In fact, when the regent does appear late in the film, she is a composite of a young Queen Elizabeth II in Queen Victoria’s period attire.

Having already taken us to the future in Neo Tokyo, Otomo escorts us back in time to Victorian England in all but name. With conflicting stories as to the uses of the steam ball, Ray doesn’t know whom to believe.Ī decidedly less complex story compared to Akira from Otomo, Steamboy, as the title suggests, is a fantastic steampunk romp, perhaps taking the “steam” motif a bit too literally.

As if on cue, two men from O’Hara show up and Ray is forced to flee with the steam ball only to succumb to capture and is taken to London, where he is reunited with his missing father, now an employee of O’Hara’s.

Three years later, Edward’s son Ray, receives a steam ball from his absent grandfather with instructions not to let the O’Hara Foundation get hold of it. But when an experiment goes wrong, Edward is injured by frozen gasses yet spherical steam operated devices are created. Set in an alternate 19 th century England, the father and son inventor duo of Lloyd and Edward Steam have harnessed the use of pure mineral water to create an energy source from their namesake vapour, making great strides in their inventions. Arriving a staggering 16 years after his groundbreaking opus Akira, Otomo clearly likes to take his time as Steamboy is one of the most expensive anime films ever produced. The second of three “classic” anime films getting a first time release on Blu-ray in the UK is, rather fittingly, the second film from Katsuhiro Otomo. 2 Discs DVD/Blu-ray Combo (Distributor: Manga Entertainment) Running time: 127 minutes approx.

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