Steamboy

PROS: Imma get it out of the way now: the animation is some of the best i've ever seen in any animated movie ever. It's like if Otomo saw the finished product of the Akira movie and decided to do it again, but this time on steroids. I literally paused it almost constantly just to admire the level of detail in the backgrounds and the seamless transitions from background plate to animated plate is just exquisite. Character design is on point, as is the architecture and locations shown. The story takes place in 1866 in Victorian England, therefore many of the backgrounds are either recreations of or were inspired by the real-life look those places would have had in those years. For one, the recreation of the Crystal Palace is absolutely beautiful, as are many of the sky-centered backgrounds. There are so many things in the movie that appear for a few shots or frames, but upon further inspection reveal so much insane detail that it just adds to the technical prowess of the film. The film has a very ambitious plot, with many allegories and metaphors that, when looked at in tandem with current events and current sociopolitics, become very interesting and do bring about interesting conversations. There is a special shoutout i want to give to the engineering in this movie. Steamboy has a distinctive light-steampunk style, which means lots of moving parts and intersecting pieces. All the sequences where they showed engine parts were phenomenal to look at. Character-wise, they are more than plot-advancing pieces, as there is an effort felt throughout the movie to try and give them more personality and character. Some exposition scenes are actually carried by the relation/tension between characters, which makes for a less-boring watch than some very exposition-heavy media. The cinematography blew me away. For an anime movie, this felt very "movie-like" in terms of the angles used, the editing and emotional beats. Steamboy really feels like it could be a live-action movie, shot-for-shot in how similar it is to "traditional live-action" rather than other anime media.

CONS: There are a few elements which i think dragged the movie down in certain places. First off, the movie has certain pacing issues. There are a few sequences where the music indicates that things should be moving very quickly, yet the characters seem to take their time. I think that's mainly due to the fact that it is animated, since the animation tends to slow down (in certain instances) due to the techniques used. It isn't as jarring as the movie's third act, however. This film seems to have 2 third acts, which makes the movie start to drag near the end. The soundtrack is mostly unremarkable, except for a few moments where it swells up and gives the sequence an epic air to it.

PROS: Imma get it out of the way now: the animation is some of the best i've ever seen in any animated movie ever. It's like if Otomo saw the finished product of the Akira movie and decided to do it again, but this time on steroids. I literally paused it almost constantly just to admire the level of detail in the backgrounds and the seamless transitions from background plate to animated plate is just exquisite. Character design is on point, as is the architecture and locations shown. The story takes place in 1866 in Victorian England, therefore many of the backgrounds are either recreations of or were inspired by the real-life look those places would have had in those years. For one, the recreation of the Crystal Palace is absolutely beautiful, as are many of the sky-centered backgrounds. There are so many things in the movie that appear for a few shots or frames, but upon further inspection reveal so much insane detail that it just adds to the technical prowess of the film. The film has a very ambitious plot, with many allegories and metaphors that, when looked at in tandem with current events and current sociopolitics, become very interesting and do bring about interesting conversations. There is a special shoutout i want to give to the engineering in this movie. Steamboy has a distinctive light-steampunk style, which means lots of moving parts and intersecting pieces. All the sequences where they showed engine parts were phenomenal to look at. Character-wise, they are more than plot-advancing pieces, as there is an effort felt throughout the movie to try and give them more personality and character. Some exposition scenes are actually carried by the relation/tension between characters, which makes for a less-boring watch than some very exposition-heavy media. The cinematography blew me away. For an anime movie, this felt very "movie-like" in terms of the angles used, the editing and emotional beats. Steamboy really feels like it could be a live-action movie, shot-for-shot in how similar it is to "traditional live-action" rather than other anime media.

CONS: There are a few elements which i think dragged the movie down in certain places. First off, the movie has certain pacing issues. There are a few sequences where the music indicates that things should be moving very quickly, yet the characters seem to take their time. I think that's mainly due to the fact that it is animated, since the animation tends to slow down (in certain instances) due to the techniques used. It isn't as jarring as the movie's third act, however. This film seems to have 2 third acts, which makes the movie start to drag near the end. The soundtrack is mostly unremarkable, except for a few moments where it swells up and gives the sequence an epic air to it.