New York Police Department partners Dee Laytner and Randy Ryo Maclean are on a vacation in the English countryside—which Dee has sneakily set up as an opportunity to seduce Ryo. As romantic tensions steadily build, Ryo spots a dead body floating in an otherwise tranquil lake. With their intimate holiday suddenly interrupted, the pair must decide what they think is more important: solving a case or each other.

Despite having no real combat talent, kind 15-year-old Kurt Rockhans belongs to the famous party Flaming Dragon Fang. He is perfectly satisfied as the party's helper—until the other members kick him out and replace him with a stronger ally. Left without a way to provide for himself, Kurt begins searching for a job. With his job prospects limited by his lack of combat ability, Kurt gladly accepts any work that comes his way. During one such job, he meets Yulishia, an adventurer formerly employed by the royal family. Surprised by Kurt's impressive work, Yulishia discovers that he is no ordinary boy: Kurt possesses an astonishingly high aptitude in a variety of non-combat fields. Due to these talents, a court official tells Yulishia to offer Kurt a high status in the kingdom that would allow him to live in peace for the rest of his life. When Yulishia informs Kurt about his potential rank, he brushes off the offer, refusing to think of himself as above other people. Still unaware of his real power, Kurt continues taking as many odd jobs as possible, which might just make him a pivotal part of the kingdom before he even notices it.

In 2113, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) dissolved their secret paramilitary unit known as the Peacebreakers. However, the squad disappeared, and their activities remained a mystery. Five years later, the Peacebreakers resurface when they murder Milcia Stronskaya, a scientist in possession of highly classified documents essential to the future of the Sybil System—Japan's surveillance structure that detects potential criminals in society. To investigate the incident and prepare for a clash against the Peacebreakers in coordination with the MFA, the chief of the Public Safety Bureau decides to recruit the former Enforcer Shinya Kougami back into the force. Having defected years ago, Kougami currently works for the MFA under Frederica Hanashiro's command. Kougami's return creates tensions between him and his former colleagues Akane Tsunemori and Nobuchika Ginoza, but they must set aside their past grudges to focus on ensuring the security of the Sybil System.

In the future, advanced robotics has created heavy robots (labors) for use in a variety of functions: construction, fire-fighting, military, and more. However, though the robots are only machines, their operators are also only human—and humans sometimes turn to crime. Since a heavy labor unit can be a dangerous weapon, the police of the future are set to fight fire with fire, using advanced patrol labor units, patlabors. This is the story of the Second Special Vehicles Division, a motley crew of patlabor policemen and women doing their best to fight crime and live a normal life. (Source: ANN)