Before Mamoru Oshii gained international acclaim with the 1995
Ghost in the Shell movie, he had already developed many of its themes in the
two Patlabor movies (1989 and 1993, respectively). Here we introduce the first
of these with a thesis (the fall of the programmer mirrors the birth of the gender-
ambiguous cyborg) as well as notes from the history of computer science and
technology. ”Patlabor for me was a major film in many ways, and I think it
became my turning point. I know I am what I am today because of Patlabor.” –
he declared himself.