I wanted so much to give this a higher rating, but even with my normal anime-appreciative sensibility, I caught myself napping through much of the action. And worse, much of the movie I was hoping to see occured only in montage during the end credits.

As a longtime fan of Otomo's work, I must say that Steamboy is a lousy film to heap on the same public that adored Akira. The movie stands shakily on a nonexistent plot, endless tirades against capitalism, and fundamental misunderstandings of both Steam and Science. As a reminder— steam engines work by heating water and pressurizing it. Removing the heat gives you water. Somehow all the steam in this movie is the ‘cold steam’ variety—the secret to cold fusion, perhaps? Newtonian physics are also ignored/forgotten, i.e. the whole opposite and equal reaction thing. Not a big deal in a flight o’ fancy, but if you choose to use steam for propulsion and a Steam Castle (?), at least be consistent with it. The story leaks power at all sorts of spotty gaps, and the central premise is that “Science is to make us happy.” Bwuh? The sum of the mad inventor’s life-mission is to create a steam-powered carousel on top of a Steam Castle!?! Plug-in the steam ball and let ‘er rip! I would give this a lower rating, but it is the product of a masterful animation team. Sadly, it would have been so much more interesting with the sound off, and no designs on a script—which is likely how the design team looked at it during production. Deserves a 1, save for the laugh-so-hard-my-sides-hurt-at-its-inanity discussion we had after the film. Oh yeah: it’s pretty too.… Expand

The movie is… not that great. The animation and art is superb, but the fact that it takes over two hours to cover a very shallow plot… makes for an unrewarding film. The idea of “super steam” just didn’t cut it for me. I was hoping that the steam gimmick was simply a backdrop to a moving story, but neither the steam nor the story managed to captivate me. Also, there was no character development at all during the movie… which made it drag. This one is definitely a rental.… Expand

Not too bad. Great animation, not so great story.

It didn't suck.

It lacks the focus Akira, meaning it's hard to tell what the main point of the plot it, cause he just seems to switch sides all the time. However, there's plenty of eye candy and a good score. The themes of science's use are vague, but maybe katsuhiro otomo wanted a more open ended movie.

Simply amazing in everything. The animation, score, the characters, and the story. This is the best film I saw in 2005 and in my opinion was better than Crash and King Kong. It's even better than Akira. The non - stop rush of action scenes and machinery absorbs you into the world of Steamboy.

Easily one of the best anime movies ever. If you liked Akira you will like this movie.