Getting the first official look at the "Patrol Labor" — the giant, robotic suit the Japanese police force use to combat giant robot crime — is pretty cool by itself. But what's really cool? Discovering that Ghost in the Shell's Mamoru Oshii will be directing the live-action movie based on the classic anime!


Mamoru Oshii was the original director of the Patlabor: The Mobile Police OVAs in the mid-'80s, which were a fantastic combination of office comedy, police drama, and a shockingly down-to-Earth examination of how society might actually use giant robots (mostly for construction and such, obviously — the Patlabor police division is to handle crimes committed with other "Labors", because obviously the regular police aren't equipped to take down giant robots).


Oshii also directed the more somber but widely acclaimed Patlabor movies, so hearing that he'll be returning to the director's chair for the live-action Patlabor movie is, frankly, awesome.

[Via Anime News Network]