Tonally and structurally, Oshii abandons what Patlabor is/was and it takes a bit to get used to. But what is left is something incredibly dense and meditative. The only remaining characters are the sharp anxious ones with the most weight on their shoulders from the original cast and they are put into positions that slowly wind them up over the two hour runtime. Every lingering moment and shot is haunting and evocative, the bubble bursts so thoroughly and quickly as to expose how fragile it really was. Oshii ages the characters forwards and they're all numbed down and jaded, even the bombastic and easily excitable Noa questions whether it's time for her to grow up and move on. The facade of a shiny robust system that SV2 barely managed to operate in is totally melted away as the snow falls and the only thing there is left to cling to is their morality. In the end, they choose their morality over the illusion of stability, much like how Oshii chooses to abandon the structure of Patlabor itself for something more representative of what he believes in. For better and for worse, but in the end it remains something still so singular and so beautiful.
Also when I saw "Layout Artist: Satoshi Kon" you already know I was rubbing my hands together for this.
Tonally and structurally, Oshii abandons what Patlabor is/was and it takes a bit to get used to. But what is left is something incredibly dense and meditative. The only remaining characters are the sharp anxious ones with the most weight on their shoulders from the original cast and they are put into positions that slowly wind them up over the two hour runtime. Every lingering moment and shot is haunting and evocative, the bubble bursts so thoroughly and quickly as to expose how fragile it really was. Oshii ages the characters forwards and they're all numbed down and jaded, even the bombastic and easily excitable Noa questions whether it's time for her to grow up and move on. The facade of a shiny robust system that SV2 barely managed to operate in is totally melted away as the snow falls and the only thing there is left to cling to is their morality. In the end, they choose their morality over the illusion of stability, much like how Oshii chooses to abandon the structure of Patlabor itself for something more representative of what he believes in. For better and for worse, but in the end it remains something still so singular and so beautiful.
Also when I saw "Layout Artist: Satoshi Kon" you already know I was rubbing my hands together for this.
