I enjoy Patlabor's take on the mecha genre. It adds in a number of little details that give it a living a breathing feel. The focus on the mechs as a real machine that takes time consuming maintainace, the way Oshii treats time, the characters, how they interact with the world and how it lets you know that these actions have real consequences. The direction from Oshii was really nice too.

The first episode is really breasy. Being the opener, the purpose of this episode is primarily expository. But it doesn't beat you over the head with it. Instead it sits you down with the characters as they finding things to keep busy when they're waiting throughout the day. The characters get to know each other in a very natural way and you learn about the world through their eyes and interests. None of this is rushed because Oshii really wants you to feel the passing of time with the characters. If they have to do a chore meaningless to the plot then you sit there and watch them do it. If they're excited to see a mecha then you discover it with them. It may not be the most exciting episode but it really does it's job to familiarise the audience with the world and characters. That makes the rest of this OVA all the more effective.

The second episode shows the fragility of the mechs in combat and the danger that comes with it. It's really easy for a mech to lose an arm or a head, what would happen to a human that got caught in the wrong spot? Furthermore it introduces a political element to the story. The villain of this episode was someone you wouldn't think would be one so it gives the world a sense of chaos and chance. That sense of chance was also established in the climactic scene.

Episode three, while not bad, was my least favorite episode. Some parts of the story didn't quite fit in with the rest of the OVA, all things considered. The premise was a little bit too far fetched for the series. Nevertheless it still did a good job at spinning a mystery that introduced some likable characters.

Episode four really pushed the point that actions have consequences in this series. That was the whole point of the episode. The facade that was spun in this episode was engaging and tragic too. So I think they did a really good job of establishing it's point.

Episode five and six continued to push the political aspect of the series. All while having some interesting character stuff go on. It starts by showing the loneliness of the holidays and the search for company and comfort. Later it got into the differences in the phyche someone who will go to great and terrible lengths to fight for a cause and someone who decides to protect the people and with it the status quo from those terrible lengths even if they are sympathetic to the cause. One this I wish they would have fleshed out more in these episodes is what exactly the political goal was in this situation. The two episodes are my favorite in this OVA

Episode seven was fun, funny and engaging. It looked a bit more at the political aspect of Patlabor. Observing that common people aren't usually interested in larger political goals, they're interested in living their best life with their family. So while the common people are what the political extremists are fighting for, their cause and ideas don't win over or goes over the head of the people who don't have enough time in the day to worry about those things. The things they do care about is what is around them, like helping someone from getting hurt.

All in all, while not perfect and underdeveloped in some areas, this OVA is a delight with an excellent world and characters.