toqtaqiya2 Review of Steamboy

Steamboy (2004)

Steamboy takes a science-fiction look at the birth of the steam age.

[7/10 · 5 October 2010]

This full-length feature took director Katsuhiro Otomo ten years and over $20 million to make. It was repeatedly delayed because Otomo kept on wanting to perfect it. Still, the story lacks originality, replaying the central conspiracy of Akira (1988) in historical dress. A huge amount of money and skill was thrown at the screen so Steamboy is gorgeously animated. It's one of the best steampunk anime, but it's flawed. It's overlong and more attention should have been paid to improve the often clichéd script. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that a pub in the background of a street in Manchester is called the Rover's Return - a reference to Coronation Street, a long-running British soap opera "up north", and proof of how thoroughly the artists working on this film did their research.