The name of the new live-action Patlabor project is finally revealed! Called „The Next Generation -Patlabor-“ is set in the year 2013 in Tokyo and it represents the 3rd generation of Patlabor.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police has disbanded its Section 2 Division 1 of police robots, and Section 2 Division 2 barely survived the budget cuts due to the long recession.
Erina Mano (Kamen Rider Fourze) stars as pilot Akira Izumino, Seiji Fukushi as Yūma Shiobara, Rina Oota as Ekaterina Krachevna Kankaeva („Kasha“) from Russia, Shigeru Chiba reprising his anime role as maintenance squad chief Shigeo Shiba, and Toshio Kakei as Captain Keiji Gotōda (the successor to the anime’s Captain Kiichi Gotō).
The project will begin with a seven-part miniseries, which will run in special theatrical engagements in Japan, starting next April. The seven parts are composed of an episode 0 (about 10 minutes long) and 12 full episodes (about 48 minutes long) helmed by the project’s chief director Mamoru Oshii and other directors. Then, Oshii is directing and writing a feature-length film (about 100 minutes long) that will open in 2015. The title of the feature will be announced later.
The production is budgeted at 2 billion yen (US$20 million), and principal photography is running from June to the end of December. The two life-size Ingram robots were built at the cost of several tens of millions of yen (several hundred thousand US dollars).
Oshii commented that the seven-part series will have a „slapstick“ ambience, while the feature film will be serious. Oshii and Kei Yamamura are writing the scripts for the series, and Kenji Kawai is returning to the franchise to compose the music for both the series and the feature film.
Official Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-09-25/former-idol-erina-mano-stars-in-multi-part-live-action-patlabor
http://www.orendsrange.com/2013/09/erina-mano-stars-in-live-action.html
