This year’s 24th issue of Shogakukan‘s Weekly Big Comic Spirits magazine revealed on Monday that Masami Yūki will publish a brand‑new one‑shot manga for the Patlabor franchise. The story will appear in the magazine’s May 18 issue and will feature a full‑color opening page.
Yūki was a member of the original Headgear creative team that conceived the Patlabor universe. He illustrated the manga adaptation that ran in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1988‑1994, later collected into 22 volumes. Viz Media released the first two volumes in English in 1998, but the rest of the series never received a translation.
Recently, Naoto Tsushima launched a crossover manga titled Zoids × Patlabor – Code Name B.U.D.D.Y. on the Hero Comics website (IMAGICA Infos) in September 2025.
The Patlabor concept—police officers piloting mecha “Patlabors”—was developed by the HEADGEAR collective, which included director Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga creator Masami Yūki. The franchise spawned two OVAs, a TV series, and three movies, the last of which—Patlabor WXIII—opened in Japanese theaters in 2002.
Maiden Japan has licensed the Patlabor OVA series, Patlabor the Mobile Police: The New Files, Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2: The Movie, and Patlabor WXIII.
The franchise’s upcoming Patlabor EZY project will consist of eight episodes released as three theatrical “files”: File 1 (May 15) and File 2 (August 14) will each contain three episodes in an omnibus format, while File 3 (March 2027) will present the final two episodes as a two‑part story.
Source: Weekly Big Comic Spirits, issue 24
