Anime Like Patlabor: The TV Series
If you loved Patlabor: The TV Series's Comedy and Animation storytelling, these anime deliver a similar experience — selected for art style, narrative depth, and emotional impact. Each includes where to stream it now.
★ Top Picks

Patlabor: The Mobile Police
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.

Great Mazinger
After Koji Kabuto and Sayaka Yumi leave to the USA, it's up to the rash orphan Tetsuya Tsurugi to pilot the next Mazinger robot: the Great Mazinger. Under the direction of Dr. Kenzo Kabuto and helped by his adoptive sister Jun Honou, Tetsuya battles the Miccene Empire.

Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture
Year Seven of the Kowa Period, in the former Hokkaido Block, live brothers known as the Nameless Mercenaries. The Emperor, Callis al Britannia, tries to plunge the world into chaos with the help of his servant, Norland, and his Einberg Knights. Rozé and Ash take action from the Northern lands.

UFO Robot Grendizer
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.

Kuromukuro
When mecha attack a research center, its students, pilots, and researchers must fight back with the help of mysterious artifacts and a young samurai.

City Hunter
Ryo Saeba works the streets of Tokyo as the City Hunter. He's a "sweeper" and with his sidekick Kaori Makimura, he keeps the city clean. People hire the City Hunter to solve their dangerous problems, which he does with a Colt Python. When Ryo's not working on a case, he's working on getting the ladies, and Kaori must keep him in check with her trusty 10 kg hammer.

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

Mazinger Z
Mazinger Z, known briefly as Tranzor Z in the United States, is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. It was adapted into an anime television series which aired on Fuji TV from December 1972 to September 1974. A second manga series was released alongside the TV show, this one drawn by Gosaku Ota, which started and ended almost at the same time of the TV show. Mazinger Z has spawned several sequels and spinoff series, among them UFO Robot Grendizer and Mazinkaiser. It was a very popular cartoon in Mexico during the 1980s, where it was dubbed into Spanish directly from the Japanese version, keeping the Japanese character names and broadcasting all 92 episodes, unlike the version aired in the U.S.
More Anime Like Patlabor: The TV Series

Voltron: Legendary Defender
Five unlikely teenage heroes and their flying robot lions unite to form the megapowerful Voltron and defend the universe from evil.

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
The year is Universal Century 0088. Directly after the end of the Gryps War, Haman Karn and her army of Zeon remnants on the asteroid Axis begin their quest of reviving the lost empire of the Zabi's, and proclaim themselves as the Neo-Zeon. With the Earth Federation as hapless as ever, only the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) is able oppose the plans of Neo-Zeon. In need of all the help it can get after being decimated in the previous war and losing many of its key members, the AEUG ship Argama enlists the aid of a young junk collector from the Side 1 colony of Shangri-La named Judau Ashta to pilot its newest mobile suit, the ZZ Gundam.


Burst Angel
The future’s looking bleak. It’s a good thing there’s a new sheriff in town. Her name is Jo and she’s an enigma even to herself. Alongside her partners Sei, Amy, and Meg, Jo fights for the citizens who can’t defend themselves. Confronting corruption and twisted science, these gals are on fire—and they’re the best chance the wounded city’s got.

Doraemon
Robotic cat Doraemon is sent back in time from the 22nd century to protect 10-year-old Noby, a lazy and uncoordinated boy who is destined to have a tragic future. Doraemon can create secret gadgets from a pocket on his stomach, but they usually cause more bad than good because of Noby's propensity to misuse them.

Aquarion
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.

Astro Boy
In 2030 AD, after being abandoned by his creator, a young boy robot is rescued by an Android Advocate, Dr Elefun, who adopts him as his own and guides him in the use of his special powers to aid and protect mankind and robot-kind.

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040
MegaTokyo 2040: Tokyo’s workforce is riddled with robots that tend to go on destructive killing sprees. Four young women gear up in cybernetic suits to battle an evil corporation’s bionic pawns while its grip on the city threatens to strangle humanity. In order to shut down an android uprising, these heavy metal heroines flirt with a critical meltdown in an adrenaline-fueled death match between woman and machine!

Transformers: Rescue Bots
A team of specialized Autobots not quite ready for prime-time battles against the Decepticons is given a vital mission by Optimus Prime. The goal for the Bots is to learn about mankind and how to help others to find out what it really means to be a hero.

Kodocha
Sana Kurata has a charmed life. Not only is her mother is a famous, award-winning writer, but she's the star of the hit TV comedy "Child's Toy" while still in the fifth grade. But Sana's biggest concern is Akito Hayama, a pint-sized hellion who's organized the boys in their grade-school class into a mass of unending noise and violence. With the help of Rei, her manager, chauffeur and "pimp," Sana is determined to win back control of the classroom from her new arch-enemy. But as her crusade continues, Sana moves further into Akito's life, and finds that he might not be entirely bad...or entirely safe.

B'T X
After years of absence, Teppei’s joyous reunion with his brother is cut short when the two brothers are attacked. When his brother is kidnapped, Teppei gives chase only to find himself cornered in a junkyard when a miracle appears. His spilled blood awakens the legendary B’t X.

Ninja Boy Rantaro
Rantarō, Shinbei and Kirimaru are ninja apprentices in the Ninja Gakuen, where first grade ones are called "Nintamas". They must learn everything a ninja must know, but as for our heroes, money, food or playing are more interesting. The series show the everyday adventures of our heroes.
Why These Anime Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Patlabor: The TV Series (1989): Comedy and Animation themes, comparable animation style, and similar narrative pacing. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface anime most likely to resonate with fans of Patlabor: The TV Series.
See full details for Patlabor: The TV Series (1989)