Patlabor: No School like the Old School Contest!

UPDATE! Scroll down to see the winning entries! WARNING: large images ahead!

Ah, 1990. Who doesn't remember those halcyon days of slap bracelets, that very first Final Fantasy game for the NES, and New Kids on the Block. DVD was but a glimmer in every young nerd's eye.

What else happened in 1990, you might ask? Well, in Japan, a little movie called Patlabor was released, based on the hit anime and manga series. Now, 16 years (and a whole lot of laserdiscs, plastic models and doujinshi) later, Bandai Visual has released the ultimate Patlabor: The Movie special edition. This handsome box set comes with a 2-disc special edition of the remastered film on DVD in both English and Japanese and two never-before-seen books, Patlabor: Archives, 184 pages of commentary on the film, and a 300-page storyboard book that outlines the entire film illustrated by none other than Mamoru Oshii himself.



Sounds great, right? Well, it ain't cheap; all that cool swag comes with a pretty hefty price tag. In stores, this premium Patlabor box will set you back a cool $90. Now, odds are, you're thinking to yourself: "How can I get this box set for free AND make a fool out of myself at the same time?" Well, Anime News Network is here to answer that question for you!

Welcome to the Patlabor: No School like the Old School contest!

What we're looking for is simple: we want photos of you - yes, you - doing as many retro things at once as possible. Bust out the old anime laserdiscs, your Urusei Yatsura toys from the 1980's, your Atari 2600, your breakdancing mat, anything and everything from the late 1970's, the 1980's and the early 1990's, and pose with them. The more awesome retro swag you have in the shot, the better; try and make your photos funny and clever! Action poses will earn you more credit than static poses, so try and interact with your old school stuff in the shot. Photoshopped submissions will be accepted so long as they are convincingly realistic, and believe me, we have an eagle's eye for this sort of thing.

A few ground rules:
* Submissions must be original work. Submitting someone else's work without proper credit is grounds for immediate disqualification.
* Nudity, foul language and obscene gestures are also grounds for disqualification.
* Photoshopped submissions are acceptable but must meet with the judges' standards for realism. Poorly edited photoshops will be disqualified.

Remember, we're looking for excess here; just posing with an old VHS tape isn't going to cut the mustard. You're going to need to bust out as much retro junk as you possibly can to win!

Email your submissions to [email protected] by midnight on Monday, May 29th, 2006.

Good luck!


UPDATE: We have our three winners!

Harlock Hero wins the award for most effort (and biggest nerd):



Meanwhile, Harley Acres followed suit:



and finally, Lionel Davis rounds out our three winners.



Thanks to everyone who entered! If your photo is shown here and you did not recieve a confirmation email, please email zac@animenewsnetwork with your name. and mailing address so we can ship you your prize.

The Fine Print: Anime News Network reserves the right to cancel this contest at any time (unlikely to happen). Contest is open to any and all residents of the planet Earth and neighbour parallel dimensions, but prizes will only be shipped within the continental United States and Canada (So if you win, but you live in Antarctica, you have to arrange to have it sent to someone living in the appropriate area, and they can send it to you.) Winners' names will be posted on AnimeNewsNetwork.com, their mailing addresses will be provided to our shipping agent of choice (ie: USPS) and no one else. Winners' addresses and e-mail addresses will be erased once the prizes have been shipped. Non-winners' names, e-mail and mailing addresses will not be given out to any one and will be erased when the winners have been confirmed. Non-winners will not be contacted, spammed or harassed in any way. We reserve the right to retroactively add new rules when and how we see fit.