Set in a unique timeline within the Mobile Police Patlabor franchise, Patlabor: The Movie sees Japan dominated by Labors, large robot suits built to help Japan recover from ecological disaster. When a group of them unexpectedly go haywire, the Patrol Labors, or Patlabors, are assigned to investigate, where they discover a deadly master plan. Mamoru’s exploration of the intersection between humanity and technology would pave the way for his later, seminal work, Ghost in the Shell.