Steamboy

From creator of Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo, comes his second anime release: Steamboy. Akira is one of the classic anime ever made and Steamboy follows in those footsteps. The animation and computer effects blend together perfectly. The steampunk designs are revolutionary and quite well thought out. Steampunk anime is a subgenre of anime I wish there was more of.

Steamboy follows a young boy, Ray Steam, whose father and grandfathers are genius engineers of steam technology. The O’Hara Institute is a weapon manufacture who sponsors the Steam family’s research.

They use the Steam’s research to create steam powered weapons, suits, and vehicles. The piece de resistance is the Steam castle. The designs are awesome, some of the best I have seen. Ray is kidnapped by the O’Hara institute to join his father. The story gets quite political with the American government trying to prevent the O’Hara Institute from selling its weapons to other nations.

The film then ends with an epic battle between the O’Hara Institute and the American army. The characters are well done and the voice acting is also top notch. My favorite is Patrick Stewart who voices the eldest Steam. The anime starts fast, slows down a little in the middle but then climaxes at the end, which I wish all anime, or any film, did.  Definitely a must have for anime lovers, a masterpiece.