Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor: Reboot

Reboots of great stories always are a source for concern on whether they will soil the good name that their boasting, but for the most part, this seems to be on the right track. Most of the production, direction and writing seems to be on point, nailing the down-to-earth, laid back spirit of the original, with lush detail and great value. The adaptation to modern times seems effective and smart enough, by which I mean it's basically our current times but with labors, so again, in the same spirit of the original, but as a proper reboot. The CGI blends quite well with the 2D andthe music is a definite standout. I would've appreciated a bit more of effective comedy, since we only get a glimpse of what could be and it's not quite hilarious, so that's a concern. My other main concern is character design, since it's both cartoony AND a bit stiff, which is pretty much the worst of both worlds. I'm aware that the original had a similar issue, sorted out with very lax morphing of expressions and some great talent behind the pencils and direction, so I'm not terrified, but hardly impressed either. All in all, it's just 7 minutes of a glimpse into a promising new series about being a good cop in our current world, but with plenty of giant, clunky robots, so might as well check it out.

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