Patlabor - the human side of mecha
When talking about old mangas that had been published in Indonesia in the 90s, Patlabor is another one with a story that may still feel current even for now. Yes, it is about mecha. And yes, it is set in the future. But, different than Evangelion, or Gundam, or Maccross, all of which that was popular in Indonesia in about the same time, the slice of life kinda approach that Patlabor has makes it a lot less distant and possible than all of those other titles. I remember it first came out around my elementary school years, and the mecha is just so cool yet so believable. At about the same time the anime was also aired in a local tv, and it one of those advantage you have as a 90s kid in Indonesia. Since it was aired in a local tv (well, we don't really have cable at that time) even for a specific kinda anime, you will have friends that also watched it and you can always discuss it at school. Even with the non or not really manga/anime lover. Compared to the condition now, most kids watched animes on cable, bootlegged cd, or online, so I guess everyone may have the different experience. Well, let just stop there with the nostalgia and rant about how yesterday was better, and back to my Patlabor review :P
Written by Yuuki Masami, what makes Patlabor different is the way that it used a realist approach rather than some in a-distant-future-or-planet-sci-fi setting. And more the mechas that are being used in this manga is told to be some kind of new technology, while other settings surrounding the story more or less the same with our condition nowadays. No flying cars, teleportation, aliens, and even not much advance tech being told here. The main difference is the usage of giant robots to help traditional works, mainly police works. Another thing that set this manga apart is the use of a female character as its lead. Noa Izumi is a tomboy, though, kind, and a bit emotional, in short, quite the normal girl-next-door. Well, the normal girl next door with a fettish for robots actually, but nothing really out of the ordinary. Other supporting characters in this manga also suit its slice of life kinda tone in the beginning. They have different emphasized characteristics, but with an approachable atmosphere that makes them felt as if they can be real people. Other than Noa, I like the character of group leader, Captain Goto, he's the whimsy yet wise in the inside kinda character that I like. Now that I think of it, this manga is always more about the crew rather than the mechas. It even felt as if the mechas are part of the crew, and not just tools.
On other hand, its fighting scenes are still really good. Its story is still nicely fast paced in some parts, making its felt like a proper action manga, and slow paced in some parts in which it wants to focused on its drama. It also has a reasonable length compared to mangas nowadays. In all 22 volumes, they have already defeat another advanced mecha, a bio engineered creature, uncover a child trading route and some other side arcs. The anime spawned a bit and has more arcs compared to the manga. But it never left its realistic approach, and all the things that happened is just another part of the mobile patrol daily job. With all the premium mangas being republished, I hope this manga get a chance to tell its stories to newer audience too.