Police presence is heavy at the Babylon Project Developer Convention near the airport. Standing on the top of Unit 1‘s carrier platform, Noa is impressed with the view of the ocean. Hiromi asks if terrorists are really going to strike, and Asuma responds that hitting something connected to the Babylon Project would make headlines. Noa complains that after three days of guard duty they should’ve been given a room. Goto tries to use the women’s restroom since the men’s room is closed, but the cleaning lady tells him to leave. She then finds two brothers named Ohgami and Yagi asleep in the utility closet, and they wake up and run away when she screams. They run past Goto, so he calls them in as a potential threat. They run up and down escalators as multiple police officers give chase. They manage to reach the elevator and get in by tossing the bag at the button. As they ride in the elevator, Yagi notices that the switch for the bomb inside the bag has been activated. Ohgami tells Yagi to do something about it, but Yagi tells him that once the countdown starts, it’ll go off in 60 seconds. With 15 seconds left, they exit the elevator as it reaches the rooftop bar. The bomb then goes off and blasts out the side of the bar. The bartender Maki gets up and comments that it does give a nice view. Unit 1 is loaded into a cargo elevator and sent up. Ohgami complains about being given a defective bomb, and Yagi blames him for being rough with the bar. Ohgami asks Maki why he’s cleaning glasses, and the old man answers that bartending is his life. The two panic when they see Unit 1 and Unit 2 reach the rooftop. Kumagami reports to Goto that the observation platform suffered significant damage and could collapse. Goto uses a bullhorn to address the terrorists and tell them to wait for a rescue team. Yagi is happy about being rescued, but Ohgami doesn’t want to go to jail and says they’ll barricade themselves in to slow down the convention. He tells Maki that he’s now a hostage, but the bartender isn’t bothered. Kumagami tells Goto that 10 separate groups are taking credit for the bomb, and Goto says some people have nothing better to do. Ohgami pulls a dynamite stick out of his pants and madly proclaims that sweat and sacrifice will save the environment. Ohgami threatens the rescue team with the dynamite stick and accidentally lights and drops it. The stick then explodes and causes the observation platform to tip over. Noa and Ota use their winch lines to grab onto girders and stabilize the platform. Goto tells them to stop being stupid and come out, but Ohgami calls Goto stupid and says he’s not going anywhere. Kumagami reports to Goto that there’s a fuel line buried underneath the road, and from a helicopter Asuma tells Noa to hold on until Unit 1 runs out of energy.
Ohgami proclaims that they’re the Caged Birds branch of Home of the Sea and starts babbling about toilet paper and environmental conservation. Asuma tells Goto that the Ingrams can’t hold on for long, and Shinshi reports that even if the airport stops the flow, they can’t drain the pipeline. Yagi complains that he only came along because they were supposed to drop the bomb in a trash can, but they hid and fell asleep. Ohgami doesn’t want to give up and says they’ll demand food, but Maki says he has food. Goto calls Ota and asks him to talk to the terrorists because he’s busy. Ota demands that the terrorists come out, and Ohgami in turn demands their safety and the halting of the conference. Ohgami and Ota yell at each other, and Ohgami dares Ota to rescue them. Ota starts walking toward them, but the slack on his winch line causes the platform to tip over. Shinshi, Kumagami, Goto and Asuma all yell at Ota, so he pulls back and restores balance. Yagi yells at Ohgami that he has no friends and got rejected by every group, so they’re not even part of Home of the Sea. Yagi starts to cry, so Maki gives him a drink to calm down. Goto gives Noa some news and asks her not to tell Ota. Noa tells Ota that she thinks he might be able to persuade the terrorists, so he starts yelling for them to come out again. Ota says he can’t stand it anymore and pulls out his gun, so the three men back off and fall off the side of the bar. Noa catches them safely, and Goto detonates explosives encircling the platform, causing it and Unit 2 to collapse within the hotel rather than fall on the road and the fuel pipeline. Kumagami asks where Ota is, and Goto tells her that he should be safe in his cockpit. Maki tells Noa that Goto was very bold and would make a good bartender. Ota demands to know why Goto didn’t tell him about the explosives, but Goto runs off to pee and leaves his headset with Kumagami. Asuma tries to assure Ota they were all surprised and that only Noa knew, but Ota keeps screaming for Goto.
This is another one of Patlabor‘s favorite cliches (and one that I enjoy more): the incompetent terrorist. Much of the terrorism in this franchise is focused on environmental extremists who are against he Babylon Project, and this episode is no different in that respect. But this time we’re focusing on a wannabe terrorist who is completely incompetent. What was supposed to be a simple drop and walk turns into a rescue situation thanks to Ohgami’s stupidity. We find out he’s not even really with Home of the Sea because every terrorist group rejected him. Maki is apparently the world’s most unflappable bartender, because not even terrorists and explosions bother him. Of course, Ota uses his usual deft touch in dealing with the situation, which hilariously concludes with Goto deliberately setting off explosives around Ota to prevent the platform from hitting the ground. Goto had a sense of urgency this entire episode, and in the end we find that it wasn’t because he wanted to swiftly deal with the situation – he just had to pee.
Patlabor Info
Director:
Naoyuki Yoshinaga
Writer(s):
Kazunori Ito
Mamoru Oshii
Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Naoto Kimura
Tetsuo Takahashi
Michiko Yokote
Hibari Arisu
Mechanical Designer(s):
Yutaka Izubuchi
Yoshinori Sayama
Character Designer:
Akemi Takada
Musical Composer:
Kenji Kawai
Format:
47 episodes
Airdates:
Japan 10.11.1989 – 09.26.1990
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