow up the the Griffin by getting one of it's Labors to attach explosives it it. The Griffin attacks Noa, she responds by hitting it with her shotgun, which goes off and almost hits her. The battle between Noa and the Griffin continues. Kanuka eventually removes Momoko and her crew so that Noa can shoot the Griffin. She shoots and the Griffin dodges and the bullets hits the the Three-S Labor carrying the explosives, causing a massive fireball.

This episode is based on the manga story "VS. (Parts 8 to 12)", which appears in the fifth graphic novel (1990). Screenplay by Kazunori Ito. Originally broadcast 27 June 1990.

35   The Fall of Griffin!
The fight continues, and Noa manages to backflip the Griffin. By now the Griffin is starting to malfunction. It's still putting up a fight though, smashing Noa's main camera. Ota tries to help Noa by firing his Labor gun with the help of Yamazaki, and manages to shoot out it's main camera. Both machines are heavily damaged, and the fight will probably not go on for much longer. Utsumi orders Bud to escape. The Griffin flies off but crashes in Tokyo Bay. Bud is saved, however the Griffin sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Asuma, who's been giving instruction to Noa all this time, rushes over to Noa's battered Ingram. Inside she's crying. Utsumi cuts a deal with Schaft to avoid having Three-S chase him, and escapes Japan with Bud. Though Kanuka's investigation is unresolved, it is over for now, and she bids the SV2 farewell again.

The Griffin arc is actually concluded in the New Series OVAs. It was most likely left unresolved in the TV series to make people rent or buy the OVA series to see how it ends. This episode is based on the manga story "VS. (Part 13)" and After Care (Parts 1 to 4), which appeared in the sixth graphic novel (1990). Screenplay by Kazunori Ito. Originally broadcast 4 July 1990.

36   Noa's Big Adventure
Division 2 return to the Police Academy to hone their fighting skills. Noa is getting a little depressed at the fact Ota is much better than her, and she's not getting much credit for her work. One night she sets off to get dinner for everyone, and sees a few ¥10,000 notes floating down a stream. She sees this as a big chance to prove herself and follows the trail of money upstream. Noa doesn't return to the Training Grounds, and the team are worried. They come across a local policeman who tells them a robbery has taken place. This behaviour is quite unlike her and Division 2 are now quite worried and begin to search for her.

This episode is based on the manga story "Helping Out (Parts 1 to 5)", which appeared in the sixth graphic novel (1990). Screenplay by Satoshi Namiki. Originally broadcast 11 July 1990.

37   I'm Selling Piece of Mind
After Ota damages a number of cars on a call-out, the SV2's insurance company sends in an investigator to check up on the SV2 due to their high amount of claims. Naoyo Yamada, a middle aged woman from the insurance company asks Division to re-create the crime. After the re-creation, she still can't decide if they should have their insurance renewed or not, so she decides to stay until their next mission. Though they apprehend the criminal without any damage, unfortunately the clean up is a total disaster. Ota is ordered to move the criminal's truck, but in the process causes several cars to have an accident which in turn cause a massive pile up. Then Ota accidentally crushes a child's bike. Will the SV2 be running without insurance, or is there hope yet?

The Ingram toy that Ota gives the child is manufactured by Bandai, who created all of the model kits and figures for the series, as well as distributed the series on video in Japan. Screenplay by Satoshi Namiki. Originally broadcast 18 July 1990.

38   The Underground Mystery Tour
Mysterious things have been happening at the SV2. Food and alcohol have been disappearing over the time. One night somebody steals two of the chickens. This causes fights amongst mechanics, some even blame each other. But who's the culprit? Nightly patrols commence and a man is discovered running from the greenhouse that hoses the tomato plants. The entire SV2 gives chase, but he mysteriously disappears. Morning brings the discovery of a manhole. Apparently there is a maze of tunnels underneath the landfill that was used to transport material for the site many years ago. They were abandoned long ago and thought to be disused, but the criminal is using the tunnels to escape. Ota and Shinshi are sent down to find him, but after several hours they fail to make contact. The rest of Division 2 follow, but are having a difficult time with all the cats and rats down there, and also the fact they are completely lost. But to add to their woes there is something else lurking down in the water...

Note that the mechanic that owns the cat is named Ito, which is a nod to screenplay writer and Headgear member Kazunori Ito. The character in this episode, Tadayama Fumihiro, is based upon the anime director Takayama Fumihiko, who would later go on to direct "WXIII Patlabor the movie 3". Screenplay by Mamoru Oshii. Originally broadcast 25 July 1990.

39   Economy Model Plans
Shinohara Heavy Industries completes a new prototype version of the Economy Ingram. Noa, Gomika, and Ota are sent to help test it out and give feedback to the engineers. Noa gives the now model a fairly average score, to which Ota accuses her of bias, because she seems to love the Ingram so much. But it seems to be an improvement over the the Ingram in some ways, but needs some improvement. Jitsuyama, who is heading up the project, implements the changes and all three notice the results straight away, even though Noa is still quite sceptical. Shinohara Heavy Industries are very pleased with the results. They are so confident that they suggest that they should have a mock fight between the prototype Labor and the Ingram. Noa is chosen to battle the new Economy Ingram much to Ota's disappointment.

One of the only episodes that allows Gomika to be in the spotlight, even if it's only for a couple of minutes. Screenplay by Satoshi Namiki. Originally broadcast 1 August 1990.

40   Orders of the Coast Guard
Near a shrine on the costal village of Shikura, a fishing boat has an accident and catches fire. The locals claim a sea monster named Plessie is behind it all. The coast guard order Division 2 to look into the matter. Soon the media get involved (including Momoko Sakurayama), and tourists start coming to the area in hope of catching a glimpse of the monster. The locals however seem to be rather well prepared for this onslaught of tourists. Is it all just a hoax to get the tourist buck?

This episode highlights Japan's fascination with the Pleasaurus. In 1977, a Japanese fishing vessel off the coast of New Zealand apparently caught the remains of one of the ancient creatures. But DNA samples seem to confirm that this was in fact the rotting remains of a Whale Shark. However the legend of this catch still seems to persist, especially in Japanese pop culture. This episode also is partly a classic anime cliché, a beach episode, and yes, it does feature the SV2 in swimsuits. Screenplay by Shigeyoshi Sugama. Originally broadcast 8 August 1990.

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