I didn't think Patlabor was disappointing from a technical perspective, but boy did I find it boring. I wasn't really able to latch onto anything when it came to the characters, narrative, or even themes. It kind of meandered along and had what was, on paper, an interesting premise which. But to me, that premise didn't feel very well-explored. What I was left with was some good animation and an overall satisfying aesthetic (I don't think any anime movies from the 1980s look bad, or at least I haven't seen any that do), but much of this was dry and not very engaging. It's hard to call it bad exactly, and it's even harder - obviously - to call it terrible, but I don't really see the appeal here, beyond how Patlabor looks and sounds.
Review of Patlabor: The Movie
