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The Patlabor manga (comic book) was written by the man who came up with the original concept of Patlabor, Masami Yuuki. He once joked that the Labors see more action in his manga than they do in the anime. For the most part he's right. While the anime mostly deals with the lives of the characters, a greater emphasis is placed on the Labors in the manga. Labor action sequences appear quite regularly. Masami Yuuki also stated that both the anime and manga influenced and fed off each other.
The manga version of Patlabor was published about the same time the first direct to video episode was released (1988). It was first published in Shonen Sunday Weekly Magazine, then compiled into graphic novels. The manga ran from 1988 to 1994 with a total of 22 volumes being published. A latter print run compiled the manga into larger B6 editions with a total of 11 volumes. Both editions are now out of print. A second re-print of the larger B6 sized edition was done in 2000, and may still be available in Japanese book shops.
In 1998, US company Viz began releasing the Patlabor manga in English. Unfortunately after 12 single issues (2 graphic novels), the company decided that it was no longer profitable to publish it any further.
Since very little of it has been translated into English, and even though I have obtained a full set of the manga my Japanese language skills are virtually non-existent, it is very hard for me to give a comprehensive overview of the series. Hopefully over time I will be able to flesh out the story by reading the as yet unfinished French translation of the manga.
The series follows the anime initially, and then diverts into new stories not seen in the anime, most which became the basis for many of the TV episodes. One character that is introduced early is Takeo Kumagami. Not seen in the anime until the TV series in 1990, she first appears in the manga in 1988 (Kanuka Clancy basically replaced Kumagami in the anime).
More importantly we have the very early introduction of Schaft's Utsumi, the Phantom Labor, the Griffin Labor and Bud. The Griffin arc in the manga is quite long compared to the anime, and in fact it doesn't conclude until the last story in the last volume of the manga series.
This arc also involved a new story named "Waste Product 13" and formed the basis for "WXIII Patlabor the movie 3". Unlike the film, this part of the manga was heavily based around the Special Vehicles Unit 2, Schaft and the Griffin. The detectives, Shinichiro Hata and Takeshi Kusumi, and the military colonel Goro Ishihara do not appear in the manga at all. The members and staff of the Toto Medical Laboratories, Saeko Misaki, Toshiro Kurusu (the director), and Shizuo Miyanomori (the male research scientist) all have major roles in this arc. The ending is also quite different when compared to the manga.
I am still hoping to give a more detailed look at the manga, but I unfortunately lack the Japanese language skills to do so. Writing synopses of the manga is a major project of this site, but I haven't really progressed much at all with it. However I still plan on writing up as many synopses as I am able to.
Only two graphic novels were published (which cover the same manga in the original Japanese editions) by Viz Media in the US. In 1999 Viz decided that it was no longer profitable to publish the series, and it looks like no other company is interested in publishing the remaining volumes. In January 2006, a number of retailers listed both graphic novels as "out of print" or were in their "closeout" bins. However in late 2012, most online stores still listing the graphic novels had begun to delete them from their catalogues, signalling that Viz had finally stopped reprinting the series. In North America the two graphic novels are still fairly easy to find, and can be ordered from second hand sellers via Amazon or on eBay. Please see the English Language Manga Releases List for a complete listing of all releases, formats and product specifications for the Patlabor manga.
The Japanese graphic novels were originally published by Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan) from 1988 to 1994. They were originally compiled into 22 volumes, then republished twice over the years in a larger formats for a total of 11 volumes each. The second re-print of the larger print manga was done in 2000 complete with new dust jacket covers with photos of Patlabor model kits and is still in print. From November 2019, Shogakukan began publishing a 16 volume aizoban edition (roughly translated as "treasure edition") of the manga. This edition includes colour pages published in the original Shonen Sunday serialisation, colour artwork produced for Shonen Sunday covers, notes on the manga by Masami Yuuki and rough sketches. You can find these manga in second hand Japanese book stores online, or if you're ever in Japan, local manga and second hand bookstores. You may also be able to order them from bookshops that import Japanese books. Please see the Japanese Language Manga Releases List for a complete listing of all releases, formats and product specifications for the Patlabor manga.