By A Bulldog construction labor goes on a rampage through the streets of Tokyo and word of the incident spreads quickly on social media. The pilot momentarily stops his attacks and uses his loudspeaker and livestreams his demands for stricter laws on the operation of labors. He smashes a building to demonstrate that a labor can be used for good or evil, depending on the pilot. Officers from Special Vehicles Section 2 attempt to pursue the subject, but he’s unfortunately fled into a narrow shopping district, which prevents them from deploying the Ingram. The captain orders the Ingram pilot to deck up over his objections about the danger to civilians. The Special Labor Carrier lifts the deck and hits overhead power lines in the process. The Bulldog pilot then slams into the Ingram and knocks it out of the carrier. The Ingram pilot draws his electromagnetic baton, and the captain orders him to push the suspect into Nippori. The backup then issues orders over the radio to the pilot of Unit 2, which is traveling in its carrier on train tracks. The pilot of Unit 1 loses his shield and is knocked into a building. The backup yells at him for getting pushed around by a Bulldog, which angers him enough to draw his revolver cannon. The captain reminds the backup that their old captain told them to be flexible in the field. The Unit 1 pilot aims at the Bulldog and creates a tense standoff. However, Unit 2 sneaks up behind the Bulldog and incapacitates it with the baton. The pilot of Unit 1 breathes a sigh of relief as the situation is now resolved. Two Tyrant labors are deployed to assist with the cleanup. The backup comments that she’s glad her pilot didn’t fire at such close range, and the captain casually mentions that all their bullets are blanks, which exasperates the backup. Two officers haul away the Bulldog pilot, who continues to insist that labors are dangerous. The pilot of Unit 1 declares to the criminal that they’re not characters in a robot anime, but rather police officers who are working to keep the public safe. The criminal tells the pilot to shut up, and he jumps down from the carrier to attack the criminal.
Patlabor Reboot is an unexpected existence, appearing as the final short in Studio Khara’s experimental Japan Animator Expo. This short follows in the formula of past Patlabor productions, but some elements have been updated for modern times, such as the existence of social media. It seems that all the old crew is gone and have been replaced by a new generation of pilots. The new captain is very laid back like Goto, and while the pilot of Unit 1 seems calm on the surface, he’s got an angry streak. At the time this short was produced, it had been 14 years since the last animated Patlabor entry. This short is a compelling tease for what a modern Patlabor series could look like, which makes it a shame that it’s only six minutes and not more substantial.
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