#mamoru the coder

[caelenath]

Mamoru the Coder

Amidst an intense work project, I have come to realize some truths about Mamoru that are in no way an indulgent projection of my own idiosyncratic woes. That last part is a lie.

Context: His curriculum for becoming a doctor of the future requires him to take some basic courses in computer coding.

One, on a scale of 1-10, Mamoru would rather perform surgery on his own eye than write code.

Two, it was an errant single quote mark that prompted the destruction of the computer lab in the biomedical building. Student administrators from the campus IT department were befuddled and a little frightened by the fork they found cleanly embedded in one of the steel computer tower chassis.

Three, but it was a case-sensitive string match* that heralded the second (or is it the third?) coming of Dark Endymion.

* It occurred to me that this might be rather English-centric, but I couldn't find a straightforward answer about what a Japanese coding exercise might look like. Comments are welcome if you have thoughts on the subject!

Shoutout to @lilliebellfanfics, @random-mailbox, and @goddessalthena for indulging my terrible sense of humor.

[hardworkandguts]

Mobile Police Patlabor

機動警察パトレイバー

(OVA + film 1 and 2)

Mecha workplace comedy by Headgear

Era: 1980s, 1990s

Rating: S

Plot: By the end of the 20th century (so, the future) robots called "Labors" were developed to aid in construction work, but their creation also led to crimes and public disturbances committed using these machines. To counter them, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police created the Patrol Labor SV2 unit, but rather than a high profile unit, they are stationed in a remote area in the Tokyo Bay, with limited budget and resources.

Length: 7 eps at 30min, 100min (film 1), 113min (2)

Thoughts: So, another of those names even if you aren't into anime in the 90s probably saw being mentioned often, a mix of both real robot, workplace comedy and police procedural from the late 80s. There are a bunch of continuities, and here we're sticking with the original Early Days 1988 OVA and both Mamoru Oshii's films who followed on it, one day might get into writing about On Television and New Files, plus the other movies.

So, the show begins as the mechanics wait the arrival of two new Patlabor units for a second unit added to the SV2, to be led by the aloof but cunning captain Kiichi Gotoh, joining the first led by the highly professional but stubborn captain Shinobu Nagumo. The newcomers are a bit odd, including robot fetish girl Noa Izumi, son and heir of an industrialist Asuma Shinohara who was tricked into public service, hot headed gun nut Isao Ohta, family man and wife guy Mikiyasu Shinshi, gentle giant Hiromi Yamazaki and shortly after, temporary NYPD transfer Kanuka Clancy. It begins by showing off the strengths of the show, making compelling scenes out of a out of control labor, a sea monster in the Tokyo Bay, or even about the boredom of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, something the TV adaptation would expand greatly on. For that, and for the genre itself, it helps to have a strong cast of characters - Gotoh in particular is a magnificent bastard who's always reading ahead of the situation. The concept of how it all works is also very well thought out, the idea of a revolver cannon probably isn't new, but the detail of having it on the Patlabor's lower leg and the hand extends to reach it is one of those you look at and think "ah, smart". On the human side, you have the pilots, the commanders who act as both spotters and give tactical orders from a smaller car with more situational awareness and finally the carrier drivers, who operate in support. There's a lot of thought that went into how it all works and it shows. Visually, the OVA is very deliberate with the use of light, giving some scenes an almost a noir feeling to it, particularly the outstanding mystery at the training grounds episode. It's a very fun way of introducing the setting and characters, and I think it's still worth seeing now, particularly if you want to see the movies (A).

So, after setting up the story, we get two movies. The first, released one year after, goes around a wave of labors going rogue, which can be extremely problematic given how massive they are and the numbers of them in service, particularly on the Babylon Project, the Tokyo Bay reclamation area mentioned a few times in the OVA, and sharing a new operating system with the new model of patrol labors. The focus are on the investigations led by Gotoh and Asuma trying to find the causes, and Matsui trying to find more information into the mysterious coder who developed that operating system, before throwing himself into the sea. There's a few themes going on, including commentary on the destruction of more traditional areas and thirst for more land to be developed during bubble era Japan, something very common for the time (it's the starting point for even something as silly as Ghost Sweeper Mikami), as well as distrust of authority - even in the face of disaster, every higher up, from Shinohara Industries to public servants, would prefer to roll the dice and hope for the best to protect the image of the company. Also, being a Oshii gig, also expect some biblical references being part of the puzzle (S).

In 1993, Oshii would return to the franchise with a second movie. While the first is a regular story about an investigation, the second begins with something that is either an incredibly creepy coincidence or a very fast turnaround in the production department, as just months before release one of the first JSDF actions outside their borders ended up with a volunteer dead, victim on an ambush in Cambodia, leading to public unrest, and that's where we start, a JSDF labor UN unit is ambushed in southeast Asia. Three years pass and we catch up with the Unit 2 crew - Noa and Asuma are now testing new model labors, Shinshi transferred to general affairs, Ohta is an instructor, Kanuka remains in the US and Yamazaki is the one remaining, with both Gotoh and Nagumo still in charge. While there's less to do, as the conclusion of the construction of the dam means labors were shifted away from Tokyo to other areas with major ongoing projects, things quickly change as a car bomb threat in a bridge ends with a mysterious fighter jet launching a missile at it, and the SV2 is brought in the fold to investigate what is suspected to be an attack by forces inside the JSDF to overturn Article 9. I think the story draws a bit too much from the two episode coup in the OVA, but it's great to see Nagumo a bit more in the spotlight, given that until then, while we know she's every bit as capable as Gotoh (if more orthodox), we haven't seen her at work as much as someone Gotoh bounces ideas with. (A)

Visually, both have outstanding visuals, displaying the love Oshii has for packed urban settings (look at his work in Ghost in the Shell), and a great soundtrack by Kenji Kawai, so you know it's great even as something to just have on the background. If there is one negative aspect to it, it's Oshii's tendency to suck out the fun out of characters in order to make a more serious film.

I recall seeing it featured on Obscure Anime of the Day ( @obscureanimeoftheday ) - the last post before they went on break, as a matter of fact - and it's kind of a bummer, Patlabor is a classic and deserves being treated as so. Maybe the new series due around 2026 will bring it back to the limelight.

Recommended to: Fans of realistic robots, public service budgeting and robot fetish girls (don't confuse with "festish for robot girls")

Plus:

This isn't a mecha anime the main character is some austistic kid or something.

Patlabors are one of the all-time mecha designs

A cast of people who probably shouldn't be in the police makes usually makes good comedy.

Does a good balance of comedy hijinks and more serious work.

Minus:

Some of the episodes can be a bit silly for fans of the more serious movies.

[caelenath]

Mamoru the Coder, cont...

Link to part one.

Somewhere in the memory chip of a long dead flip phone that belonged to his roommate is a grainy photo of Mamoru having a staring contest with a large computer monitor from four inches away. His face has a ghoulish cast from the neon-colored code glowing on the LCD display, and he's holding a half-gallon tub of ice cream as only large, long-fingered hands like his can hold. In the other, he holds an ice cream scoop, the head of which—and then some—is lost entirely in his mouth. He's blinked about twice a minute and moved an eighth as often.

His roommate understood. His roommate was sympathetic, but he knew better than to intervene between man and machine.

So he took his photos without a sound, dropped off wet naps beside the peripherals, and set the alarm clock for Mamoru's stupid early chemistry class (or was it biology?) before crawling into bed, because that's what a stand-up guy does for his roommate who's one keystroke away from going bat shit loco.

[caelenath]

@lilliebellfanfics - You know, I was imagining Keio University until you mentioned otherwise. Way to keep my own AUs straight 😅 Either works though!

The funny thing is, somewhere in my head, I also see Tuxedo Kamen being a good hacker as part of his thieving prowess. A different universe perhaps, or maybe it drives him less crazy when it's for something he wants?

The thing that makes Mamoru so unhinged (besides it just being fun) is how insignificant those little syntax errors are, esp in a throwaway college assignment he'll never use. Like, the coding itself isn't hard per se, but inside he is like, "OMG WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THIS SEMICOLON MAKE RAAAAAAAAAGE"

All of the minutiae of his medical training is important for helping patients, so he's fine with those, but with coding, he sees no damn point in some of those syntax rules and so has zero patience with it.

But yes, this headcanon exists mostly because calm, serene Mamoru completely losing his shit is fun and coding can definitely do that to you after a long day 😄

Mamoru the Coder

Amidst an intense work project, I have come to realize some truths about Mamoru that are in no way an indulgent projection of my own idiosyncratic woes. That last part is a lie.

Context: His curriculum for becoming a doctor of the future requires him to take some basic courses in computer coding.

One, on a scale of 1-10, Mamoru would rather perform surgery on his own eye than write code.

Two, it was an errant single quote mark that prompted the destruction of the computer lab in the biomedical building. Student administrators from the campus IT department were befuddled and a little frightened by the fork they found cleanly embedded in one of the steel computer tower chassis.

Three, but it was a case-sensitive string match* that heralded the second (or is it the third?) coming of Dark Endymion.

* It occurred to me that this might be rather English-centric, but I couldn't find a straightforward answer about what a Japanese coding exercise might look like. Comments are welcome if you have thoughts on the subject!

Shoutout to @lilliebellfanfics, @random-mailbox, and @goddessalthena for indulging my terrible sense of humor.