Academic discussion of "PATLABOR"! Report on the 2nd web seminar "PATLABOR JUKU" "Patlabor to Make Serious".

On December 18, 2021, the second session of the web seminar "PATLABOR JUKU," an academic examination of Japan's social environment in the near future 10 years after the events depicted in "Mobile Police PATLABOR," was distributed via the Internet.

The theme of the second session was a two-pronged one. In the first half, "Will the Tama area of the future city be the setting for Patlabor?" . In the second half, Mr. Keiji Mitsuyuki, Tokyo Branch Manager of Denso Corporation, a global automotive parts manufacturer, was invited to talk about "What if we really build Reaver? The talk was based on Ingram's internal documents.

The panelists were Toshio Yabe (General Manager, Media Planning Department, Urban Development Division, Mori Building), Azusa Kobayashi (actress and announcer), Michitaka Hirose (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo), and Keiji Mitsuyuki (General Manager, Tokyo Branch Office, Denso Corporation).

Ms. Yabe and Mr. Hirose will continue their appearances from the first session.

Mr. Yabe, the facilitator, is a hardcore "Patlabor" freak who watched the first and second "Mobile Police Patlabor" films and became interested in urban planning and development from the scenes of urban redevelopment depicted in the films, which led him to join Mori Building Co. He is a hard-core "PATLABOR" fanatic who has joined Mori Building Co. He has a smooth delivery that moves back and forth between academic and "PATLABOR" topics without borders.

Can Tama be the stage for the next generation of PATLABOR?

As mentioned earlier, the theme of this year's "Patlabor Juku" was a double feature.

The theme of the first one is "Can the Tama area, a city of the future, be the stage for Patlabor?" .

Here, we start with a reconsideration of the "Babylon Project," which will have a major impact on the world of "PATLABOR. The "Babylon Project," a national project to reclaim land in Tokyo Bay to prepare for the coming rise in sea level due to global warming, may not be profitable. Therefore, the program proposed the "Eden Project" to utilize the Tama area as a "post-Babylon project.

Azusa Kobayashi (left) and Toshio Yabe

The Tama area is a place that appears rather frequently in the show, as the Shinohara Heavy Industries plant is located in Hachioji.

However, since non-Kanto residents may not have an idea of what the Tama area is like, Mr. Kobayashi begins by describing the image of Tama to viewers who are unfamiliar with the area.

While Mr. Kobayashi presented a general, upbeat image of Tama, such as "mountains that can be easily climbed from central Tokyo," "many universities," "many film studios (for TV dramas and movies)," "Fuchu Racecourse is visited by people of all ages," and "fireworks displays are held in summer," Mr. Yabe spoke of the so-called "negative aspects" of the Tama area.

He talked about the structural problems faced by Tama New Town, the backstory of the various railroad networks, and how Tachikawa, Yokota, and Iruma were the center of cutting-edge technology before World War II.

Mr. Hirose also talked about the transition of human society following the stages of Society 1.0: hunting society > Society 2.0: agricultural society > Society 3.0: industrial society > Society 4.0: information society > Society 5.0: super-smart society, and that the Tama area is the poster child of Society 3.0: industrial society. The Tama area is the poster child of the Society 3.0 industrial society.

One of the reasons for this is the existence of the Tachikawa Airfield.

Hirose and Yabe say that because airplanes are an aggregation of various cutting-edge technologies, various factories have gathered together, and because of the vast land available for flying airplanes, an area was created where work and people gathered before and after World War II.

The subject of Part 1 is whether the Eden Project, set on such land, can replace the Babylon Project as the stage for the next generation of "Patlabor.

Michitaka Hirose (left) and Keiji Mitsuyuki

Interestingly, he said, "The era of the Babylon Project was an energetic time when people were willing to stand up against it. But now is the time when it is okay to run away," said Mr. Hirose.

When "Patlabor" was released at the end of the 1980s, the economy was still in the midst of the bubble economy. It was probably because of these times that the macho mindset of taking a stand against disasters and changes in the environment naturally emerged. However, forcibly building infrastructure on the coast is both costly and risky due to flooding. Moreover, it would make sense for the world setting of the modern "Patlabor" to be set in the Tama region, which already has assets and land accumulated over its long history, as well as a solid bedrock. This is the reason.

In future "Patlabor Juku" sessions, they will continue to delve deeper into the Tama area to make more concrete proposals for the "next generation of Patlabor," so we will keep an eye out for the third and subsequent sessions.

The theme of Part 2 is "What if we really build a Reaver?"

At this point, Mr. Keiji Mitsuyuki, General Manager of the Tokyo Branch Office of Denso Corporation, is introduced once again.

The reason why Denso Corporation appears here is that when Mr. Yabe looked back on the history of Shinohara Heavy Industries, the industrial manufacturer that appears in "Patlabor," he saw that it started out as a parts manufacturer for "Toyohata Motors" and was originally a parts factory for Toyota Motor Corporation, from which it was spun off. The reason is that Denso was originally a parts factory of Toyota Motor Corporation and was spun off from it.

Thus, under the five themes of "electrification," "robot control," "use of automated driving technology," "how to create a comfortable cockpit," and "money talk," the challenges in truly creating a raver were examined here.

This is where the highlight of the delivery came in, as the performers, all professionals in their respective fields, discussed cutting-edge technologies and concepts in the real world with little mincing words.

It is interesting to note that normally I tend to feel left out when I watch or listen to such technological or academic talks, but when they are connected to the world of "Patlabor," even if I do not understand 100% of what is being said, I am able to listen with a certain level of interest, even if I do not understand the content.

I am sure that interest in technology and unknown subjects is fostered in this way. ......

The seriousness with which the actors discussed the feasibility of the Reaver reminded me that "Patlabor" is an extension of the real world and a strong work with a well-developed setting.

Personally, the topic that came up in the "Money Talks" was the idea that Reiver could cut costs by diverting automobile parts. In developing a new category of machines called "ravers," it would be too costly to use new parts from scratch. However, by using automobile parts that have already been mass-produced, it may be possible to greatly reduce production costs.

Oddly enough, this seemed to fit with the setting of Shinohara Heavy Industries, which started out producing parts for Toyohata Motors, as well as the actual episode of Denso, a parts manufacturer with its origins in Toyota Motor Corporation's parts plant.

Also, as a uniquely modern concept, the reaver is operated on a subscription service. A company that has a cycle of collecting and servicing malfunctioning Reavers would be the most profitable, and since the data stored in the OS itself is considered important, a data company would also be in demand. The two-hour session was a lively one, with the topic of "PATLABOR" as the trigger.

This was the second session of "Patlabor Juku," where you can gain knowledge of various genres such as the latest technology and history through an anime that you are familiar with.

Tickets to watch this broadcast are on sale until 23:59 on December 24, 2021, so if you haven't watched it yet, hurry up and buy your tickets! Archived viewing will be available until 23:59 on January 1, 2022.

Event Information

■Patlabor Juku 2nd "Serious Making Patlabor

Date and time: Saturday, December 18, 2021, 15:00-17:00

　After the live broadcast, archived viewing will be available until 23:59 on Saturday, January 1, 2022.

Venue: Fabeats Patlabor Juku (2nd) web seminar viewing page

Appearance: Michitaka Hirose (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo), Keiji Mitsuyuki (General Manager, Tokyo Branch Office, Denso Corporation), Azusa Kobayashi (Actress, Announcer), Toshio Yabe (General Manager, Media Planning Department, Planning & Development Division, Urban Development Division, Mori Building)

＜Tickets

Tickets for students only] Viewing ticket (500 yen)

Patlabor Fan Club Members Only] Viewing Ticket (1,000 yen)

General] Viewing ticket (2,000 yen)

Group] Tickets for 25 people (37,500 yen)

Group] Tickets for 50 people (75,000 yen)

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