James Ray Steam is a brilliant young man descended from a family of genius
inventors. Ray's father Dr. Edward Steam, and grandfather Dr. Lloyd Steam, are
in the United States working on a project.
Meanwhile, Ray remains in England with his mother -- carrying on the Steam
family legacy of working on various inventions while working at a nearby
factory and studying.
One day, Ray receives a package containing the "steam ball", a compact
steam-powered energy source his grandfather invented.
Shortly after Ray gets the steam ball, strange men who claim they were sent by
the foundation Ray's father and grandfather are working for try to coerce Ray
into giving it to them.
Ray's grandfather suddenly appears out of nowhere and orders Ray to flee and
take the steam ball to a man named Robert Stephenson. A bewildered Ray escapes
with the steam ball... not knowing where he's going or what's going to happen
next.
Steamboy Anime Review
Taking a whole decade to materialize, Steamboy should perhaps be considered as
Katsuhiro Otomo's ("Akira") magnum opus. It was the rage when we went
to Japan last April, as our arrival date coincided with Steamboy's Japanese
DVD release.
Practically all the anime shops and subway stations had Steamboy banners,
posters, and various promotional materials plastered all over. There were even
TV plugs ever so often during the few times I would tune in our TV at the
hotel.
Tokyo had Steamboy fever, and I was all but clueless as to what the fuss was
about. Whatever it was, I was not willing to shell out 10,000 yen for the
Steamboy Memorial Box everyone was drooling over.
A few months later, I get my R1 DVD copy of Steamboy. Good thing it didn't
cost me anything near 10,000 yen. Visually impressive as Steamboy was, I
couldn't help but think "...that's it?" right after I watched it.
A young boy is caught in a family conflict and is eventually forced to take
sides. In this case, Ray Steam has to decide which ideal to work for: the
ultimate power for mankind, as his father Dr. Edward Steam is pursuing; or
peace, happiness, and the greater good for mankind, as his grandfather Dr.
Lloyd Steam believes in. Amidst the falling out between his father and
grandfather, Ray gets to dodge bullets, fly around using a steam-powered
apparatus, and save a damsel-in-distress.
I admit, I was sort of let down by the flat and unevenly paced plot. When the
characters are not discussing steam and its many uses
(steam ball, steam tower, etc.), they're busy turning valves and
shouting, or they're trying to escape dangerous situations. I don't know why
but I could not really feel excited even as the mechanisms threatened to
explode and all. While there's no shortage of vigorous action scenes, the film
felt strangely anti-climactic.
Take note that the end credits show a lot of interesting still images,
"photographs" of events which I assume take place right after the whole
steam ball fiasco. A nice finishing touch, but that's about it. Steamboy
actually reminded me a little bit of Otomo's animated short
"Cannon Fodder" (featured in "Memories") for some reason.
The audio visual aspect is where Steamboy truly shines. It's obvious that no
expense was spared in preparing this magnificent smorgasbord for the eyes and
ears. I can't even begin to describe how meticulously detailed every single
scene is.
I was awed by just about everything onscreen. The beautifully portrayed
English countryside looked like a landscape that had come to life, while the
city of London came off every bit as authentic and industrialized as that time
period would allow.
Character designs are more realistic than animesque, giving Steamboy an almost
live-action feel. Animation is smooth as silk, a perfect merging of 2D and 3D,
cel and computer imagery. I can guarantee even non-anime fans would be very
much overwhelmed by the whole spectacle.
The English dubbing is commendable. Anna Paquin does a good job of playing a
teenage boy, albeit her supposed-to-be English accent is rather wanting. Her
co-stars all do wonderfully though. I enjoyed listening to Dr. Edward, Dr.
Lloyd, and Scarlett deliver their lines. I actually felt the English dub track
suited the film better than the Japanese track did.
Steamboy is typical family entertainment fare -- except for the fact that
Otomo infuses an extremely simple and straightforward story with philosophical
angles that serve little purpose but to make things seem more complicated than
they actually are. Really, no amount of pondering can make Steamboy anything
more than what it is -- a visual tour de force, but not much else. Overall
disappointing and over-hyped, but still worth watching.
Miscellanies: Steamboy
Steamboy's running time is 126 minutes. I wonder if Katsuhiro Otomo is a fan
of "Gone with the Wind"? He did name Steamboy's main female character Scarlett
O' Hara...
Steamboy | |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi |
|---|---|
| Episodes | 1 |
| Status | Finished Airing |
| Aired | Jul 17, 2004 |
| Producers | Bandai Visual, Dentsu, TBS, Imagica, Bandai, Toho, Culture Publishers |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Rating | PG-13 - Teens 13 or older |
| Themes | Historical, Military |
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