Steamboy

Steamboy is intended to be one of those grand adventure stories set in fantastical world with pure hearted heroes and nefarious villains. It certainly has high production values and some incredible CGI effects and action. But in the end it fails to really deliver those ambitious goals.

The plot of Steamboy is really nothing all that original. If you've seen any adventure stories before then the overall premise is going to feel very familiar to you. The story centers around the boy Ray Steam, who is an inventor from a family of inventors. After he receives a mysterious package from his ... grandfather he soon finds himself chased by villains who want it for themselves. The story has lofty goals but by the time the movie ends, I found myself confused about what actually happened and what the purpose of the whole thing was. Also it didn’t feel like any of the villainous characters ever really faced any consequences for their actions and the only people hurt were the innocents they stepped on throughout the story. Maybe I am being to idealistic but I want the bad guys to get their just deserts, and Steamboy didn’t leave me feeling that they had.

There is a lot of very good action in Steamboy however. Fans of action will have a lot to like here. The battles and action scenes are marvelous to watch and the CGI effects are wonderfully embedded within the animation. The movie also does a wonderful job in building a Victorian Age fantasy with amazing steam powered machines of all types. It reminds me a lot of a Jules Verne style story.

Ray Steam is an adequate leading character. He is heroic and idealistic and very much a standard and predictable character type for this kind of story. There just isn’t enough development of his past or personality to make him all that compelling or memorable. Scarlett is even less interesting as we learn almost nothing about her either. I did not find her to be all that likable nor did I care much about what happened to her. She’s spoiled and arrogant and cruel to animals. She seems to make a little progress as the story unfolds but not enough to make me actually like her. Steamboy's villains are not anymore interesting. While they don’t fit the black/white stereotype that one often seen in these characters for this story type their motivations are obscure and not well defined for most of them. The ones that are just don’t give you enough reasons to dislike them and cheer on our hero.

While the animation was really top notch in most cases, I did not care for the character designs. Particularly that of Scarlet as she looked more like a cross dressing boy than a girl. As I mentioned the animation for the various steam machines and action was amazing. The level of detail and fantastic designs were definitely a highlight. The music and acting was all very good though. The background music did a lot to build the grand scale of the movie.

Steamboy is overall though just an average adventure story. I certainly didn’t dislike this movie at all, I've just seen a lot better. Still I don’t think anyone would dislike this so if you enjoy fantasy and adventure stories, Steamboy will be well worth your time.

This is the weirdest anime I've ever seen.

It's not 'weird' as in something ridiculously abstract or disturbing, but weird in other ways.

The alternate-history setting is a visual feast for the eyes via Production I.G's commitment to detail and quality animation. The dub is actually really good, and this is coming from a guy who hates dubs. But in a story like this where its set completely in 19th century England, it would be too strange to hear Japanese voices, so the heavy Manchester and cockney London accents fit very well with what's going on. Yeah, an anime set entirely in ... 19th century England, with no Japanese characters, weird already.

And damn if what's going on isn't bloody amazing. I actually think this is a two act story which is very interesting and unconventional. For any laymen to cinema theory reading this, most common films have three act structures, but Steamboy is basically Setup and then Resolution. Maybe a bit of an act 2 is floating around somewhere in this strange anime, but you'd be hard pressed to find it, as it moves so quickly from a beginning that feels deceivingly generic: a regular boy-receives-package-and-goes-on-run-with-it scenario that doesn't follow all the clichés of the past thankfully, but instead saves us the trouble of watching the story lull then pick up then lull over and over again. No, Steamboy just keeps going from the first chase scene and doesn't let up until the destructive climax.

But what a climax. There are images in this anime that are purely breathtaking. Images you've never seen before. Katsuhiro Otomo's eye for apocalyptic action is second-to-none; no one can do it better than him. Seeing it in action in London is a treat. His direction, especially in action sequences, gives you scope to all the mayhem, his pans and tracking shots are perfect.

Its all complemented by humour in the form of a bunch of weapons buyers on a tour of a gigantic weapon of mass destruction, unwittingly being involved in the 'demonstration', to sly observations of Londoners’ reactions to horrific disasters unfolding in front of them, it's never forced but very quirky and funny.

Steamboy can be criticised for its two act structure and may lead people to believe it's all style and no substance, and I wont even try to defend it's attempts at philosophising on the purpose of science and technology, as the two characters that keep spouting their speeches gets old very quickly, but this anime is simply unlike any other out there and for that reason alone it deserves your full attention.

There are so many things going on in Steamboy, from the surface narrative of a boy being dragged into an ideological quarrel between his father and grandfather, to the philosophical implications of steam technology on the 19th and 20th century, and most interestingly of all: that this was actually the origin of a superhero which just made me grin big time.

Let me sum this anime 4 you very easily: It's steampunk based. Those who cannot conceive this genre will most likely be displeased with this anime, those who have no idea what steampunk is will have varying views & opinions, however to those who know & in a way like steampunk then this anime is definitely 4 you.
The only down-side to this anime I see is that it is very generic steampunk but I also see this as its bet asset to those who are interested in understanding this genre.

First, let me say that I wasn't expecting much going into this film. Seeing as how it isn't directed by Miyazaki and I hadn't heard much of anything about it, I didn't plan on being impressed. Well, much to my surprise, I really enjoyed Steamboy. Sure, it wasn't anything miraculous and magical like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, but it had some of that "wonder" to it.

Some of the decisions the characters made were a little too "that wouldn't happen", but aside from some of those, I really, really enjoyed the story.

Biggest gripe I had with the movie was the animation. I couldn't ... see about 20% of the film because it was too dark. Quite a few scenes are nearly pitch black and unless you have some crazy contrast, you'll miss what's going on.

All in all, definitely an enjoyable watch. I'd see it again, but I wouldn't place it as high as a Miyazaki piece.

Story: The retelling of history has been done many times in various series, it can be fun a lot of times, but Steamboy really dropped the ball this time. Many times actually, Ray just couldn't keep a hold of it. [oh snap, a pun] *ahem* I'm still not really sure what they were trying to do with the story. Apparently the kid's father had some skewed view on science and decided to start a war with Britain. There wasn't much of a lead up to this, it just kind of happened at some point. There are far too many obstacles for Ray. Each time he ... is tasked with doing something some random person or thing gets in his way. Yeah, obstacles make the story interesting and all, but not when they are so ridiculous and far fetched... and numerous. This is a retelling of history and this is an anime, but the inventions were just too much. They didn't seem believable in the least bit which is kind of disappointing when they're such a big part of the movie. The story just was not interesting at all.

Art: The art is pretty much the only thing this movie has going for it. It's extremely detailed and just beautiful. Some of the larger scenes, such as the beginning of the festival, are filled with such grandeur that you almost forget that you are watching something so terrible. The London Exhibit, Crystal Palace, is another prime example of the beauty in this series. I've seen it in other series, but in this movie it is just wonderful. The last ten minutes or so are especially gorgeous.

Sound: I didn't find myself noticing too much of the regular music, it was a bit bland. The pieces during the more action packed sequences and the ending were superb. They fit extremely well with the scenes and were just phenomenal. The sound would have gotten a ten, but like I said, the music during regular scenes was just average.

Characters: None of them were very well done. I didn't feel any sort of connection with a single one. The main character, Ray, is just a typical good boy and that's pretty much it. Then there is the Miss Scarlet character... I don't get her at all. She was made out to be extremely stuck up and terrible in the beginning, she even abused her poor dog!, yet she somehow turns out to be the romance interest of Ray. Her character was just bland and had no depth, just like their relationship. The other characters didn't have anything going for them either, they were fueled by greed, misguided philosophies, and various other cliche driving forces. The father was one of the worst as well; changes in heart after being a complete douche are just lame.

Enjoyment: This was one of the first movies I considered dropping in the middle of it. The story and characters were just so bad that I almost couldn't keep watching. The only thing that kept me watching was hope that it would somehow redeem itself in the end, a hope that was completely wasted and silly. I can't say I enjoyed this at all really.

Overall: Well, if you want something really nice to look at for two hours I'd say give this movie a watch. If you're looking for a good story.... I'd seriously recommend watching something else. The lackluster story and characters, the far fetched inventions, and the ill placed obstacles completely ruin this movie. This is definitely something that should be passed by unless you are willing to sit through two hours of crap just for amazing animation.

If you don't find this review helpful, please send me a PM or leave a comment as to why you feel that.

Steamboy is one of the most expensive Japanese animated movies made to date and was in production for nearly ten years. Sadly, they should have put more effort into perfecting the script for this ambitious anime.

The attention to detail sets this anime apart from all others. Each cog and gear are intricately animated in the many inventions in the movie. The architecture of Victorian London is duplicated perfectly. The CGI used was so seamless, I didn't notice. The sound track is grand and befitting of the time period.

The anime has no clear message and is clouded by characters whose purpose is ambiguous. The ... protagonist is faced with a situation where he must side with either the word of his father or grandfather. No evidence is presented to the viewer as to which character is more credible besides the father looking more diabolical as he was disfigured in an accident. Next enters Miss Scarlet, a young, spoiled heiress. Is her character supposed to be comic relief or an analogy about society being blissfully ignorant to scientific advancement used to further war as long as profits are made? Finally, during the second half of the movie, massive destruction of property occurs, and you would assume loss of life. The movie takes the "no one ever dies in a children's movie" philosophy. I feel that if there had been consequences in the movie, the message of the anime might have shown through instead of being buried in the interpersonal struggles.

While Steamboy offers breathtaking animation and the voice acting of Patrick Stewart, the story telling definitely runs out of steam.

An amazing looking movie, with spectacular artwork and animation. Unfortunatly, the story and characters were not of the same high quality. An enjoyable enough movie to watch, but it fails to capture the magic of a true classic.

With nearly 9 years of production time and a budget of 2.4 billion yen (over 20 million dollars), Steamboy is the most expensive Japanese animation ever to be made.

And oh boy you can see that. Large-scale views of London, with tons of people, details of the fictional machines, and, especially, the steam - everything is done perfectly, creating an amazing world that instantly swallows you in its depths of this future-in-the-past scenario.

The story of goes back to the 19th century England, when steam still was the main source of power. One day, a young child Ray Steam, working as a maintenance boy in a factory, ... receives a package with an ingenious device called "steamball", born in an experiment of his grandfather, Lloyd Steam, and his father, Edward Steam. Just after that, mysterious people appear at the front of his door, and they insist on handing them over the device. But Ray has inherited the inventor genes of his ancestors, and it is not an easy task for the villains to get him...

The character design is great, from the mad scientist family of Steams, desperate in their ways, but still kind to their offspring, down to the colorful and proud upper-class girl Scarlett, holding herself for extremely important, but still not egoistic in any way. I especially enjoyed seeing, how Scarlett's naively stark pride makes her fully forget her fear. There were moments, where I would have fainted, if I were her (I can't handle the heights, but there were more).

All in all, this is a professional artwork, which immediately became a must-see classic on my list. As expected after 9 years of production with a budget of over 20 million dollars. The only thing, that dragged my enjoyment down to 9 and the overall mark with it, are the pitch-dark action scenes, in which I hardly saw anything and could only hear something happening. But I guess this could have been caused by the poor quality of the transmission, the sound was very low too, so I had to max out the volume.

And don't turn it off right when the credits begin to show up. The background images represent an epilogue to the story, and each picture has much more in it, than it could seem at first. They masterfully fill in the lack of character development, which is a problem movies are usually doomed to suffer from, in comparison with anime series.

Rate a 6
English Dubbed


There are 5 types of thinkers:Concrete, Analytical, Logical, Imaginative, Creative. I happen to be more analytical. This movie is for those that are creative and Imaginative. The movie progresses in a path taking adventure. Each path has its pros and cons. While the main character has his path already marked the anime forces the viewer to reflect themselves to see where they stand. In my view both sides were the same with slightly different agendas, making the siding choice hard. I am an adult i can only imagine it would be harder to make as a child(the main character). If that wasn't ... hard enough a loved one was on both sides.

Would i change anything if given the chance? No. Sure, this movie wasn't always riveting in excitement it did a good job at illustrating their main points. From cover art down to the ending. In the cover art for example the main character is basically begging the viewer to partake in his adventure. To see if he could do a better job. As for the color choice of red it perfect as well. Red represents fire which can be seen as frustration and passion. Both of which have a heavy impact in the show.

Although, while no 'pipe' or 'valve' was in the red zone this movie failed to get an emotional rise from me. For each character had an evil side to them. How is a good moral person like myself expected to side with a character who doesn't abide to what he sets out to do? In other words the character is not dedicated but hypocritical.

If this movie was meant for deep thinking and debating. Well done. The more i think about where i stand for this review the more 'heated' i become.

p.s. This movie unlike most anime is told in many forms of languages.

I base my reviews on my feelings, my thoughts and my enjoyment referring the specific series. So this is not a overly professional critic's review.

First off all, I bought this straight on DVD the moment it got released, so my experience with audio/subtitles etc. Can be a bit different then the people who watched it from fansubbers.

The fact that I bought it on DVD is because people who worked on the hitmovie, Akira, also worked on Steamboy for several years, noticeable from the drawing style.

We'll go right further with that. The animation in Steamboy is really amazing if you ask me, the steam itself, the ... fast scene's on the steamball and Ray's own invention are truly fascinating, I missed most of the original story, just to be amazed by the animation. (May this be a warning to people who love the work of animation)

The story itself is good too, in my opinion, I won't write a small summary here, since someone already took the liberty to add one to the series page, (probably somewhere above this review). The plot takes out pretty well, it's starts in an exciting way with an amazing escape and a chase throughout a part of the city and nearby fields.

As for the animation, the art's a big and important factor of animation and of course the movie itself. Most of the art was just like the previous project Akira, only improved. The characters were "standards" and yet unique for they're way of movement, talking and thinking. You won't be bored here, but you won't be too suprised either. The introduction of the characters is well done in different ways either, yet again, not to suprising scene's.

The sound (on DVD ofcourse) is set with a few options, DDS versions etc. Nothing new, but the sound's pretty good, the voice-actors, the machine sounds and most of the backgrounds music is really good.

I rewatched this movie several times since I bought it, and although it's highly enjoyable at start, the few times after it stays the same. For an anime movie, this is pretty good, I don't rewatch alot of animated movie's.

So there's a 9 for the story, 10's for the Art, Sound and Enjoyment, and an 8 for the characters. Which I calculate to a 10 overall.

Visually it is very well done, even if the art work does come across as simplistic at times. Regardless it is visually stunning and a joy to watch.

The main character follows the standard Hollywood track of an unlikely hero trying to save the day. However the story structure is new and kept my interests through out. By the second act you really do care what will happen to the characters. Great characterization with an original story line.

Steam boy has great voice acting as well as super musical score of the film. The Manchurian lead boy genuinely sounds Manchurian. Plus the score fits and ... helps set the atmosphere.

My only strong criticism of this film is that I personally would not watch it again; there was nothing spectacular enough to make me want to watch it again. Nevertheless I would recommend seeing once as it is a fun film, that is visually pleasing, interesting and original.

Well, here's the good thing I can say about Steamboy: it's gorgeously animated and has great character designs. It's stuff like this that makes me feel that anime is the true successor to classic Disney animation, not this 3D animation garbage that's so popular now.

Okay, the bad news: the story starts off well and explores a very interesting theme of how inventions in the wrong hands can be used for evil, especially by the military. Everything goes swimmingly halfway into the movie, and then things get very confusing and hectic by the time we get to the Crystal Palace. Things go from bad to worse ... in the last act--it just goes on and on and on and on and on and on...and just when you think it's over, goes on and on and on some more until your eyes glaze over or you start looking at your watch.

Also, the grandfather character, who had started off being so cool, becomes a ridiculous figure. He spends the last half of the movie running around in rags like the Wild Man of Borneo.

So, verdict--an okay anime, just not a great one.

I found this to be a great little morality play that constantly challenges its audience from different points of view. It challenges us to define a purpose for science; do more violent machines mean more war? Does the ability to innovate come without responsibility? Should the weapon makers be held accountable for their massive “collateral damage” or are they accountable only to their corporate shareholders? This little steam-punk anime is set in the mid-1800s. Funny. I just returned from seeing Iron Man. It’s set in the 21st Century yet it asks the same questions... I liked “Steamboy” even though it made the father and grandfather ... out to be raving lunatics. Still, it leaves open a discussion of child as father to the man. I saw the subtitled version but I’ve ordered the dubbed version for my collection. It’s easier to share thoughts on a film like this when one’s guests haven’t been forced to read it – and “Steamboy” is definitely a film to share!

This movie was overall a good idea, but after watching it, it was nothing spectacular.

What stood out the most was the "machine" aspect. There were lots of things moving throughout and it definitely held your attention. I liked how the "family of geniuses" was concentrated on. You were able to root for the good guy more because of it, at least thats what I did.

Still overall, there was some good this and that, but nothing was amazing.

I love steam punk stuff. I love Victorian England. So, when a legend like Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of "Akira", does a film based on that subject in that setting- you get "Steamboy". Yet, with all that going for it, it does good but falls short of greatness.

The storyline is generic. You get a boy genius, family conflict (involving 3 generations), actual conflict with steam punk technology, and off we go on our journey where it's up to our boy genius to save the day! It serves the film fine, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. Good not great. The art is wonderful and it ... puts you right in the middle of 1890s England with the coal smoke, the buildings, the trains, and then kicks it up a notch with some of that neat weird science that goes along with the steam punk genre. But, nothing I saw wowed me. Generic coolness. Good not great.

The sound effects are really good and the soundtrack by Steve Jablonsky (famous for the "Transformers" films amongst other things) is one of the better ones to grace an Anime film. Sub vs. Dub? Because it takes place in England it makes more sense to watch it in English and when you add three mainstream actors like Alfred Molina, Patrick Stewart, and Academy Award winner Anna Paquin in the lead, it makes it a no-contest in favor of the English cast. Dr. Octopus, Professor X, and Rogue? How cool is that?!?! But, having them play pretty generic characters like a boy genius, like a mad scientist, like the old man warning against the dangers of certain applications of technology, makes it a waste of their talent. Good not great.

Outstanding cast and director aside, it's an above average Anime film. The visuals give us some cool moments. The story does move well. But, with so much going for it, you expect a lot more than what you end up with. I had a lot of fun watching this, but I expected a lot more. Once again and finally, good not great. Cheers!

The most British anime with an alternative Victorian-era war setting and surprisingly, it's by far the best steampunk-related “animation” I've ever watched. Well, kind of.

At first, Steamboy seems promising with its philosophy of science versus science as the nation's military forefront plot, whereby scientific achievement is acknowledged as a scale to maximizes power. Those two very distinctive beliefs are stimulated by Dr. Eddie and Dr. Lloyd which also happened to be the main character Ray's dad and grandpa. Dr. Eddie believes that science as mankind's modern God should have been used for military purposes while at the same time, Dr. Lloyd believes that science should ... be used for the greater good and not for the greedy shareholders in the capitalist world.

But as time progresses, the debate between those two characters is getting really really reaaaallly boring. It felt like the film is suffocating me with its never ending midpoint plus their lack of emotional build ups, and to be honest if its not for their highly detailed “animation” i’ve mentioned earlier, i would for sure click the stop button cuz holy schnitzel i legit wanted to punch my laptop screen. To think that at first i thought Dr. Eddie is the antagonist made me wanted to punch both my face and my laptop screen (again) simultaneously cuz in the end it doesn't matter, both Dr. Eddie and Dr. Lloyd is just a bunch of sick delusional boomers that are blinded by their judgments. And when it finally gets better in their "rising action" act, the film somehow shifts its attention into a hero concept film by using Ray’s child innocence, sigh. But oh wait it gets worse when you hit the climax. The only way i can explain it into words without giving any spoilers is basically like listening to Vivaldi's The Four Seasons Summer in Presto opening that goes on and on but twice the speed with no ending at all.

The only interesting part i find from this film is their character placements. By placing three very different generations as their main focus and Ray as the center, it perfectly explained of how different their own generation view science can give a huge impact to mankind during the Victorian-era war. But to be honest that's it. I really tried to like this film tho, my expectations were very high specially this was Katsuhiro Otomo's film after Akira and Memories, which for me are two of his Magnum Opus.

So to sum it up, in the end im dissapointed and i don't think i'll ever try to rewatch it. It's suffocating and tiring, really.

Warning possible Spoilers

Steamboy is one of the very few anime's that is set in my home country, the UK, during the Victorian era and for a movie, which concentrates on steam and the power of invention it was definitely an entertaining 2 hours.

Story (10/10)

The story concentrates mainly on James Ray Steam or just Ray, his father and grandfather have found something called a Steamball, a device that can provide any steam powered machine with unlimited power, but keeping his grandfathers warnings to mind, Ray tries his best to keep the steamball away from any evil doers who wish to exploit it's power.
For a movie/film about ... steam, I was really surprised how action packed this was, true there are some points where it cools down like when Ray gets captured and is being introduced to the Steam Castle, but there is a lot of explosions and stuff going on most of the time, however this wasn't a bad thing, in fact it kept me on my toes throughout the whole thing.
Another really good part about the story, was the many points where Ray didn't know who should have the Steamball, until he came to the conclusion that no-one should have it, because no-one should have this power, because they will use it to conquer others, this is a message I really liked since it shows how devastating technology can be, if used in the wrong hands.
The pacing was done really well too, it gave us a good amount of action, the characters backgrounds and reasons for what they are doing were really done well and it ended in a good way too, much like most films the good guys win, although there was a lot of destruction left behind.
I also liked how the credits even gave us a snippet of what Ray's adventures were in the future and if anyone actually tries to do it, it would be a good idea for a TV series really, although it would be difficult considering how much money went into this movie/film.

Characters (9/10)

The characters were done really well, although there are a few here and there that didn't make me completely like them.
Ray as a main character was done very well, he has a smart and observative personality, but he can also be very courageous, since a lot of the stuff he does in this movie/film would make a lot of people piss themselves. He didn't seem like a bad person either, you wanted to stick up for him throughout the whole situation and also making sure he gets out of it alive.
Ray's grandfather and father were both really good characters too, both had good reasons for Ray to support them, making it difficult for him to choose who to go along with, this was definitely a family conflict you wouldn't want to get in the middle of, unless you know how steam works.
Scarlett St Jones is the only weak link when it comes to the characters, for a main female protagonist she wasn't the best and came out more annoying than likeable, especially when she would keep yelling peoples names a lot, plus she didn't really add anything to the plot either other than being the daughter of the man in charge of the evil corporation, I will however give her credit for walking into the middle of a battlefield not giving a single fu*k.

Art (10/10)

If there is one thing I can say about this movie/film, is that it looks absolutely amazing. The way Victorian Britain has been created looks fantastic and spot on to the tiniest detail, well apart from all the new steam inventions like the steam castle and whatever Ray made to outrun the villains in the first encounter, however this doesn't ruin the whole feel of Victorian Britain, it just makes it look more badass.
Speaking of inventions the different types of vehicles and other steam powered devices looked really incredible, definitely something that could've existed during this time, if madmen decided to put their minds to it.
The visuals looked goddamn amazing too, just looking at the background had me in awe, so if there is one thing that Steamboy got completely right was the art.

Sound (9/10)

The soundtrack was pretty damn good, I can't remember too much of it, but it did give me a sorta superhero type vibe especially when Ray was whizzing around in his steampunk jetpack.

Extras:

The action was very well done and what kept me glued to the screen, it was also surprisingly more devastating than I was expecting too, I mean people died, a lot of people died at some point and it makes you think about the harsh reality that having technology like this can be a very bad thing, especially if this technology was put in the wrong hands.
Another that I have to point out is the dub, now I know people have their crutches against dubs, but this is definitely one to watch in dub, because they actually have (mostly) British actors and actresses for the characters, which is extra points for trying to make it more realistic and believable, plus they had Patrick Stewart and Alfred Molina, that's Professor X and Doc Octopus in the same movie/film what more could you want.

Enjoyment (10/10)

Overall (10/10)

Overall this is a visual masterpiece of a film and is damn entertaining from start to finish, so if you're looking for an anime film/movie to make your mouth drop at the sight of it while also having some kickass steampunk action then you'll definitely love this.

The famous Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of Akira, with the help of Studio Sunrise, brings another creation of his to film. Steamboy came in the form of a steampunk adventure within an alternate timeline around 1860. In many ways, it shares similarities to Akira mixed within a Victorian-Era compared with something directly out of an H.G. Wells book. It certainly has countless original ideas and a compelling story to go along with it.

Immediately, the story opens around a young man named Ray receiving a package from his grandfather. Then, villainous men show up to get this package and thus begins the adventure of constant running away. ... This package contains a “steam ball” which can perfectly store steam power under immense pressures. In this time, steam has become something like nuclear technology of today, and the science behind it runs everything. This created an incredible steampunk environment and atmosphere for the story. The escape scene Ray must go through just to keep this new invention away from the bad guys is both hilarious and edge-of-your-seat action. It goes from Ray escaping on an invention like a messed-up vibrating unicycle to an epic train scene being chased by this steam powered death tank. It all fits nicely at the start. Inevitably Ray gets caught and taken to where his father is. News flash, his father is bad and wants to use the steam ball to power a machine of mass destruction.

Steamboy has amazing artwork setting an amazing tone of how mankind relies solely off of machine technology. Unfortunately, because everything is in this Victorian-Era and steam oriented, this leads to the colour pallet of a grey sky in Germany during Fall. It means that the entire film is very dreary and bland. The voice acting across all languages from English to Japanese and even German, are outstanding at least. However, the characters are pretty one-dimensional for the most part. It’s not a flaw worth docking points, but the main female character in Scarlett is an odd one. She is the rich daughter of the O’Hara Foundation which wants to utilize the steam ball and sell the death machine to the highest bidder. Her character is the worst. Simply put, she is spoiled, selfish, and very naïve to the point where the viewer hopes something would shut her mouth. All the members of Ray’s family have their place, but really this anime film is about the adventure.

The film does not have much for depth other than a steampunk love story. It is one retro-futuristic invention after another with crazy action sequences taking up the majority of the movie. At one point, a third of the way through, we get steam powered armour suits murdering soldiers and these super robot soldiers roll their way through the defences. Moments like that make for either a fun action adventure, or a repetitive battle of pointless explosions depending on who is watching it. Anime fans will likely see the first.

In the end, Steamboy and its incredible production value does not bring the most in depth story or characters. However, the fun steam action and over-the-top villainous attitudes do not disappoint. Steamboy is a fun anime movie for those action junkies out there.

At first I expected this movie to be pretty lame, but when I saw it was made by Katsuhiro Otomo, my mind completely changed and I knew I was in for a real treat.

At first this movie seems very un-anime like, as this anime is set in my own country, the United Kingdom, but in the Victorian era. The cities of Manchester and London are portrayed quite well in this movie and some of the artwork is just gorgeous; however; where Steamboy really shines is in it's use of 3D, and we know that Sunrise 3D is quite choppy sometimes, but this is barely ... even noticable and you are able to admire the intricacy that this movie has, but... there are a few bad points unfortunately.

The story's kind of weak, but it's enjoyable; however; the movie felt kind of... empty at parts and sometimes the animation wasn't at it's bed and seemed very juddery, but this was mostly in the beginning and wasn't even noticable in the second half of the movie. It wasn't much of a bother but I did think my disk was broken at once.

The soundtrack's pretty good, it's mostly orchestral; however; in the English cut version, it's completely different and goes more well with the whole "England" feel, but I like my anime to be untouched and as it should be.

And finally, the character's in this are quite good too. From a steam-obsessed boy to a man with a cyborg eye, this movie is pretty impressive, but nowhere near as good as Akira, but don't be biased and skip this movie. It's worth the watch.

8.5/10 (M.A.L shows it as 8)

I saw the Director's Cut of Steamboy recently, which had me reevaluate the movie more positively than I had in the past. Not that much more positively, mind you.

Steamboy is, if the title didn't already imply, a Victorian England Steampunk movie. I have no hate against Steampunk, but no love for it either, and Steamboy, I feel, falls flat on the premise of having awesome steam-powered machines fueling the action. They're there, but only on a small scale.

The premise of Steamboy is that two famous father-son inventors have discovered a marvelous steam-powered machine part which will change the future of mankind. The grandson gets involved ... in the plot, thinking that his father is dead, and his grandfather has entrusted to him the most prized of their proprietary inventions: the Steamball.

Steamboy does a few things right, but far many more things wrong. The O'Hara foundation, who is funding the Steam family's research, is interested in harnessing the power for weapons of war. Their English opposition, on the other hand... is... also, interested in harvesting the power for weapons of war? Taking place in 1866 England, the American Civil War has already passed, so not only does and English vs. American war seem out of place, but the idea of warmongering for either country seems mismatched.

This isn't really a fault of the movie, though, since the ideas are much more generalized: should science be used to advance the military prowess of powerful countries, or not? Does humanity suffer from the advancement of military technologies, or does it merely allow the most powerful countries to assert their culture as the proper and right culture and enforce their beliefs onto the less powerful, or does the creation of man-annihilating machines simply allow the powerful to decimate their opposition?

Unfortunately, Steamboy only dwells on this issue for about 15 minutes of the two hour runtime. The majority of the film revolves around the grandfather-father-son dillema of who is right - the crazed father or the righteous grandfather? This conflict could have been more dynamic, as we see in earlier scenes that the father has been writing home consistently even though it's been censored by his company, but later on it's revealed that he's insane anyway, so the point becomes moot. The movie does try to stick it to the industrial-military complex at points, but this seems mostly childish, as evidences by the main proprietor / opposer of those ideas, namingly, the spoiled O'Hara child.

Steamboy could have succeeded on a philosophical and emotional level, but it wraps itself too much around the conflict of the ridiculous situation at stake: a giant steam-powered floating island which is about to crash into London. Considering that I haven't heard about the "great crashing of the steam castle into London" in history books, I can't say I was too intrigued by what the outcome was going to be. There is definite potential in Steamboy if you're a fan of the Steampunk genre, but don't expect more than is on the surface.