Patlabor Ep. 10: Eve’s Trap

Decades ago, an American serviceman danced at a Christmas Eve party with Rei Kamimura. He later flew away on a mission, and Rei, Kanuka’s grandmother, snaps back to the present. Kanuka apologizes for having to go out and asks Rei to think about what she wants for dinner. A man named Kurosaki gets a note on the street from a costumed Santa Claus that the shipment will arrive in port at 1700 hours. At the SV2 station house, Ota complains about eating outside, and Noa says he should be happy they’re together since he was lonely. Shige points out that Shinshi is with his wife and Kanuka is with her grandmother and says this is one of the few times he misses his family. Goto comes up to the roof with a bottle of sake from Kanuka and tells everyone that they’re still on standby, even if they’re off duty. Noa joins Asuma before they meet with Kanuka, and he explains that he promised to show Rei around Tokyo because Kanuka doesn’t know the city too well. Kanuka then shows up and says that Rei vanished after leaving the message that she was looking for the Christmas of 50 years ago. Rei rides a subway through the city. At night, four Brockens and the Phantom labor emerge from the harbor next to where Kurosaki has been waiting. Kanuka, Asuma and Noa head back for her apartment, and Noa comments that Rei will probably return soon. Kanuka notices that the picture of her grandfather is gone, which leads her to believe that Rei won’t be returning. Asuma thinks that Kanuka is worrying about nothing, and Kanuka asks why the picture would be gone if Rei was only going to be out briefly. Asuma gets paged by Goto, and when he calls the station house he’s told to return because SV2 has been upgraded to alert standby. Kanuka decides to go to work because of her pride as professional police officer. Elsewhere, the Phantom picks up a police car on a bridge and tosses it to the ground after the officers jump out. The police car explodes, and Kurosaki comments that Division 2 has received their invitation to his party.

Inspector Takahiro Matsui visits the SV2 station house and tells Goto and Shinobu that all contact has been cut off with the Tokyo Teleport area. Even the cars they’ve sent across the bridges to investigate haven’t returned. Goto assumes that the special anti-hijacking unit hasn’t been able to help, given that Matsui is coming to them. Shinobu wonders what’s going on at Tokyo Teleport, and Matsui says that’s what he wants SV2 to find out. Goto comments that he isn’t interested, but Shinobu says it’s their duty. Matsui thinks there might be some strategic goal since ECM is being used, which worries the SDF. Elsewhere, SDF Captain Fuwa tells her men to prepare to deploy to the Ariake interchange. She gets a call from Shinobu with small talk about Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and Fuwa realizes that Shinobu was probing to see if she was working. Asuma explains Kanuka’s situation to Goto and asks him to give her the night off, but Goto explains that he doesn’t have anyone who can fill in. Noa asks if they can go look for Rei, so Goto asks Matsui for a favor. He then asks Sakaki if he can borrow Shige for a while, and Sakaki reluctantly agrees, though he wants an explanation later of why everyone is acting so strangely. Goto asks Sakaki if the Christmas of 50 years ago means anything to him, and after thinking for a moment, Sakaki answers that it was 1950, when the Korean War started. Sakaki explains that the Japanese economy received a big boost at the time when America began ramping up its military activity. Rei walks through the city, and Shige hops into Unit 2‘s carrier to replace Shinshi, who has been assigned elsewhere by Goto. Shinshi shivers outside of a hotel and meets with Matsui, who tells him they have to find a missing person. At Tokyo Teleport, the Brockens easily take out Gomioka, and Shinobu is knocked aside by several soldiers. Division 2 remains on standby next to one of the bridges, and Asuma reminds Goto that a flare should’ve been fired by now. Goto addresses everyone with a bullhorn and tells them to use loudspeakers since the ECM is jamming the radio. Goto orders Noa to cross the bridge why Shige stays behind. Shinshi and Matsui don’t get much help at an American military base, so Shinshi wants to threaten the guards with Matsui’s gun, which scares them into compliance. As Noa and Asuma cross the darkened bridge, they find Gomioka’s Python hanging from the side of the bridge. Unit 1 moves in to investigate, and Noa finds the Python cockpit empty. They hear a gun shot from Ota and head back to investigate. One of the Brockens grabs Ota from behind, and he manages to break free after a struggle. Noa rushes in to arrest the Brocken pilot, but she gets knocked back. The other Brockens appear, surrounding them on all sides. The Phantom then appears from behind one of the Brockens and fires a laser beam cannon that severs Unit 2’s right arm. Shinshi and Matsui read a file on Rei, who lived in Tachikawa before moving to Hawaii. Matsui comments that there’s an American base at Tachikawa, so that must be the connection. The Phantom tosses Unit 2 into a building, and Kanuka’s car spins out of control as she attempts to dodge.