The first part of the Patlabor EZY anime comes to Japanese theatres on 15 May.
Just one day ahead of the theatrical release of the first part of the “Patlabor EZY” anime, a video was shared by Bandai Namco Filmworks. This character trailer introduces the main characters of the anime: the members of the Special Vehicles Section 2.
The anime is set to have eight episodes, with the first two releasing as ‘File 1’ theatrically on 15 May, 2026. ‘File 2’, consisting of the next four episodes, will be released on 14 August. This part of the anime will have an omnibus format with standalone stories. The two final episodes will come out sometime in March 2027 as ‘File 3’, and will be a two-part story.
Patlabor EZY
Premiere date: 15 May, 2026
Studio: J.C. Staff
Streaming platform: yet to be announced
Who are the cast and staff members of the Patlabor EZY anime?
The previously announced voice cast members behind the Special Vehicles Section 2 include:
- Sumire Uesaka as Towa Kuga (the 22-year-old pilot of Ingram-01)
- Kikunosuke Toya as Kippei Atori (the 23-year-old commander of Ingram-01)
- Ami Koshimizu as Saki Hirata (the 25-year-old commander of Ingram-02 from Aichi)
- Chikahiro Kobayashi as Akihiko Hazama (the 29-year-old pilot of Ingram-02 from Fukuoka)
- Setsuji Satō as Yūta Yanai (the 25-year-old carrier driver for Ingram-01 from Kanagawa)
- Yume Matsumura as Hachikuma Yuzuki (the 24-year-old carrier driver for Ingram-02 from Gifu)
- Megumi Hayashibara as Kimika Saeki (the 34-year-old captain of SV2)
Shigeru Chiba is also reprising his role as Shigeo Shiba in the new anime. He has voiced this character since the franchise’s debut 40 years ago.
Yutaka Izubuchi is directing the anime at J.C. Staff, with Kazunori Ito handling series composition and scripts. Masami Yūki(the creator of Patlabor) designs the characters, while Takamitsu Satō is the chief animation director and character designer. Kenji Kawai composes the music while GENCO’S representative director Tarō Maki produces the project. HEADGEAR is credited for the original story. Other staff members include:
- Line director: Kōzō Kaihō
- Display design: Yoshinori Sayama
- Colour key artist: Yukiko Itō
- Compositing director of photography: Yoshio Okouchi
- Editor: Maki Sendo
- CGI Production: GAZEN, J.C. Staff CGI dept.
- Sound director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
- Sound effects: Kaori Yamada
- Sound production: Magic Capsule
- Animation producer: Yūji Matsukura
Mori Calliope is performing the anime’s opening theme song ‘Reimei Compass’ (Daybreak Compass), while Mariko Nagai performs the ending theme song ‘Baton’.
What is Patlabor EZY about?
Patlabor or Mobile Police Patlabor, is a Japanese sci-fi mecha franchise created by HEADGEAR, a group consisting of manga artist Masami Yūki, director Mamoru Oshii, screenwriter Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, and character designer Akemi Takada. The franchise includes a manga, an anime series, two OVA series, three feature films, two light novel series, and a short film compilation done in chibi style.
The official website describes Patlabor EZY as (machine translated):
In the late 1990s, with the rapid advancement of technology, general-purpose humanoid work machines known as ‘Labors’ spread to all fields.
However, this also gave rise to a new social threat called Labor crime. Faced with the frequent occurrence of Labor crime, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department established the Special Vehicles Division 2 within its Security Department to counter it. This marked the birth of the Special Vehicles Division 2 Patrol Labor Company, commonly known as ‘Patlabor’.
And so, time passed…
In the 2030s, Japan, facing a steadily declining workforce, would see significant automation driven by AI technology.
‘Labors’, once cutting-edge technology, would become an integral part of supporting social infrastructure.
Standalone, human-piloted Labors would be increasingly replaced by autonomous robots, becoming obsolete.
But even as times change, the work of Special Vehicles Division 2 remains the same: protecting people and the city.
The Second Platoon, along with the ‘AV-98Plus Ingram’, a tuned-up version of the old-style AV Ingram, confronts new technological crimes with wit and courage.