Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
In 1860s Britain, a boy inventor finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly conflict over a revolutionary advance in steam power.
Steamboy is a visually spectacular achievement from Katsuhiro Otomo, with jaw-dropping hand-drawn animation and intricate steampunk machinery that remains among the finest in anime history. The cinematography and art direction are genuinely exceptional, showcasing incredible detail in every frame of Victorian England. However, the plot is a significant weak point — it meanders through a convoluted conflict involving the Steam Ball, with underdeveloped characters and a muddled ideological debate about science and progress that never fully coheres. The ending in particular suffers from bloat and incoherence, going on far too long with escalating destruction that loses dramatic focus. The voice acting is competent but unremarkable. Novelty is solid given its distinctive steampunk aesthetic and Otomo's singular vision, though it doesn't quite reach the genre-defining heights of Akira.