The North American anime licensing company Maiden Japan announced on Tuesday that it has licensed the Patlabor video anime series. Maiden Japan will release the series in conjunction with the home video distribution company Section23 Films . The companies will release the seven-episode series on bilingual DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The companies will also release the series digitally.

Bandai Visual originally released the series from Studio DEEN in 1988 and 1989. Mamoru Oshii ( Ghost in the Shell , The Sky Crawlers ) directed the series with scripts by Kazunori Itō ( Ghost in the Shell , Maison Ikkoku ), original mechanical designs by Yutaka Izubuchi ( RahXephon , Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack ), and music by Kenji Kawai ( Ghost in the Shell , The Sky Crawlers , Eden of the East ).

The series revolves around the motley crew of Japan's Section 2, Division 2, which is comprised of police officers who are well versed in both law and robotics. Members Noa Izumi and Isao Ohta pilot the giant "Labor" robots to bring down those who would use Labors to commit crimes. Central Park Media originally released the series in North America on DVD in 2003.

Update: Background information added.

Image © 1988 Headgear/Emotion/TFC.