Patlabor (a portmanteau of "patrol" and "labor"), also known as Mobile Police Patlabor (機動警察パトレイバー), is an anime and manga science fiction franchise created in 1988 by "Headgear", a group consisting of manga artist Yuuki Masami, director Oshii Mamoru, screenwriter Itō Kazunori, mecha designer Izubuchi Yutaka, and character designer Takada Akemi.
Patlabor is set in a near future Japan, and it chronicles the exploits of a metropolitan police unit equipped with patrol mechas called "Patlabors".
The franchise includes a manga, a TV series, two OVA series, three feature-length movies, two light novel series, and a short film compilation, named Minipato (ミニパト) because of its chibi drawing style.
The original manga received the 36th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1991.
