The story is a bit slow, but the animation in this film is amazing, I had to watch it twice just for that fact alone. I usually hate anime so that says something right there. The music is also very good, which I didn't expect. On the downside the characters are a bit flat, can't really say I could care about any of them. I neither liked nor disliked them, and as I said the story drags on a bit, although it is very original. As another reviewer said there's no climax it's just a steady pace which takes away a lot from the film. I'd say watch it to just appreciate and enjoy the great animation, but if you're looking for an amazing story skip it.

I'll leave the plot synopsis to other reviewers. Certainly this film is well worth the watch for anyone with an appetite for quality hand-drawn animation (mixed almost flawlessly with some nice 3D effects). Unfortunately it falls short in the presentation of its story. The steampunk setting is interesting enough, to be sure, but the novelty of this sci-fi / Industrial Age environment can only carry the viewer for so long.

Frankly I was getting bored stiff about halfway through it. It's not that the plot doesn't have developed characters, histories, motivations, etc...it's just that the writing, or maybe the storyboarding, was so poorly done that there is simply no build and release of suspense, no ebb and flow or calm before the storm or anything like that. It all just kind of plays out at a constant level of semi-frantic conflict that tires itself out long before the climax. It's a shame, too, considering the originality of the story and the unbelievable amount of care that went into this film's creation.

Perhaps it's worth a look just for the visuals. Otherwise I'd say it's just one of those movies you might consider watching if you have nothing else to do.

Steamboy, released in 2004 was Katsuhiro Otomo's highly anticipated directorial follow-up to Akira (Akira being probably the most well regarded Japanese anime, at least in the US). Steamboy cost a whopping $26 million, making it the most expensive full length anime ever made. But the big spending did not pay off, as the film only mustered $10 million in receipts, less than $500,000 of that coming from the United States. Personally, I am not a huge Akira fan (I hope I didn't just blow my credibility) but I still am surprised this film didn't attract a larger audience.

The film is set in 19th century Manchester where steam power is like pre-nuclear age ultimate power. It can be compressed in little orbs and when unleahed it sprays superchilled ice. Basically there are 3 generations of Steamers voiced by Rogue, Doc Ock, and Jean Luc Picard. Rogue or Ray "Steam" as he is called must decide to follow either his Father in using super steam balls and the steam castle to usher in a new scientific age, or his Grandfather in resisting the scientific advancement as that with enlightenment also brings more weapons and war. Its a decent flick, though admittedly, the power of steam bringing in the apocalypse is a bit silly, as are some of the character names. "Hi, my name is Ray Steam. Oh, and did I mention, I love steam." There is also a character named Scarlet O'Hara.

The animation blend of 2d with CG machinery however is great. In fact, the animation throughout is fantastic. It is much like that in Metropolis but with more realistic people models. Sadly, the film is not as good as Metropolis, but it is still entertaining, and different... if you are into that sort of thing. This "steampunk" adventure earns a B.

A billion years in the making, 'Steamboy' is the long awaited new feature film from the director of 'Akira'.

This is a movie which starts out amazingly, but eventually collapses under its own weight.

The 'amazing' part? It just LOOKS absolutely astonishing. Perhaps it should be a must-see film for no other reason than this. In fact it is the first, and so far the only film I have seem which doesn't just cram 2D and 3D together in a relatively inconspicuous way, it actually melds them together into an entirely new visual form, which is both 2D and 3D at the same time, but rarely gives away just how heavily computer generated it is. It really looks like an amazingly detailed 2D movie.

The whole period setting of soot-ridden Manchester circa 1900, which occupies most of the early part of the film, is gorgeously realised, too. The accents are great, the attention to detail is to drool over.

(minor spoilers ahead)

Jame's grandfather entrusts him with a mysterious metal ball which promises unlimited power. But the bad guys are out to get it, and James ends up being chased down to London where his father is putting on an exhibition involving a gigantic steam-powered, floating city (just in case you missed it, this is a sort of parallel universe tale. There have never been gigantic, steam-powered floating cities in Britain, to the best of my knowledge, though there may have been some in Sweden.)

Unfortunately if you were thinking this all sounds too good to be true, you'd be right. There is serious trouble in paradise.

The first sign of this is the worrying fact that the surname of the family is 'Steam'. That's right. Steamboy literally is Steam-Boy, because he's James Steam. The idea that a family who specialise in steam power should have the surname 'steam' is so absurd that you wonder how much the writers thought about the characters. In this world, are there other families with surnames like 'rugby player' or 'politician'? Unfortunately this lack of attention to the characters becomes more obvious during the second part of the film, which becomes largely obsessed with huge pieces of hissing machinery exploding noisily and seemingly without end. One character is added - the completely pointless 'Scarlett O'Hara' (what the hell is this all about?)

What really wrecks the ending though (if you can call the second half of the movie an 'ending') is the same thing that wrecked the end of 'Akira'. It seems that Otamu just can't resist tediously long sequences where things fly up in the air and explode. Trust me, if you like seeing gigantic things hanging in the air, blowing steam everywhere and popping rivets, you'll fall in love with 'Steamboy'.

Steamboy promised so much - the first half hour is just gobsmacking - but it eventually surrenders to its director's lack of understanding of characterisation and pacing. And I'm sorry, having Patrick Stewart raving on about how it's the most remarkable animated film ever made, isn't going to change my mind.

You should have a look at this, just to be dazzled by the visuals, but I can't bring myself to give it 3 stars. If, however, it had remained as strong as the first 30 minutes, we might have been looking at 4.

Someone should kidnap Otamu's technical crew and give them to someone who knows how to tell a story, and who understands that the climax starts near the end, not half-way through.