Mecha Talk 2.0

WOW at how well the animation still holds up by today's standards. I know Oshii's most known work is Ghost in the Shell, but in terms of animation and visuals, Patlabor is what really seemed to break new ground for anime, IMO, at least. I haven't watched the second film in quite a while, about to pop in the bluray later tonight, so hopefully I end up as equally floored as I did when I watched the first film. Man, this guy really was ahead of the curb back in the 80s and 90s, which is another testament to his vision as a director in general.

I agree, that movie was awesome in everyway, it had action, it was funny, and yes the animation along with how the colors were in that movie, it looked great, and until Macross:DYRL is remastered on Blu-Rey, I say that Patlabor: The Movie has the best animation ever.

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If I recall right, Patlabor: The Movie 2 is even more visually stunning than its predecessor. And, yes, the first two Patlabor movies, artistically, are some of the best in anime visuals, IMO. (Don't remember being totally sold on characters or story on these, though)

Newer isn't always better, especially when it comes to animation. Some of the visual richness/depth of textures seems to have been lost with the end of tradition cel-painting. (IE: Compare 1999's BIG-O Season 1's coloring to 2003's BIG-O Season 2's coloring).

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I think that the coloring in the movie really made it look nice for the first movie, Patlabor:II was really good too but I think the sound and editing is what made that movie great. I still like the new animation that comes out, for me Cel animation is good, but I watch the Patlabor TV series, and man is it hard to watch, but I think that is mostly the DVDs that we got in the States. With The Big O, I really notice too much of a change in term of animation. The music by Kenji Kawai was really good too, and the remade soundtracks of the first two movies was just awesome. Patlabor ending theme

Patlabor: WXIII was held the same standard as the other two movies, my only problem is you lose the whole team thing in that movie, but it was still great.

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Everywhere I have searched for peace and nowhere have I found it, except in a corner with a book
Solar Radio Wave Podcast
Patlabor: The Abridged Files Movie Podcast
Solar Radio Wave Live - My Personal Blog

yeah, I watched Patlabor 2 last night on bluray and oh my God, the animation is just breathtaking, especially during the snow sequence with the atmospheric piano music playing in the background. What still blows my mind is, the movement of the characters and the mechas, they're just so fluid and natural with their movement, that it honestly puts most modern animation to shame. But it's like you said newer isn't always better... it actually seems like the animation of characters themselves these days, has been compromised for better coloring... if that makes sense? It just seems like the artwork has been spent elsewhere. Next up on my Oshii revisiting list, Ghost in the Shell on bluray, which still features my favorite animation moment of all time.

so... not to bump my own thread, but I watched Ghost in the Shell on bluray last night and it's still as visually dazzling as ever. The scene where Major has to unhinge the mecha towards the end and her skin rips apart in such sharp detail, still remains unlike anything I've seen from an animated film before. Simply breathtaking.

Oshii needs to hurry up and get started on a new film. He's like the James Cameron of anime when it comes to visuals, always pushing the boundaries.

I'll be watching Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence either tonight or tomorrow night, and then finish it off with Sky Crawlers.

He hasn't made a lot of animated movies in a while beside sky crawlers, which I can't say I am a big fan of. Visual wise it's interesting but I don't think his slow meditative style works on a character drama like that. He never seems to take his live action movies series at all.

I thought Patlabor 2's opening scene is one of the best mecha animation sequence ever in anime history. Everything from the pupil tracking goggle, hand control glove, the OS boot up screen, control interface, the mechanics of the camera and internal frame and such are just pure real mecha fan bait. Cockpits these days in comparison are getting too fancy with all the blinking lights, flashy logos, holograms and sort of took away the grittiness of real mecha. Just look at unicorn; a lot of the hud is just flashy graphics. The boot up screen for NTD looks like something for OS-X or windows 7 .The more traditional cockpit is a little bit better, like the ones in the Jegan.

Oshii is definitely an aquired taste. He's definitely my favorite anime director of all time and since he's so outstanding with CG/3D animation and seamlessly integrating it with the traditional 2D animation, I would LOVE to see him revisit the mecha genre. Just imagine the animation style he would use for the mechas... I'm drooling just thinking about it. This is why I love Burst Angel so much... while the traditional animation in that show is just average, the 3D/CG mecha battles are incredibly well animated. Just imagine what Oshii could do with that style, it would be nothing short of spectacular, I'm sure.

anyway, I just finished watching GitS:2 and my God, the animation is not only out of this world, but the action sequences in the third act is without a doubt, the best animation I've seen too date. I might watch that again as soon as tomorrow, I loved it that much.

EDIT: oh, and I definitely agree with you that Patlabor 2 features some of the best mecha animation of all time. Not only is the opening sequence great, but the fluidity of their movement is outstanding in every scene they are featured in (this is even prevalent in the first Patlabor film).