Veteran voice actor Shigeru Chiba has been confirmed to return in the new anime series Patlabor EZY. The announcement was made on April 23 during a premiere event in Tokyo. Chiba made a surprise appearance alongside the main cast and staff.
He will once again voice Shigeo Shiba, a mechanic in the Special Vehicle Section 2. Chiba originally played this character in the first Mobile Police Patlabor series released in 1988, and he is currently the only confirmed returning cast member.
The new series will have eight episodes, released in three parts in Japanese theaters:
- Part 1: May 15, 2026
- Part 2: August 14, 2026
- Part 3: March 2027
The first six episodes will be standalone stories, while the final two will tell a continuous story.
Patlabor EZY File 1 – Visual:
STAFF:
Director: Yutaka Izubuchi
Scriptwriter: Kazunori Itō
Character Design: Masami Yuuki
Chief Animation Director & Character Designer: Takamitsu Satou
Music Composer: Kenji Kawai
Producer: Tarō Maki
CG Production: GAZEN
Mechanical Design: Kanetake Ebikawa and Toshiaki Ihara
Costume Design: Akemi Takada
Art: Masanori Kikuchi and Yūta Akiyama
CG director: Yoshinori Moriizumi
Animation Production: J.C.STAFF
Set in Japan in the 2030s, the story unfolds in a society facing a constant decline in its working population. As AI-driven automation advances, “labors”—once considered cutting-edge technology—have become an essential part of the nation’s social infrastructure. Piloted labors, operated directly by humans, are gradually becoming obsolete, replaced by fully autonomous robots.
Yet, no matter how much the times change, the mission of Special Vehicle Division 2 remains the same: to protect the people and the city. Alongside the upgraded AV-98Plus Ingram, a modernized version of the original Type 98 AV Ingram, the 2nd Platoon takes on new forms of technology-related crime with intelligence, determination, and courage.
Sources: Crunchyroll News, @patlabor0810
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