Dougram is a really mixed show. Its strengths are strong design work (unfortunately excepting the main characters dorky outfits), well thought out world-building, a willingness to address aspects of war such as propaganda, combined arms and logistics. You can really see how this was a key inspiration for Battletech. The story of colonisation, rebellion, collaboration and the economic motives underlying it all is well constructed. Finally, the series really improves in the final third as more time is spent away from our main cast with the high level politics which turns out to be the strongest part of the show, with frankly more interesting characters and moresophisticated storytelling. These sequences don't just stand out in the show- they're top class for the medium.

The battles scale also increases, much to their benefit with a greater focus on strategy than derring-do. The closing third of the series is a really fabulous showcase of interweaving perspectives, intrigue and battlefield action. Its ambitious and it really hits the right notes.

However, it also has a number of serious weaknesses. One is that, by and large, its characters are fairly static, not that engaging and a lot of the early arcs which don't progress the war are therefore not very impactful. Ultimately, the series gets better basically in proportion to the amount of time it spends away from the Dougram crew, who ultimately end up being much less interesting than the Liberation and Earth Federation leadership perspectives.

A lot of time is spent in combat, and throughout- but most especially in the smaller scale battles of the first two thirds of the series- the enjoyment of this is undermined in a lot of ways. The animation isn't very good, and this can impact the realism/choreography as much as the pleasure of watching. Theres a tendency to undermine serious action scenes with awful slapstick (attaching plastic explosive with snot, for example), especially- again- in the first half.

Most fatally for a self-serious war story, only one main character gets a Mobile Suit. This might seem refreshing compared to Gundam, where everyone does, but before expanding into large scale warfare (and a good half the time afterwards) the result is that the backup is half a dozen folks with a jeep and one bazooka- tearing apart entire military units. Its pretty ridiculous and really undermines all the self-seriousness.

And they very largely get away with it for free. For a war story, theres a real reluctance to kill anyone that matters. This plays into a more low-key weakness, that while it paints a realistic picture of war (the final political sequences are standout in this regard) in many ways, unlike LoGH or Gundam it doesn't really tie this into greater thematic elements. It also gradually saps tension from Dougram related action sequences- part of the increased interest in the high-level politics sequences is a greater willingness to include serious consequences for those involved.

On the other hand, the politics in the last third of the anime are some of the best in anime space opera. Its complex, it leads to a bittersweet ending and it generally makes a lot of sense.

The first two thirds of the show are probably a 6; the last third is a solid 9, if you are in the right audience. Given the shows length this makes it hard to straightforwardly recommend, but for me it was ultimately a rewarding journey.