Patlabor: The Movie (1989)

A suicidal scientist atop an industrial site lets loose a crow, his last expression a cold sneer to the gloaming light. It's mysterious and evocative! Then there's an emotionally-null firefight, then exposition valiantly interspersed with minor character moments, and from there the story unrolls unevenly and ends with inconclusive ideas about a self-declared god engineering a new Fall. It wasn't what I was hoping for: the manufactured sublime of giant robots versus the manufactured trivium of bureaucracy. Oshii's other films at this time, e.g. Angel's Egg and Ghost in the Shell, have greater depth of feeling, strength of conviction, and density of thought, and better aesthetics too. However, the visuals are good—the sweaty colours create such an unpleasant feeling, like a strange summer has all the people in its grasp and is squeezing and squeezing until something gives, and the last act is Biblically awesome.