Who and Who Eats Standing Soba Noodles in "Mobile Police Patlabor: Early Days"? [Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 72

The year before last, "Mobile Police PATLABOR" celebrated the 30th anniversary of the start of the anime series, which is still being shown again at events and theaters, and merchandise is being released one after another. Starting with this article, we will look back at the "Patlabor" anime series in chronological order. First, we will take a look at episodes 5 and 6, "The Longest Day of Section 2 (Part 1 and Part 2)," from the initial OVA (1988) called "Mobile Police PATLABOR: Early Days.

One winter day, the Self-Defense Forces stage a military coup. The leader of the determined army is a mysterious Self-Defense Force officer called Kai Lukiteru. With the help of Detective Matsui of the Investigation Section, Captain Goto of the Metropolitan Police Department, Special Vehicle Division 2 (Patrol Reaver Company, Special Vehicle Division 2), 2nd Platoon, discovers that Kai has nuclear missiles on a civilian ferry and prevents the missile launch through a surprise operation.
However, Captain Goto is not a simple hero who acts based on a sense of justice. During the course of the story, it is revealed that Goto and Kai were friends during their school days, and Detective Matsui casts suspicion on Goto, saying, "Maybe we should arrest you even now. Goto-san. Are you perhaps still a comrade of that man Kai?"　Goto does not answer this question.
What do Goto and Kai have in common? The similarities between Goto and Kai are mentioned in an unexpected way. It is the way they eat standing-only buckwheat noodles.

Kake-soba without green onion" gives a strong impression of Kai's presence.

The longest day in Section 2 (Part 1 and Part 2)" is mainly told from the viewpoints of two men who are on vacation but have nowhere to go. One is Captain Goto and the other is his young subordinate, Yuuma Shinohara. Goto and Yuuma work separately, meeting only just before the surprise attack. However, Yuuma's stop at a standing noodle shop proves to be a trump card for Goto. Let us look at Goto's and Youma's actions step by step.

First, Goto notices that a suspicious man is staking out the area near the Special Vehicle Section 2 government office building, and he transports one Patlabor to the manufacturer's factory to preserve it as an army. At this time, Goto was asked by his subordinate Ota, "Where is the enemy?" Goto replied, "I can't see it yet. Goto was simply acting on a hunch.
After a Self-Defense Forces trailer loaded with military-grade reavers fled through a checkpoint and Kai's unit rose up, Goto took a covert action in his own car. Goto is unaware of Kai's whereabouts, despite his monologue, "You did it, Kai.

On the other hand, Yuma, who, like Goto, has no home to return to, visits the homes of the members of the 2nd Platoon. Finally, Yuma goes to Tomakomai, Hokkaido, where his partner Akira Izumino lives, and encounters Kai at a standing noodle shop. However, it is not until after the uprising of Kai's unit that Yuma learns that the man is Kai.
Then, how did Yuma remember the face of Kai, whom he did not know?　It was because Kai ordered kakesoba (buckwheat noodles) and told the owner, "Oops, sorry, no green onions," and ate the noodles with no garnish and only shichimi (seven-spice chili pepper).
The owner of the restaurant was appalled, saying, "You've got to go to ......," as Yuma put croquettes in his udon, stirred in an egg, and even ordered more inari. Even in a stand-up noodle shop, adding this and that is considered to be childish and unrefined eating ....... The owner, however, smiles at Kai's refined eating style, refusing even to add green onions. The scene at the Tomakomai standing noodle shop clearly contrasts Yuma's immaturity with Kai's stoicism.

And in "The Longest Day in Section 2 (Part 1 and Part 2)," there is another man slurping standing buckwheat noodles. That is Goto.

What was Captain Goto slurping down at a standing-only noodle shop in Tokyo?

On the day that Kai's unit rose to power, Goto was watching TV at a standing-only noodle shop located under an elevated railway in Tokyo. Goto only slurps the remaining soup in his bowl, and what he was eating is not depicted. However, there is a slight hint in the conversation between Yuma and Goto after they return to Tokyo from Tomakomai.
Goto, talking to Youma on the phone, says, "What?　You saw Kai in Tomakomai?" He is surprised. Yuuma, on the phone, replies to Goto, "Yes. Yes, without green onions and with a lot of chili pepper on his face, he eats like a professional. The last part, "You know it very well, don't you?" means that Goto is "very familiar" with Kai's standing-eating manners of no green onion and only chili pepper.　Let us look at the conversation between Goto and Kai just before the surprise attack.

Kai: "Wasn't that move your 18th?"
Goto: "Have you forgotten who I learned that from?"
Kai: "Keep it up. (omission) After all, you were my best student.

In other words, Goto learned how to formulate strategies from Kai. Not only that, Kai mistakenly believed that the military strategy he taught Goto was his own specialty. It is impossible for two people who think so similarly to each other to differ only in the way they eat standing-only buckwheat noodles. I am convinced that Goto was eating kake-soba without green onions, which is why he did not describe it.

In addition, the news of the escape of the Self-Defense Forces trailer was reported at a standing-only noodle shop in Tomakomai, and the news of the coup d'etat unit's decision was broadcast at a standing-only noodle shop in Tokyo. A standing noodle shop is a place where personalities are revealed, and at the same time, it is a sanctuary where only the truth is communicated.
In addition, when Captain Goto, who acts in secret, answers the phone, he replies, "This is Shanghai Pavilion. This is a code that can only be understood by his own people. Goto's subordinate, Kankanuka, disguises herself as a delivery person from a restaurant called "Horaiken" when she infiltrates the Special Vehicle Section 2. Chinese restaurants are exclusively used as camouflage to hide something.
In addition, "Natto," "beer," "meat," "coffee," "zoni," "sake," and many other foods and drinks are scattered throughout "The Longest Day in Section Two (Part One and Part Two). This episode reminds us once again that the charm of "PATLABOR" lies in the smell of ordinary people's lives.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)