Where's my Patlabor?

I was debating whether to call this entry "it won't sell," because that's the sad truth of limited editions like this.

Today marks the release date of the sequel on DVD simply titled "Patlabor 2." Which for the hardcore among you will recall that this was actually a retooling of a story presented back in the day when Patlabor existed only as a 7-part OVA series. But it doesn't change the fact that it's a highly cerebral film - I love it.

Unfortunately if what happened to the first film is any indication, I don't know if I'll be able to find this movie anywhere short of mail-ordering it on-line. See, the first one is still listed at Best Buy at its regular price of some $80 or so. But if you walk into their brick'n'mortar counterpart, you just might be lucky enough to find it marked down to just under $50 (yes yes, I'm peeved).

It's a funny thing, this industry. Fans like myself have been clamoring for the special treatment for import movies for an eternity. And a few indy companies have done just that - but you have to ask at what price? Bandai did right by me when they released the "Ghost in the Shell Official Log" (of which I'm still waiting to see if the second volume actually comes out or not). And considering the relative cult-status of movies like Patlabor, one must wonder if there's any profit to be made on these suckers (especially when some mainstream retailer is selling them off now in stores for nearly half what the MSRP was).