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Mobile Police Patlabor Gets Live-Action Project in 2014
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The production company Tohokushinsha Film Corporation announced on Thursday that a live-action project of Headgear's Mobile Police Patlabor anime is launching in 2014. The announcement was made on the first day of Tokyo International Anime Fair. In a previous interview last year with Studio Ghibli Producer Toshio Suzuki, original Patlabor director Mamoru Oshii declined to comment on plans for a live-action adaptation. Manga creator Masami Yuuki also denied knowledge of the project.
The series' original concept 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 anime videos, a television anime series, and three anime films. The last film, Patlabor WXIII was released in theaters in Japan in 2002.
Central Park Media released the OAVs and television series in English before filing for bankruptcy in 2009. The three films were released stateside by Manga Entertainment, Bandai Visual USA, and Geneon but are since out of print. The North American licensing company Maiden Japan announced on Wednesday that it acquired the Mobile Police Patlabor television anime series. The same company announced the rights for the OAV series in January.
An official website for the project also launched on Thursday.
Update: Omnibus Japan, an audio and computer graphics studio tied to Tohokushinsha, is co-producing the new project. It worked on the graphics in Ghost in the Shell and the Evangelion films.
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