Patlabor - The Mobile Police: The TV Series Boxed Set Vols. 1-4
Masami Yuuki's serial mangaMobile Police Patlaborwas set in a  not-too-distant future when heavy physical work is performed by giant robots calledLabors. As the robots also get involved in accidents and crimes, the Tokyo  police force needsPatlabors("Patrol Labors" elided) to handle them.  The 47-episode broadcast series (actually the follow-up to a 7-part OVA)  retains its freshness and good humor. Determined to succeed as a robot pilot, perky Noa Izumi joins the crew of  oddballs who make up Special Vehicles Division 2: thoughtful Asuma Shinohara,  no-nonsense New York Police officer Clancy Kanuka, loud-mouth Isao Ota, and  understated Captain Goto. Less heroic thanGundampilots but more serious  than theDai-Guardcrew, these misfits interact in ways that suggest a  comic version ofHill Street Blues.Their assignments range from rescuing a government minister and saving an  ancient tree to thwarting terrorists and guarding a winter carnival.  Captain Goto observes dryly that the robots "have been called everything from jokes to  money pits to piles of useless waste." But when a military experiment runs amok  or a mutant monster gets loose in a forest, Division 2 is there to save the  day--even if others get the credit for their work. The 18 episodes in this  collection offer the combination ofmechaadventure and ensemble comedy that  have madePatlaborsuch a popular franchise. (Rated 3 and older, but  more appropriate for ages 8 and older; minor violence, alcohol and tobacco use)--Charles Solomon