Editing Patlabor (section)

==Plot==
{{See also|List of Patlabor characters}}

The story takes place in what was, at the time of release, the near future of 1998–2002. Robots called "Labors" are employed in heavy construction work. The [[Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department|Tokyo Metropolitan Police]] has its own fleet of Patrol Labors ("Patlabors"; as opposed to patrol cars) to combat crimes/terrorism and deal with accidents involving Labors. The [[story arc]]s usually revolve around Tokyo Metropolitan Police Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2. Noa Izumi is the main protagonist of the series, but all of Division 2 play roles. Hata and Kusumi are the main protagonists of the third ''Patlabor'' film. 

''The Next Generation'' takes place in 2013, with an entirely new cast with the exception of Shige and Buchiyama in maintenance, but the new members of SV2 have similar names and personalities to the old ones.

The feature films follow a separate continuity, referred to as the "movie timeline", as opposed to the "TV timeline", with the ''Early Days'' OVA following the "movie timeline", and the ''New Files'' OVA following the "TV timeline".{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} In addition, the manga follows its own continuity.

''The Next Generation'' features episodes that directly reference the TV series, while its final episode and movie are a direct sequel to the second movie.