Film Version: unedited & subtitled
Length: 2 hours (PG-13)
Release Date: 03/18/2005
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
I've always felt that the only way for a community of fans of Japanese animation to actually come together in order to enjoy a certain presentation; whether those fans be highly supportive of English language tracks, or die-hard purists who prefer the raw originals, or overly obsessive law-breaking fansubbers, I've always felt that the one place where such alliances dissolve: is the movie theater.
My reason for saying such is actually quite simple, which is that when you go and watch an anime film in movie theaters... it is different than watching some random kid-action animated program on your average afternoon cable TV block that was chosen out of marketing purposes, it is different than watching a poor quality gore anime on your regular (or not so regular) digital cable or satellite channel that was chosen for its shock factor, it is different than feeling that tinge of guilt of downloading some arbitrary new release in the gutter of the Internet, it is even different than going to your local music, DVD, or general entertainment store and renting or buying an anime title that you think is cool, simply because you read about it in a magazine or on a website, or simply because the DVD packaging is slick... When you go to watch a Japanese animated feature film in the movie theater, presented in the original manner to an of which audience its creators had originally intended, you experience something entirely different, perhaps even granting you, an experienced anime fan or a novice anime fan, an epitome.
I love going to movie theaters to see feature length anime films. Knowing that as the film reel starts rolling, that each and every hand-crafted image that is about to appear on the giant screen in front of me was created with the distinct purpose of appearing on an enormous apparatus such as a movie screen, and knowing that each and every detail of the film I am about to see has been mulled over and critiqued for several years, I begin to develop and further my appreciation for the creators of this medium more and more. And, like all forms of true and brilliant art, a healthy experience of watching Japanese animation in a movie theater, will teach you something about yourself.
Obviously not the first time I have traversed several miles in order to see an anime film in theaters, and most definitely not the last, I recently made the effort to see Katsuhiro Otomo's latest creation, Steamboy as distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Having worked on a wide number of animated projects throughout his career, while personally spearheading only a few, writer and director Katsuhiro Otomo is an individual within the anime and manga industry that all professionals and veteran fans revere. Having enveloped the genre of science fiction and drama with his manga Akira which spanned thousands upon thousands of pages, and having rewritten and overhauled and revolutionized the purpose of the theatrical film with Akira back in 1988, and having re-immersed the anime viewing community in its own entertaining yet satirically poignant existence with the compilation Memories in 1995, Katsuhiro Otomo is a man with an unspeakable amount of influence in the animated medium. Although successful in regular television programming and other
entertaining areas of production, it is within anime and manga that Otomo holds the distinction of being called a renaissance man.
And so we come to Steamboy, a theatrical feature birthed originally from the concept of the "Cannon Fodder" short work Otomo produced for Memories, Steamboy of which centers on a young man and his journey into adulthood and maturity as wrought by political corruption, social discomfort, and familial contention. Originally released in Japan in the spring of 2004, this particular movie has acquired a unique press and popularity, and as it has come and gone through a western release in but an instant, it would appear that the mixed reviews hovering about the industry would only continue. While fans and critics are quick to note that Otomo's theatrical follow up to Akira is not as overtly dynamic as the previously mentioned, I would argue that it is just as, if not more so, ambitious. Steamboy is an outstanding movie, and although is not significantly violent with overly pretentious child protagonists, excels far beyond the dramatic integrity of its predecessor.
I've always felt that the only way for a community of fans of Japanese animation to actually come together in order to enjoy a certain presentation; whether those fans be highly supportive of English language tracks, or die-hard purists who prefer the raw originals, or overly obsessive law-breaking fansubbers, I've always felt that the one place where such alliances dissolve: is the movie theater.
My reason for saying such is actually quite simple, which is that when you go and watch an anime film in movie theaters... it is different than watching some random kid-action animated program on your average afternoon cable TV block that was chosen out of marketing purposes, it is different than watching a poor quality gore anime on your regular (or not so regular) digital cable or satellite channel that was chosen for its shock factor, it is different than feeling that tinge of guilt of downloading some arbitrary new release in the gutter of the Internet, it is even different than going to your local music, DVD, or general entertainment store and renting or buying an anime title that you think is cool, simply because you read about it in a magazine or on a website, or simply because the DVD packaging is slick... When you go to watch a Japanese animated feature film in the movie theater, presented in the original manner to an of which audience its creators had originally intended, you experience something entirely different, perhaps even granting you, an experienced anime fan or a novice anime fan, an epitome.
I love going to movie theaters to see feature length anime films. Knowing that as the film reel starts rolling, that each and every hand-crafted image that is about to appear on the giant screen in front of me was created with the distinct purpose of appearing on an enormous apparatus such as a movie screen, and knowing that each and every detail of the film I am about to see has been mulled over and critiqued for several years, I begin to develop and further my appreciation for the creators of this medium more and more. And, like all forms of true and brilliant art, a healthy experience of watching Japanese animation in a movie theater, will teach you something about yourself.
Obviously not the first time I have traversed several miles in order to see an anime film in theaters, and most definitely not the last, I recently made the effort to see Katsuhiro Otomo's latest creation, Steamboy as distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Having worked on a wide number of animated projects throughout his career, while personally spearheading only a few, writer and director Katsuhiro Otomo is an individual within the anime and manga industry that all professionals and veteran fans revere. Having enveloped the genre of science fiction and drama with his manga Akira which spanned thousands upon thousands of pages, and having rewritten and overhauled and revolutionized the purpose of the theatrical film with Akira back in 1988, and having re-immersed the anime viewing community in its own entertaining yet satirically poignant existence with the compilation Memories in 1995, Katsuhiro Otomo is a man with an unspeakable amount of influence in the animated medium. Although successful in regular television programming and other
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And so we come to Steamboy, a theatrical feature birthed originally from the concept of the "Cannon Fodder" short work Otomo produced for Memories, Steamboy of which centers on a young man and his journey into adulthood and maturity as wrought by political corruption, social discomfort, and familial contention. Originally released in Japan in the spring of 2004, this particular movie has acquired a unique press and popularity, and as it has come and gone through a western release in but an instant, it would appear that the mixed reviews hovering about the industry would only continue. While fans and critics are quick to note that Otomo's theatrical follow up to Akira is not as overtly dynamic as the previously mentioned, I would argue that it is just as, if not more so, ambitious. Steamboy is an outstanding movie, and although is not significantly violent with overly pretentious child protagonists, excels far beyond the dramatic integrity of its predecessor.