Kanuka Clancy
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Kanuka Clancy (香貫花・クランシー) is one of the main characters from the anime series "Mobile Police Patlabor". A tough, no-nonsense police officer on loan from the New York Police Department, Kanuka was transferred in order to observe and help the newly formed 2nd Unit. She hopes to gain more experience with patrol labors through her six-month trial so that she may eventually lead her own team back in New York.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Hawaii, Kanuka is half Japanese-half American, and it has been noted by American fans that she is the most "Japanese-looking" of the cast. She decided to become a police officer after her father (also a cop) and mother were murdered, and is an extremely competent officer who does everything by the book.
Kanuka is an effective and efficient police officer. Though she works well with others, she is at her best when on her own, and is almost too capable to have others around her. Because she's a perfectionist, less dedicated officers tend to "get in her way". An expert in everything -- explosives, martial arts, weapons, command, two unrelated languages, and piloting -- some see Kanuka as being too good to be true.
There are a few times however when her cool, aloof professionalism gives way to deeper emotions, and it is hinted that underneath her icy surface, Kanuka is a loving and warm-hearted young woman. She also shows an almost obsessive level of privacy in her personal life, going so far as to ruining her own going-away party when she angrily discovers that the team decided to surprise her with it in her apartment, instead of a public venue.
[edit] Patlabor OVA/TV Series
Within Section 2 Kanuka is assigned as Isao Otah's backup, and is generally given the task of trying to keep him out of trouble. Kanuka is often frustrated by the unorthodox tactics used by Unit 2. Though Kanuka quickly gains their respect over the course of her tenure, she fails to keep Noa Izumi in line and the two often clash during combat situations.
After her attachment in Tokyo ends, Kanuka is recalled to New York and initially writes a fairly bad review of the team. However, Section 2's attempt to throw her a going away party (even if the party did go disastrously wrong) reminds her that they are not complete losers and she ends her review saying that Section 2 has both 'Wisdom and Courage'. Before her flight lifts off for America, she single-handedly foils a suspected hijacker, an impressive feat given that she does so without her personal weaponry.
[edit] Patlabor P-Series
Soon after being replaced with another police lieutenant named Takeo Kumagami, Capt. Gotoh requests Kanuka's services again during an incident with a powerful, rogue Labor. Discovering that it was rigged to detonate, Kanuka nearly sacrifices herself disposing of the unit, despite the fact that her Labor is seriously damaged. She later joins the team on a holiday, but clashes with her replacement, Takeo Kumagami, considering Takeo's lack of photographic memory, to be a weakness. She also envies Takeo's total control over Otah, and snubs Takeo's attempt to protect her from being embarrassed by the team, as Takeo invaded Kanuka's privacy to do so.
[edit] Patlabor the Movie
Kanuka is again called back to Tokyo during the first Patlabor movie and joins Unit 2 in the assault on a malfunctioning offshore complex known as the ARK. After blasting her way into the structure with several team mates, she uses the AVX0-Zero to help Otah fend off the rampaging labors, but ends up trapped inside an advanced Zero labor when the HOS onboard the robot goes faulty, just as has happened on other labors. When the Zero suddenly attacks Noa's '98, Kanuka warns Noa to abandon the fight, saying that the '98 is no match for the Zero. Noa refuses and destroys Zero's RAM with several well-placed blasts of her shotgun. This totally disables the malfunctioning robot.
What happens to Kanuka at this point is a mystery, as she is neither seen with the surviving members of Division 2, nor is there any indication that she was killed in the shotgun attack by Noa. It is possible that Kanuka survived, and that after debriefing she returned to New York.
[edit] Trivia
- Kanuka is very similar in personality to Lana Isavia from Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross. Also the relationship between Kanuka and Noa somewhat mirror Lana's relationship with Jeanne Francaix.
- As seen in both TV series, Kanuka is more than capable of holding her own when it comes to drinking contests between herself and other members of Unit 2. The only person who can drink her under the table is surprisingly Noa Izumi.
- Kanuka was voiced by the famous Japanese seiyuu You Inoue.
- Kanuka appears in all versions of the anime except the second and third movies.
