Best movies & TV Shows like The Next Generation: Patlabor

An anthology of various tales told in various styles with robots being the one common element among them.

A mysterious suicide and a series of unmanned robot run-aways sparks off a Police investigation into the suspicious software on-board thousands of industrial robots around Tokyo.

A Japanese police unit who use giant anthropomorphic robots (called Labors) is caught up in a political struggle between the civilian authorities and the military when a terrorist act is blamed on an Air Force jet. With the aid of a government agent, the team gets close to a terrorist leader to stop things from going out of control when after the military is impelled to impose martial law.

50 years after a nuclear war, the two superpowers handle territorial disputes in a different way. Each fields a giant robot to fight one-on-one battles in official matches, each piloted by a man inside, known as robot jockeys or jox. The contest for possession of Alaska will be fought by two of the best. The conscientious Achilles fights for the Americans. Opposing him is a Russian, Alexander.

In the year Universal Century 0079, humans have colonized the area of space lying in between the Earth and the moon. However, the ambitious Zabi family, rulers of the Duchy of Zeon, the grouping of colonies furthest from the earth, has sparked a war.

2067: Isolation: Japan seals herself off from the eyes of the world in the face of unilateral international policy setting strict limits on the use of robotic technology. The island nation exists only behind a veil of seclusion. No soul shall enter. No soul shall leave. 2077: Revelation: The veil is breached. Japan is infiltrated by agents of the organization S.W.O.R.D., a fighting force operating outside of the protection of the United States and her allies. Their mission: Determine if the Japanese are developing banned robotic bio-technology, forbidden due to its threat to humankind. In the battle between machine and man, humanity stands to suffer most.

Unconscious soldiers are dropped into a testing site only to discover their memories have been wiped and that once docile machines are the new intelligence.

Recognizing the destructive power of its captive giant Ape, the military makes its own battle-ready A.I., Mecha Ape. But its first practical test goes horribly wrong, leaving the military no choice but to release the imprisoned giant ape to stop the colossal robot before it destroys downtown Chicago.

Universal Century 223 - Humanity struggles to survive as wide spread famine spreads throughout the Earth and its orbiting space settlements known as Sides. Ex-Congressional pilot, Mark Curran stumbles across a conspiracy to suppress a discovery that could potentially end the food crisis. Utilizing an advance Mobile Suit, the G-Savior, Curran is thrust into battle against a powerful Congressional force. But can the colonies prevail against such overwhelming odds?

An attack takes place on Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba, Tokyo by the fighter helicopter `Gray Ghost`. 2 days earlier, the Gray Ghost was stolen. The perpetrators are followers of Yukihito Tsuge. Yukihito Tsuge planned a coup of Tokyo 13 years earlier. The leader of Special Vehicle Section 2, Keiji Gotoda, sets out to stop the terrorists.

Ryan Walker mysteriously awakens MECH-X4, a giant robot built to defend Bay City against impending doom. When monsters begin to descend, Ryan recruits his two best friends and his brother to help pilot the robot that is their only hope of saving their town from mass destruction.

Megas XLR is a series about an overweight couch potato named Coop who stumbles across a giant robot in a junkyard. He soon discovers that the robot was sent from the future when a woman named Kiva returns to the past to claim what is rightfully hers, though Coop made so many modification to the machine so he's the only one who can fully operate it. Things also heat up when Coop learns that an alien race called the Glorft are also after his MEGAS robot, so he teams up with Kiva and his best friend Jamie to fight them off, though mostly so he can keep his new toy.

Join Daisaku Kusama and Giant Robo as they battle the interstellar terrorist group Big Fire.

Super Robot Red Baron is a Japanese tokusatsu series that aired from April 4, 1973, to March 27, 1974. Its story was later retold in the anime Red Baron and it had a sequel titled Super Robot Mach Baron.

Set in the future, a giant fighting machine called the Aquarion is humanity's only effective weapon in the fight against the technologically advanced species called the Shadow Angels.

Hiroshi Shiba is a car racer who is mortally wounded in a laboratory accident, but restored to life by his father, Professor Shiba.

Armored Fleet Dairugger XV was an anime series aired in Japan from 1982 to 1983. It is also referred to as Dairugger 15, Dairugger XV, Armored Armada Dairugger XV, Armored Squadron Dairugger XV, or Machine Platoon Dairugger. In the United States, it was heavily edited to become part of the Voltron series. The Dairugger footage was the primary source for the "Vehicle Voltron" episodes, though various footage was also inserted into the more commonly known "Lion Voltron" episodes.

Planet Robo Danguard Ace is a Japanese science fiction anime series created by Leiji Matsumoto with Dan Kobayashi. It was licensed by Jim Terry Productions as part of the Force Five promotion as simply "Danguard Ace". English dialog was written for re-dubbing by Lynn Garrison who then combined a number of episodes into a feature length presentation which gained a cult following on the Showtime network during the eighties. The titular robot also appeared in Marvel Comics' Shogun Warriors series, as well as the toy line of the same name. In 2009, William Winckler Productions produced three all new English dubbed movie versions edited from the original series. Producer William Winckler, known for Tekkaman the Space Knight, wrote, produced and directed the English films, which are seen on broadband in Japan. Dangard Ace is Matsumoto's only contribution to the giant robot genre.

A.D. 2087 - the United Lunar Empire Giganos wages war on the Earth Federation Military to take control of the planet and establish a "rebirth" of the human race. During an invasion of a colony by Giganos' forces, three civilian men stumble upon a trio of top-secret Metal Armor units called "Dragonars" and pilot them to combat the enemy forces.

The adventures of a new class of recruits as they get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to train alongside their heroes—original team members Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Allura—and learn to fly incredible robot lions. Bonds will be formed and friendships will be tested as the Voltron Force gels together as a team in an epic battle of good versus evil.

107 years ago, the Moon was destroyed in a massive cataclysm that shattered Earth's former satellite into 81 quintillion tons of orbital debris. However, thanks to super-science, the Earth itself was saved and today no one really thinks much about that century-past disaster. Which is why when teenage Haruka Amami auditions for something called the Idolmaster Project, she THINKS she's trying out to be a singing idol. Instead, Haruka finds herself at a secret school run by the Mondenkind Agency, living with a group of other girls who have also been selected as candidates to pilot an iDOL - an advanced robot specifically designed to intercept falling chunks of moon rock. Except, the people who run the Mondenkind Agency aren't exactly knights in shining armor. And then there's the question of whether the iDOLs are really JUST robots. Because from almost the first moment, Haruka starts to feel emotions resonating from within the iDOL called Imber.

The flames of war are fanned in the Middle East as two secretive forces unleash their latest weapons of mass destruction.

Only one ship stands between earth and total annihilation! The High Mobile Battleship Nadesico is the most formidable fighting machine ever conceived, but due to a shortage of trained soldiers, the crew is a little unorthodox. The poor Jovians don't stand a chance against the largest contingent of geeks and misfits ever sent into orbit!

It is the Correct Century, two millenniums after a devastating conflict which left the world broken. Earth is now mostly uninhabitable, and thus a remnant of humanity has resided on the Moon while the Earth and its few survivors recover.

In the future, a meteor crashes into Earth and brings with it a virulent form of life. This virus is known as M34 and attacks humans, turning them into vicious monsters. Most of the human population is wiped out, thus government agencies are formed to fight the virus. One of the groups, NOA, inserts nanomachines into the bodies of its soldiers; these machines allow them to transform and fight off the infected. Unfortunately, the virus mutates and becomes too strong for NOA to handle. Now the fate of the world rests in the hands of 16-year-old girl with the power to defeat the virus.

Taking place 15 years after the 7th Space War, the surviving 98 million residents of Earth try to make a living as best they can in the post apocalyptic landscape. Mobile Suits and weapons left over from the war fall into the hands of civilians as well as other organizations on the planet. In an effort to keep the past from repeating itself, Jamil Neate brings together a crew of Vultures to search for Newtypes and protect them from being exploited. As they try to carry out this task, an old government rises from the ashes to try and unify the Earth as other forces slowly fan the flames of war once more between the newly formed New United Nations Earth and the Space Revolutionary Army. Now the crew of the Freeden face a multitude of enemies as they try to prevent another catastrophic war.

Madoka is the lone member of her school's Jersey Club. She is one day recruited by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot the robot "Vox" and protect her city from space invaders. They are joined by a third girl, Muginami, who has a different goal than Ran. Meanwhile, they still don't know their enemies' true goal, or what "Rinne" might be.

In post-WWII Japan, Dr. Shikishima has built up Shikishima Industries to be a technological powerhouse, working on developing robots. However, at the heart of their success lurks a dark secret from the war, something that cost the life of Dr. Kaneda, Shikishima's mentor. Now Kaneda's son, Shoutarou, is about to learn the truth, and it will change him forever.

There once existed a planet named Beal, until it was wiped out by the mysterious entity known as Gaizok. The few remaining survivors escaped to Earth and split into three families, named Jin, Kamie, and Kamikita respectively. While attempting to start a new life, the collectively known "Jin Family" prepared for the inevitable Gaizok invasion on Earth and its giant mechanical beasts known as "Mecha Boosts". In order to defend their new home, they have built three vehicles which when combined form the mighty Zambot 3. The Jin Family must not only defend against Gaizok attacks, but also harsh criticisms from the very people they protect, who blame the Jin Family for the invasion in the first place.

In the year 2005 a race of alien monsters emerge from underground and launch a series of attacks on the city of Tokyo. The only defense against these creatures is the awesome giant robot GaoGaiGar and its pilot, Guy Shishio.

Humanity is under attack by demonic creatures called Oni. Unable to fight back by any other means, the scientist Dr. Saotome creates a series of giant robots that harness the mysterious power of Getter Rays, giving them the strength necessary to fight the Oni. The strongest of these is Getter Robo, and Saotome must enlist three very different men to pilot it - martial artist Ryoma Nagare, criminal leader Hayato Jin, and monk Benkei Musashibou. Together, the Getter Team fights to end the Oni menace forever.

The story revolves around Duke Fleed who is a survivor of the Vega Star, raised by Dr. Umon as his adoptive son, and known as Daisuke Umon on Earth. Years after his arrival, he's faced with the threat of King Vega and his army, who want to conquer the Earth. With his friends Koji and Hikaru (and later his kid sister Maria Grace), Duke decides to fight back using his best weapon, the almighty Grendizer.

High-school student Daichi Manatsu works for the Globe organization to pilot a giant robot called the Earth Engine Impacter to protect the Earth from the invading alien force known as the "Kill-T-Gang", from the planet Uranus.

In the Year FC 60, much of mankind inhabits space colonies which orbit the Earth. Dominance over the colonies is decided once every four years by a large tournament in which each nation sends a single representative to fight the others with a giant robot called a Gundam. Domon Kashuu is selected to represent Neo-Japan in one of these tournaments, but he fights less to ensure his nation's victory than to find his brother, who has been blamed for the deaths of Domon's parents and the disappearance of a very dangerous weapon, the Dark Gundam or Devil Gundam.

In the future, rapidly advancing technology gives birth to giant robots known as "Labors," so named for their usefulness in heavy industry. However, this also gives rise to "Labor crimes," resulting the the need for a new branch of law enforcement equipped with and dedicated to the policing of Labors. When Izumi Noa, a female police officer, becomes the newest recruit of Special Vehicles Division 2, she and her top of the line "Patrol Labor" (or "Patlabor") Alphonse are swept into a series of adventures featuring crazed construction workers, eco-terrorists, and sea monsters.

A young man named Akitsu Masato is captured by a secret govt. project known as "Last Guardian". He is told that his life as a normal student was all a lie, and that his real destiny is to be the pilot of a great robot called "Zeorymer of the Heavens". The truth of this is hammered in when Masato sees his parents accept payment for raising him. The Last Guardian is preparing for the resurrection of "Hau Dragon", an organization bent on world conquest. 15 years ago, Hau Dragon built 8 great robots. Each of the mecha represents a force of nature. However, before any of the robots could be used, their creater Kihara Masaki destroyed the robots except for the leader: Zeorymer. He took Zeorymer and an embryo to the government. The embryo became the boy Masato. Now, Hau Dragon has rebuilt the other 7 mecha and wants the 8th. It will be up to Masato and Himuro to pilot Zeorymer and fight against the Hau Dragon, but neither Masato or Himuro are all that they seem.

From out of nowhere, a mysterious alien race known as the Boazan Forces has invaded the Earth. A group of individuals specially trained to handle this kind of situation has been unleashed. Kenichi, Ippei, Daijirou, Hiyoshi & Megumi are the pilots of the Choudenji Machine Voltes V (5), Earth's defense against the Boazan and their terrible Beast Warriors. The plot thickens as the Go Brothers discover their true heritage and the truth behind their father's disappearance. Conflicts and mixed emotions hinder the Go Brothers at times but due to their unwavering desire to find their dad, they must go to the place where it all started. With the help of the rebels based on Earth and on the aliens' homeworld, the Voltes Team has another mission, remove the tyrant Zu Zanbajil and liberate the people of Boazan.

From deep within the Earth's surface, the Dinosaur Kingdom make their move to wipe out mankind and conquer the planet with their mechanical dinosaurs. After a prototype Getter Robo is shot down by a mechanical dinosaur, the Saotome Research Institute decides to use the real Getter Robo, which is combat-capable. Due to a lack of pilots in the institute, Ryo Nagare goes to his college to persuade martial artist Musashi Tomoe and outcast Hayato Jin to join him and pilot the Getter Machines to combat the new threat and protect mankind.

Elementary school children take control of giant robots to save the earth from the evil Jaku Empire.

Lightspeed Electroid Albegas was an anime series aired from 1983 to 1984 in Japan, Latin America, Spain and Italy. There were 45 episodes aired at 25 minutes each. Other loosely translated names are "Arbegas", "Arebegas", "Lightspeed ElectroGod Arbegas" and "Arbegas: El Rayo Custodio".

Hayato Hayasugi (his last name is a pun on the words for "too fast") and other children will serve as conductors to pilot the Shinkalion. The Shinkalion robots are various models of real-life Japanese bullet trains (shinkansen) that transform into robots to fight an unknown evil to protect the safety and peace of Japan. The children must work together with the adults of the Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute (SUEI) to defeat a monster that looks like a jet black bullet train.

Two siblings - an idealistic teenage boy and his naïve younger sister - are forced to pilot an abandoned Jaeger across a hostile landscape in a desperate attempt to find their missing parents.

Taking place several years after Getter Robo Go, Earth is now a post-apocalyptic world. Hayato, now an aging scientist, has completed Professor Saotome's masterpiece, Getter Robo Arc. Piloting it are Ryoma's son Takuma, the human-dinosaur Kamui, and the younger brother of Tayel, Baku. Alongside the reformed Dinosaur Empire, they fight the insectoid Andromeda Flow Country attacking from across time and space.

A.S. (Ad Stella) 122― An era when a multitude of corporations have entered space and built a huge economic system. A lone girl from the remote planet Mercury transfers to the Asticassia School of Technology, run by the Beneritt Group which dominates the mobile suit industry. Her name is Suletta Mercury. With a scarlet light burning in her pure heart, this girl walks step by step through a new world.

Patlabor: The TV Series is an anime television series, created by Headgear, animated by Sunrise, and based on the Patlabor anime franchise.

Special Vehicles Division 2 is back on duty, along with their Ingram Patrol Labor (Patlabor) robots. Using their courage as well as the Ingrams, Captain Goto's motley crew of officers battle crime in Tokyo city. They also deal with their personal lives, as well as the supernatural.

When the world's seven most advanced robots and their human allies are murdered one by one, Inspector Gesicht soon discovers that he's also in danger.

In the future, humanity wages war with giant humanoid weapons called Titanostrides. Isami Ao of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and Lewis Smith of the United States Marine Corps meet on the battlefield in Oahu, Hawaii. An enemy aircraft attacks, scattering their forces. To survive the battle and save their friends, unlikely comrades must find the courage to defeat this new threat.

When the Cosmic Invading Grand Racing Crew, Hashiriyan intends to expand their territory with Earth being their next target to take over, five genius mechanics join forces with an alien machine named Boondorio Boonderas to create their own supercars and special equipment to defend the planet as the Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger!