Second Unit, Move Out!

8.1

01

It is day one of the formation of the second division of the Special Vehicles Unit 2 (SV2). The team seems to be a bunch of misfits. Noa, a girl that loves labors a little too much; Asuma, a cadet who does not want to be there; Ota, a gun maniac; Shinshi, a hen-pecked husband; and Hiromi, a gentle giant of a man. Leading this squad is Captain Goto, a man who seems rather laid back, but is quite a strategist and an excellent cop. Unfortunately, their new Patrol Labors (or Patlabors) are stuck in traffic, and they are forced to do some weeding around the hangars. Soon they are dispatched to apprehend an armed terrorist Labor, but first they will need to retrieve their Patlabors en route to the crime scene from the middle of a traffic jam. After a rather disastrous pick-up, they head off to trap the Labor in Ueno park, but both Ota's and Noa's Labors are attacked, losing a head and an arm off their Labors, respectively. Asuma tells Noa to turn her rage back on the criminal. The criminal has no chance of escaping Noa's anger now. (Source: Wikipedia)

4/25/1988

Longshot

8.6

02

The mayor of New York is coming to Tokyo to inspect the Babylon Project—a long-term landfill project to reclaim Tokyo Bay. All of the Tokyo Police force are assigned to protect the mayor including the SV2. To help them, the New York Police force has sent Kanuka Clancy, a Japanese-American woman who immediately causes suspicion amongst the SV2, and much interest amongst most of the male squad members. The SV2's mission is mainly for show, but they soon find themselves in the middle of a terrorist plot. Asuma discovers a fake Police Mobile Command Center filled with missiles. It is up to Asuma to defuse it, with Kanuka giving him instructions over the police radio, but he has only 10 minutes to do so, and no previous experience. (Source: Wikipedia)

6/25/1988

The 450 Million-Year-Old Trap

8.0

03

6/25/1989

The Tragedy of L

8.1

04

Division 2 are called upon to help with a hostage situation at a video shop, but Ota's temper gets the better of him, and he blows away half of the shop as well as stopping the criminals. Goto decides that his team need retraining and sends them back to the academy. They arrive but strangely there are no cadets there. The team decides to take a bath, but the water soon fills what looks like blood. They later discover that it is in fact paint from a paint bullet, which bizarrely scares the instructor. Later that night, Ota is haunted by a ghostly girl who only says "Don't Shoot", and the others see a Labor with a skeleton pilot that seems to be roaming the grounds. The next day, Noa and Asuma ditch their training to go to the local shop. There Asuma meets the shop owner, an old man he knew when he was a cadet training at the academy. The old man tells him that an accident occurred several months ago. A young woman who was one of the spectators at a mock battle was hit and killed with a paint bullet from a Labor gun. Is the academy really haunted by her spirit? (Source: Wikipedia)

9/25/1988

The SV2's Longest Day (Part 1)

9.2

05

The Second Unit are on vacation. Most of the team have a place to go except Goto, who just seems to want to hang around the office with Shinobu, and Asuma who decides to go to his father's factory. He meets Jitsuyama, the manager of the factory, and family friend. He discovers that Shinohara Heavy Industries are building a prototype JGSDF Labor. Asuma is quite disgusted by this. Jitsuyama suggests that he should see his father more often, but Asuma says that he had already seen him today, and they already fought. He decides to visit Shinshi and later Kanuaka, but gets the feeling he is not wanted. The only option left is Noa, he calls only to discover that she lives in Hokkaido, and he will have to catch the train to get there. Meanwhile in Tokyo, a police road block stops a truck. One of the policemen become suspicious when they see a Labor under the truck's tarp. He asks to see the Labors' permit, but the truck runs the road block. The police give chase, but the Labor in the back of the truck fires upon them destroying all the police cars following. It is a JGSDF Labor. Asuma is waiting in a restaurant for Noa to meet him. A very distinguished man in his 40s enters the restaurant and orders a bowl of cold noodles, and covers them with cayenne pepper. He finishes the bowl quickly and looks straight as Asuma with a cold glare. Noa finally arrives to pick him up and take him back to her parents' house. Back in Tokyo, Gotoh lets on to Shinobu that the real reason that he has stayed behind is because some very suspicious men are watching the SV2. The men discover that Shinobu and Goto are watching them back, and speed off in their van. Preempting their moves, Goto asks Sakaki to take one of the Labors back to the factory. Later that night, Goto calls Shinobu outside her house. He tells her that a truck with a JGSDF Labor ran a road block and shot up several police cars. With the JGSDF in the middle of war games, it will take several days for them to account for all their Labors. Are the JGSDF trying to stage a coup? Goto asks Shinobu to help him in his plan to thwart it. The next day, JGSDF rebels invade Tokyo. They take over the SV2, but Goto has already shipped out the Patlabors back to the factory via the bay, away from the prying eyes of the men who have been spying on them for the last few days. Shinobu and Division 1 are at Police HQ and are blocking the path of the JGSDF. She states she will not move until the siege is over. Noa and Asuma watch the situation on TV. They show a picture of the ringleader. Asuma is shocked to discover it was the same man he met in the restaurant. He is Kiyoteru Kai, a man that Captain Goto knows quite well. Like the rest of Division 2, Noa and Asuma rush back to Tokyo to help. (Source: Wikipedia)

11/10/1988

The SV2's Longest Day (Part 2)

8.7

06

Division 2 have made a very temporary headquarters at the Shanghai restaurant. It is the second day of the siege, but the rebels have not made any demands yet. Kanuka, disguised as a delivery person from the Shanghai restaurant, asks the mechanics for help. Sakaki tells Kanuka that the police academy has a Patrol Labor prototype they could use. One of the mechanics says he overheard one of the rebels say that have a nuclear weapon. Kanuka returns to the restaurant and tells Goto the news. Meanwhile Shinobu has a video conference with the police chiefs. They tell her that the US military will be coming to end the coup before it becomes a civil war, and she should step down. She tells that she will not give into their bluff, and refuses to carry out their orders. The chiefs suspect Goto as he knew about the siege and he was friends with Kiyoteru Kai in college. The police have a warrant out for his arrest. Disgusted by their actions, Shinobu forcibly leaves the conference after an officer attempts to take her into custody. Ota, Kanuka and Shinshi decide to "raise some hell" with the stolen Police Labor from the academy and a helicopter machine gun that Kanuka borrowed from one of her connections in the US military. They do not get very far, and are caught at a JGSDF blockade. The Labor is completely destroyed the ensuing chaos. Asuma and Noa arrive in Tokyo. Asuma tells Goto that he saw Kai in a restaurant in Hokkaido. Upon hearing the news, Gotoh thinks he has Kai's plan figured out. Goto asks Matsui to help him. They contact the Maritime Authority who tell them that a ship named the Safflower has been acting suspiciously off the coast. Another ship named the Pacific is in the area too, and judging from US spy photos of the ships, both have missile launchers mounted on them. A short range missile has been stolen from the US military. This means one of the launchers is fake, but which one? Goto calls the ship that Kai is on to try and call his bluff. It does not work, and Kai sends out an ultimatum to the government; dissolve the Diet (the Japanese Government), ban all political parties, and suspend the constitution. If they do not do as he says, he will fire the missile. But Goto has a plan. He enlists the help of the US military and Shinohara Heavy Industries. Will he be able to stop Kai with a submarine and a prototype JGSDF Labor? (Source: Wikipedia)

8/12/1988

Go North, SV2!

8.6

07

A truck at a petrol station is stolen, but when the attendant tells a passing policeman, the driver of the truck does not want the police chase after it. The police suspect something fishy is going on and arrest him. He is, in fact, a sympathizer for the terrorist group the Beach House. He stole the truck which was carrying a Labor from the Tokyo Labor show. The manufacturer, Shaft Enterprises Europe, is keeping tight-lipped about what exactly is in the truck. The SV2 attempt to capture the truck in front of a tunnel. The truck escapes with the help of the terrorist sympathizer in the Labor, who breaks through the trailer after not being able to get into contact with his friend in the truck. Later, the man who stole the truck drives off the highway only to discover that he is helping a terrorist sympathizer. The theft of the truck from the petrol station was just an opportunistic crime to get a ride home. He is just a seasonal worker, he does not want to be involved in this. But the terrorist persuades the man to help him. Unfortunately for them Shaft will do anything to stop the truck and its contents. (Source: Wikipedia)

6/25/1989