For Petes sake this isnt some Mecha anime Goto Kiichi Theres a multitude of Mecha shows that are talked about now and before Gundam GitS and with this year we had FranXX Gundam again and Planet With. As is obvious to an avid anime fan Mecha shows are very big in Japan and as such we see a lot of buzz on such shows. Sometimes though some shows do not get the love they deserve especially when theyre in many ways superior than most this is where Patlabor comes in. 720https://i.ur.com/RcyTDA2.png Patlabor is perhaps the best sense I found for Mecha in policing and the law noIm not talking about Code Geass esque law enforcement Patlabor is far better in showing how and why the Mechs called Patlabor are necessary for the country and the police. Not to fight Klaxosaurs but to fight crime. And this Patlabor showed us effectively. Despite being a 7 episode OVA thats 30 mins long for each episode we saw a good amount of information and not a second was wasted that too despite being a little shorter than a single cour anime which goes to show length doesnt always factor for quality at least for anime. 720https://extraimage.net/images/2017/10/15/d4488a4b4a152de5550258057e74b3ec.png Patlabors biggest selling point is how the police are depicted. Theyre not gruff individuals who always rush off into lifeordeath situations. The police arent always involved in such cases but neither are they always in jest. We saw the fun our characters had in the first four episodes along with the crime dealing as well making for a nice blend of both seriousness and light humour something less seen since striking a balance is so tough. Light humour obviously brings us to the colourful cast. Since this is a police anime we see young adults as our main cast and this shows Patlabor is another of those few mechas with an adult cast and not teenagers. Getting into the details the characters were bright distinct and amazing in their own way they felt real. Noa was our female protagonist who was in love with her Patlabor Alphonse showing shes a cute mechanics lover and she had her fun moments. Though Patlabor is anything but romance we did get a few nods with Asuma a fellow police officer. Oota was your average shorttempered gun lover. Kanuka was the fun American transfer student who thankfully knows English and not Engrish a huge plus point to the Voice Actor for doing well along with Hiromi who wasnt seen talking much as hes a rather silent individual. Gotou was a relatable depressed looking man who would play an important part as the captain of the group and his role in episodes 46 were amazingly done. 720https://i.ur.com/gPtztOv.png The rest of the cast was a playful bunch who was serious when they needed to be and hilarious when the situation demanded it too. Why did I spend so much time on the characters? Its because they were well done we didnt see any major development over the course of the 7 episode OVA but that could be excused because their establishment AS a character was brilliant. Something else that was brilliant was the OST. The simple but intricate background music complimented the situation effectively and the Opening theme song was something I think will be stuck in my head for a few months catchy and cute it is an excellent way to start off a fun show. Since it was somewhat of a semislice of life show the OVA had an episodic nature with the exception of the 2 part Longest Day arc which was in episodes 56. Despite being episodic the independent episodes stood up for themselves and were all well done. The first three were an introduction to the Patlabor world and it introduced us to the daily life of the police combining fighting crime and topping it off with light humour which as I covered above was an excellent blend of both. I never felt out of place with the plot or this approach but it being episodic meant things arent tightly held up and so we couldnt see a long underlying plot although episodes 56 scratched that itch to a certain extent. 720https://extraimage.net/images/2017/10/15/5defb0640292716335a3308d651952ce.png Another thing I didnt feel out of place with was the artstyle despite airing over 30 years ago its artstyle was something I didnt find hard to watch and actually enjoyed and appreciated the art direction. From the character design to the emotions of the character to the action scenes involved Patlabors artstyle was consistent easy to watch and attractive despite its age. As a comedy fan I always look for fun comedy shows to watch but I do step out of the comedy bubble a lot and when I tried Patlabor after a friend recommended it to me I didnt just get a well done Mecha I also got some comedy added as well. Why do you call this a good Mecha? you may ask. Its because the premise was explained clearly it wasnt an obscure explanation with any external influences or aliens or whatever Japanese technology evolved to the point that Labor could be used but this could be used for crime as well and so to monitor this Patrol Labor therefore Patlabor was implemented. Easy right? Apart from that even though it was episodic it was a GOOD episodic show because each episode stood up for itself and there was still a small line connecting the episodes together. 720https://i.ur.com/4oYluJg.png A lovable cast interesting developments and a perfect blend of seriousness and comedy show that Patlabor Early Days is how a Mecha can be made fun approachable and funny. I havent watched enough Mecha as most Mecha fans would but I really doubt Ill find something as fun as Patlabor Early Days. Definitely a show worth trying out its shorter than a single cour anime and yet covers a lot an excellent introduction to the Mecha series and genre Story: 8 Animation: 7.5 Sound: 7 Character: 9 Enjoyment: 9 Overall: 8.1