Patlabor Ep. 34: Battle at Castle Gate

The TV news helicopter continues to film the standoff between the Griffon and the Abrahams. Bud tosses a severed Abraham arm at one of the Abrahams and says they’re small fries compared to the Ingram. Noa and Unit 1 ride on a barge to cross over to where the Griffon is. An Abraham tries to perform a Jet Stream Attack and is easily disabled by the Griffon. Asuma watches the live coverage of the Griffon on TV, as do Fuwa and her men. Noa reaches land and blocks the Griffon’s path, telling Bud that his rampage is over and he’s under arrest. Asuma asks Shinobu to let him come with her, but she tells him he can’t come along. Division 1 deploys with its Pythons, and Sakaki is surprised to see Asuma hanging around. A helicopter lands outside the station house, and Sakaki asks Asuma if he wants to come along to deliver a reserve batter. Noa and Bud are engaged in a tense stand off, and Kanuka orders Noa to take the initiative. The commander of 3S wants to capture the Griffon before the police do and gives orders to use the remaining operational Abraham. Momoko’s news van speeds past a blockade because she’s determined to report on the story as close as she can get to the action. Bud tries to outflank Noa, and she pauses when she sees Momoko’s crew right next to the Griffon. Noa wonders what she should do, and Bud fires a blinding light out of his hand. Noa swings the rifle like a bat and smacks the Griffon with it, which causes it to misfire.

Goto tells Noa that a loaded riotgun shouldn’t be used like a sword. The 3S commander gives orders for the Abraham to plant explosives on the Griffon’s back while his men search for Utsumi. Utsumi and Kurosaki disguise themselves in 3S uniforms and fool several 3S men, allowing them to slip by and escape by car. Bud attacks Noa and smashes one of Unit 1’s sirens, but she manages to block him with the riotgun. Several police cars get in the way underfoot, so Bud trips Noa and sends her crashing into a crane. The crane falls onto the Griffon, but Noa’s relief is temporary when the Griffon recovers. Kanuka asks Ota for help because TV reporters are in the way of the fight. Asuma watches from overhead as the Griffon rips off part of Unit 1’s backpack. Ota grabs Momoko and her men and stuffs them into their van, allowing Noa to fire. She tells Bud to back down and exit the Griffon, but he continues moving toward her. Ota spots the Abraham moving in from behind, and Bud moves out of the way as Noa fires, causing her to hit the Abraham. The damaged Abraham falls on a smashed car and sets off an explosion, knocking Noa and Bud into cargo containers. The force of the crash knocks Noa out, and she dreams that she’s in a school gym playing basketball against shadowy figures. Goto shouts at Noa and asks what she’s doing, and in her dream she takes the shot and misses. She tags out and is asked by her police self if she gave it her best shot. She then wakes up as Asuma calls out to her. Bud stands up and tries to attack, but Noa manages to dodge. Asuma yells at Noa to faint later, and Bud wonders why he can’t stop Noa. The two dash toward each other, but Noa grabs Bud and backflips the Griffon over her shoulder.