5. Patlabor (1989)
What To Expect: I, Robocop
Plot: Tokyo is undergoing a huge re-development program with old run down suburbs being demolished under the Babylon Project. The projects nerve centre, the Ark, is a gigantic man-made island and automated facility in Tokyo Bay which manufactures the projects chief labour force; robots. Following a mysterious suicide and a number of malfunctioning robots the police send in the SV2 squad to investigate. Team commander Gotoh and detective Matsui find themselves tangled up in a web of conspiracy that could destroy the entire city. Directed by Mamoru Oshii, Patlabor is part of an ongoing anime and manga series but the film is a great introduction to the series and characters. The world is beautifully rendered with all the locations from the ramshackle slums to the highly industrialised and technologically advanced cityscapes exquisitely drawn in this enthralling crime odyssey.