Patlabor Ep. 28: The Suspicious Pair

Noa waits for Asuma on a day off, and two weirdos try to hit on her, but she brushes them off. The two guys quickly back off after she flashes her badge. A preacher then asks her if she’s been saved by God, and Asuma finally shows up after that. Noa pouts while in line to buy movie tickets, and Asuma apologizes for being 10 minutes late, but adds it’s also her fault for being 10 minutes early. Asuma offers to buy Noa a coffee after the movie to make up, but she tells him she wants a chocolate parfait. After the movie, Noa asks Asuma what they’re doing sitting around on a day off and says she wants to do something other than food and movies. They walk over to an arcade and are surprised to find a Patlabor video game, so Noa decides to try it out. Noa gets into the cockpit and comments that the game controls nothing like a real Ingram. Noa gets attacked by a labor and takes damage from a missile. Asuma tries to give her help, but she loses. Asuma then gives it a try and also loses. A man with glasses who calls himself “The Black Knight” steps in and easily beats the entire game. A crowd has gathered to watch the game and is impressed by his win. He then enters his name as Utsumi on the high score screen and asks Asuma and Noa if they want to challenge him. He boasts that he’s as good as can be without having a real labor, and Noa pulls Asuma away to ask for coins. Noa gives it another try, and Utsumi asks Asuma for his opinion on the game. Asuma answers that the game is fine, but it’s hard to swallow the idea of the city being full of armed killer labors. Utsumi suddenly walks off and asks a young boy named Bud Renard Harchand what he’s doing there. Bud complains that he can’t get past level 9, but Utsumi tells him it’s just a matter of practice. Utsumi says he has a better toy for Bud, but Bud says he wants to beat level 10 just once. Noa loses again, so Bud promises to avenge her and hops into the cockpit. Back at the station house, Asuma explains what happened to Ota, and Ota comments that it’s pathetic for Noa to have been avenged by some kid. Asuma trips Ota as he steps out of the bath, so Ota jumps back in and starts fighting with Asuma. Elsewhere, Bud watches TV while Utsumi speaks with Kurosaki about management. Bud points to a video of the Phantom on TV and asks if that’s his toy, but Utsumi tells him it was destroyed. Utsumi asks Kurosaki to explain, and Kurosaki answers that after much thought he’s realized that labor combat comes down to hand-to-hand fighting. Utsumi adds that there’s no point in loading down a labor with fancy beams and weapons when what they need is hand-to-hand data. Kurosaki asks if the Phantom was child’s play for the Griffon, and Bud points out Noa on TV fighting the Phantom.

At the SV2 station house, Noa and Ota fight a mock battle during which Unit 2 gets knocked down. Sakaki comments that Noa isn’t fighting like usual, which Shige thinks must be high praise coming from Sakaki. Noa gloats over her victory, but Ota crows that a real opponent won’t go easy on her. He says wrestling is ok, but target practice is more important. Kumagami tells Ota that he’s gotten better, but there’s still room for improvement, so she’s going to assign extra practice. Utsumi meets with several underlings who explain to him that the materials he wants are going to be expensive, but Utsumi counters that they’re under cost for 10 combat models. Utsumi wants no expense spared on the labor, but the underling says that’ll put their division in the red. Utsumi isn’t worried and says Schaft’s over divisions can cover them. Utsumi then shows Bud his new “toy,” the under construction Griffon. Later, Bud rides in a van with Utsumi and Kurosaki and asks when he can try out the Griffon, so Kurosaki explains that it’ll be a week for construction and two more for adjustments. Bud thinks that’s too long, but Utsumi asks him to be patient. Kurosaki says there’s a special treat planned for tonight, and when Bud asks what it is, Utsumi mentions that Bud wanted to see an Ingram in action. Shige finds Noa polishing Unit 1 and offers to teach her more things she can do to help with its maintenance, although Sakaki wouldn’t like it. He says Sakaki is traditional and wouldn’t like a woman fiddling with a machine, but at that moment Sakaki walks by and asks Shige to take care of Division 1 when they return. He then adds that there are male cooks and secretaries, so he’s ok with Noa doing more as long as it doesn’t interfere with their work. An emergency call then comes in about a labor pilot making terrorist demands in Rinko ward. A renegade Saturn attacks a construction site and defeats a Bulldog piloted by a construction worker, with Utsumi, Bud and Kurosaki watching from inside their van. Bud asks if the Ingrams are coming, and Kurosaki explains that Division 1 is busy with a distraction he created, so Division 2’s Ingrams have to respond to this. Just then, Division 2 arrives and deploys its Ingrams, with Ota taking the lead and coming in shooting. The Saturn responds by punching Unit 2 in the face and knocking it down. The Saturn punches Unit 2 again, and Noa wraps her towing cable around one of the building’s girders. Noa rushes toward the Saturn, and Bud comments that watching her in real life is better than in the game. Noa deliberately allows the Saturn to hit her and trade places with her. She then pulls on the cable, which tightens behind the Saturn’s legs and trips it. She then pulls out her baton, but Ota beats her to it and stabs the downed Saturn in the head with his baton. Utsumi and Kurosaki are surprised by Noa’s tactics, and Bud says she trusts her machine, which takes courage. He thinks she’ll be a tough opponent, and Utsumi thinks they’re going to have a lot of fun. The Saturn deploys a smokescreen that allows the pilot to escape. Later, Utsumi has a look at the completed Griffon and says he can’t wait to see it in action in two weeks.