Patlabor Ep. 13: Please Be Generous, Your Highness!

Everyone from Division 2 waits at the airport in their dress uniforms for the arrival of a plane carrying young Prince Uru of the Middle East nation Oasis. Shinshi comments that Oasis is small but has significant oil reserves, and Asuma wonders why a big show is being put on when Uru was supposed to have come in secret. Uru looks at Unit 1 and comments about how beautiful and majestic it is. He asks Noa why Unit 2 has non-standard head, and when she calls Goto over, he explains that this is the real prince and that the other was a stand-in. Back at the station house, Uru puts on a SV2 uniform and gushes over Unit 1. Shige asks why Uru is wearing a uniform, and Kanuka explains that Uru’s cousin is handling diplomacy while he inspects the labor team so that Oasis can set up one of its own. When Uru hugs Unit 1, Asuma jokingly asks everyone who he reminds them of, and Noa insists that she doesn’t do that. Later, Hiromi finds Shinshi and Ota peeking into a room that has been lavishly redecorated for Uru, and Goto asks them what they’re doing. Goto tells them that Uru couldn’t sleep in a strange bed, so they had to set it up there. Ota points out that Uru is supposed to be treated like everyone else, and Goto says that Uru has invited them all to dinner. Ota completely changes his tune after having a fancy meal. Shinshi tells Tamiko over the phone how good dinner was, which she misinterprets to mean is better than her cooking, so Shinshi struggles to explain. Everyone clears out of the room after Tamiko hangs up on Shinshi and leaves him in a foul mood. Noa and Uru sit atop Unit 1, and when she asks if Oasis has labor crime issues, Uru explains that they don’t even have labors. He says that he loves labors, especially the Ingram, after seeing a picture of it in Newsweek. He’s surprised that Noa isn’t laughing at him, and she tells him that she loves labors too and offers to show him the cockpit. Sakaki meets with Goto and Shinobu, who tell him that one of the Brockens they captured at Tokyo Teleport has been stolen, along with its movement disk. Sakaki asks what they’re going to do, and Shinobu wonders if it’s related to Uru’s arrival in Japan. Goto comments that the thieves won’t be able to hide a Brocken for long, so he wants to investigate before they make a move.

The next morning, Uru is impressed by Ota’s instant ramen and asks his butler to get some, with a side of caviar. Asuma asks Noa if it’s ok to let Uru pilot Unit 3 and points out that you wouldn’t use a Porsche or Ferrari in driver’s ed school, but Noa tells him that Goto approved. Uru nearly crushes Asuma with his first step, but he manages to gain control. Later, Uru shows everyone the day’s lunch, which they’re disappointed to discover is just instant ramen. He explains that food preservation is essential in Oasis, so he was shocked to discover food that could be prepared by just adding water. The alert siren then goes off with a report of the Brocken being spotted in Shibuya. Uru asks to come along, but Goto tells him he has to stay behind. Uru says that his cousin is standing in for him where the Brocken has appeared, and he says he can’t cower in safety while his cousin’s life is at stake. Goto then changes his mind and agrees to let Uru come along. On the scene, the Brocken destroys a police car as Division 2 arrives. Noa and Ota confront the Brocken, which hides behind trees when Ota shoots at it. A man hiding behind some trees says over the radio that the prince in the studio is a double, so they have to distract the Ingrams to kill the real prince. Uru runs out of the car into the tree line, so Goto orders Noa to protect him. The Brocken wrestles Ota to the ground, and Uru is shot in the arm by a sniper. Noa gives him cover and gets him into the cockpit. The Brocken tosses Ota aside and charges at Noa. It’s a tight fit in the cockpit, so Uru tells Noa to handle the legs while he controls the rest. Unit 1 charges the Brocken and punches it in the head, knocking it down. The punch damages Unit 1’s finger joints, and Ota attacks the Brocken when it stands up. Unit 1 then slams into the Brocken and knocks it down again. The Brocken holds back Unit 1 when Uru attempts to stab it with the baton, but he breaks free and hits it in the neck, disabling it. Goto calls Kanuka and tells her that they arrested the sniper. Later, Uru says goodbye to everyone at the airport, and Goto tells him that the sniper and Brocken pilot were both assassins from Oasis. Noa gives Uru a present from the mechanics: a copy of Unit 1’s movement disk. Asuma then gives him a box from Division 2 filled with instant ramen.