Steamboy is the most expensive anime-project that has ever been made, with a budget of roughly 20 million dollars; according to AniDB, at least. But then again, a high budget doesn’t always equal a good production; let’s not forget Afro Samurai and its budget of $1 million per episode. Still, Steamboy does pretty well. The graphics and action-scenes look excellent, and they’re accompanied by a great soundtrack, making this into a tense action-series. But what about the plot?
Well, this movie suffers from the so-called “bad main character”-syndrome. It’s a boy, who ends up as the centre of struggles between adults, and I don’t think I need to say more than this. He’s always right, the adults are all too busy trying to kill each other with big weapons, he’s a genius, and he never does anything wrong.
It’s the side-characters you need to look out for. They’ve all got their flaws, and it’s definitely fun to see them struggle with each other and develop throughout the movie (yes, the main character is the only flawless character, and also one of the less versatile ones, ironically). The side-characters have all got their own motives to act, and they were the ones who saved this movie from becoming a flop with eye-candy. I like how the female lead stayed away from all the clichés that plague most other shounen-adventures, and she actually became one of the most enjoyable members of the cast.
There’s one thing about the side-characters I didn’t like, though. The minor ones tend to disappear from the screen, without any trace. I would have loved to see them develop through the movie, but instead time had to be spent on the main character. Fortunately, he got better when the climax arrived, when he stopped being the centre of everything. This made the action-scenes quite tense to watch.
But yeah, like most other action-movies, Steamboy has trouble staying within the laws of physics. In most cases, this doesn’t really distract from viewing, but there’s one major exception: the main character’s (yes, him again) inventions. Especially his jetpack was just too ridiculous. I mean, how does he ever manage to both steer and cling on to it when it’s got that much thrust?
If you’re looking for action, though: look no further. This movie manages to deliver lots of it, with a fairly decent plot and interesting side-characters. Just be sure to ignore that main one.]]>
Steamboy Review – 78/100
I love your movie reviews. I have to ask: what is your favorite anime movie that you have seen so far?
That’s a good question, but I haven’t really encountered a movie that stands miles above the others. At the moment, the ones who made the most impact on me are probably Eternal Family, Spirited Away, Metropolis and the Utena-movie.
I thought Steamboy was a fantastic movie – it revisits some of the themes of Akira and Memories (namely the misuse of science and technology among other things) but setting the story in the time and place that it did, it resonates all the more. The industrial revolution was a time where society was struggling to keep up with the mushrooming influence of technology and ambition – a perfect opportunity for Otomo to set his oft-used themes out.
I also like the fact that it was set in England – the efforts that Otomo and his team to make it feel English are staggering! The Manchester backgrounds really do feel like Manchester, for instance.
My only criticism, apart from it feeling a bit overlong towards the end, echoes yours: Ray is simply too timid to be a main character when the supporting cast are so varied and interesting.
Thanks for the answer psgels.
I haven’t seen many anime movies so far(I saw only 10), but I’ve finally found a renting service in my country which has got almost all the movies. so I will rant them in the near future. I will rent them year wise, becuase I want to see how the movies changed over the years. it will be fun 🙂
So keeping doing movie reviews, becuase I would want to check your opinion after watching them.
“Especially his jetpack was just too ridiculous. I mean, how does he ever manage to both steer and cling on to it when it’s got that much thrust?”
I thought of the exact same thing when I saw him maneuvering the jet-pack. It’s the same concept in Nausicaa and many other tech animations I can’t think of at the moment, but most audiences don’t seem to mind – which is why animators/directors stay ignorant.
I also agree that the protag is very superficial and plain; it’s like one of those “if he dies, then that’s okay” kind of situation.