Some of the background are so over-the-top in their detail that it's hard to imagine they ever managed to finish the film. Needless to say, chaos ensues.Įven if the visual style of Steamboy doesn't really speak to you, you'll be hard-pressed to deny the visual grandeur of this film. When Ray gets kidnapped by one of them he ends up in London, where all inventors have gathered for a big event. It doesn't take long before several parties are trying to pry the invention from Ray's hands. It's a small, steam-driven ball that harvests enormous power. The story is about Ray, a young boy who inherits an object that his father invented together with his grandfather. What you do get is a superbly detailed steampunk world. Then again, Otomo is a lot more than just "Akira", so the comparison is unfair to begin with. This is not a bad thing, but it isn't exactly what you might expect from the guy that did Akira. Even though Steamboy features a similarly explosive ending, the setting and atmosphere are way more posh and uptight. No cool motorbikes, no fancy military personnel, no special powers or mutating bodies. Otomo's switch from Neo-Tokyo to steampunk-infused London is a pretty harsh one. In spite of all its grandeur, the film was only given a very limited release and interest quickly died out once it landed in stores. Sadly the critical reception was rather meager, and the film never really reached the same cult status as Akira did. 10 years in the making, composed of over 180.000 drawings and 440 CG cuts and running a solid 126 minutes, the stats that are almost too dazzling to grasp. Steamboy is still the most epic anime undertaking to date. Steamboy may not be the film most people expected, but if you're into steampunk it's without a doubt Otomo's best film so far. Akira was a true landmark film for Japanese animation, so when Steamboy was announced a ripple of excitement went through the anime community. Even though his output is rather sporadic and not just limited to anime, Katsuhiro Otomo ( Memories, Freedom Project) is one of the most respected directors in the scene.
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