In the Victorian era, the British Empire is bustling with the energy of the steam-powered industrial revolution. Following in the footsteps of his famous family of inventors, James Ray Steam enjoys his youth in Manchester helping at local factories and stealing components for his own creations. One day, he receives a package containing a strange ball with an attached valve from his grandfather, who has been working in the United States alongside Ray's father. However, it is not long before people from the O'Hara Foundation storm into his house demanding he hand it over.
Confused and afraid, Ray attempts to flee to the home of his grandfather's colleague, Robert Stephenson, with pursuers hot on his trail. While Ray seeks to piece together the secret of the ball and discover the power it contains, it seems practically everyone in the British Empire is ready to seize it from him.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Skadi
Steamboy is intended to be one of those grand adventure stories set in fantastical world with pure hearted heroes and nefarious villains. It certainly has high production values and some incredible CGI effects and action. But in the end it fails to really deliver those ambitious goals. The plot of Steamboy is really nothing all that original. If you've seen any adventure stories before then the overall premise is going to feel very familiar to you. The story centers around the boy Ray Steam, who is an inventor from a family of inventors. After he receives a mysterious package from hisgrandfather he soon finds himself chased by villains who want it for themselves. The story has lofty goals but by the time the movie ends, I found myself confused about what actually happened and what the purpose of the whole thing was. Also it didn’t feel like any of the villainous characters ever really faced any consequences for their actions and the only people hurt were the innocents they stepped on throughout the story. Maybe I am being to idealistic but I want the bad guys to get their just deserts, and Steamboy didn’t leave me feeling that they had.
There is a lot of very good action in Steamboy however. Fans of action will have a lot to like here. The battles and action scenes are marvelous to watch and the CGI effects are wonderfully embedded within the animation. The movie also does a wonderful job in building a Victorian Age fantasy with amazing steam powered machines of all types. It reminds me a lot of a Jules Verne style story.
Ray Steam is an adequate leading character. He is heroic and idealistic and very much a standard and predictable character type for this kind of story. There just isn’t enough development of his past or personality to make him all that compelling or memorable. Scarlett is even less interesting as we learn almost nothing about her either. I did not find her to be all that likable nor did I care much about what happened to her. She’s spoiled and arrogant and cruel to animals. She seems to make a little progress as the story unfolds but not enough to make me actually like her. Steamboy's villains are not anymore interesting. While they don’t fit the black/white stereotype that one often seen in these characters for this story type their motivations are obscure and not well defined for most of them. The ones that are just don’t give you enough reasons to dislike them and cheer on our hero.
While the animation was really top notch in most cases, I did not care for the character designs. Particularly that of Scarlet as she looked more like a cross dressing boy than a girl. As I mentioned the animation for the various steam machines and action was amazing. The level of detail and fantastic designs were definitely a highlight. The music and acting was all very good though. The background music did a lot to build the grand scale of the movie.
Steamboy is overall though just an average adventure story. I certainly didn’t dislike this movie at all, I've just seen a lot better. Still I don’t think anyone would dislike this so if you enjoy fantasy and adventure stories, Steamboy will be well worth your time.
Beatnik
This is the weirdest anime I've ever seen. It's not 'weird' as in something ridiculously abstract or disturbing, but weird in other ways. The alternate-history setting is a visual feast for the eyes via Production I.G's commitment to detail and quality animation. The dub is actually really good, and this is coming from a guy who hates dubs. But in a story like this where its set completely in 19th century England, it would be too strange to hear Japanese voices, so the heavy Manchester and cockney London accents fit very well with what's going on. Yeah, an anime set entirely in19th century England, with no Japanese characters, weird already.
And damn if what's going on isn't bloody amazing. I actually think this is a two act story which is very interesting and unconventional. For any laymen to cinema theory reading this, most common films have three act structures, but Steamboy is basically Setup and then Resolution. Maybe a bit of an act 2 is floating around somewhere in this strange anime, but you'd be hard pressed to find it, as it moves so quickly from a beginning that feels deceivingly generic: a regular boy-receives-package-and-goes-on-run-with-it scenario that doesn't follow all the clichés of the past thankfully, but instead saves us the trouble of watching the story lull then pick up then lull over and over again. No, Steamboy just keeps going from the first chase scene and doesn't let up until the destructive climax.
But what a climax. There are images in this anime that are purely breathtaking. Images you've never seen before. Katsuhiro Otomo's eye for apocalyptic action is second-to-none; no one can do it better than him. Seeing it in action in London is a treat. His direction, especially in action sequences, gives you scope to all the mayhem, his pans and tracking shots are perfect.
Its all complemented by humour in the form of a bunch of weapons buyers on a tour of a gigantic weapon of mass destruction, unwittingly being involved in the 'demonstration', to sly observations of Londoners’ reactions to horrific disasters unfolding in front of them, it's never forced but very quirky and funny.
Steamboy can be criticised for its two act structure and may lead people to believe it's all style and no substance, and I wont even try to defend it's attempts at philosophising on the purpose of science and technology, as the two characters that keep spouting their speeches gets old very quickly, but this anime is simply unlike any other out there and for that reason alone it deserves your full attention.
There are so many things going on in Steamboy, from the surface narrative of a boy being dragged into an ideological quarrel between his father and grandfather, to the philosophical implications of steam technology on the 19th and 20th century, and most interestingly of all: that this was actually the origin of a superhero which just made me grin big time.
Lady_Death_Cat
Let me sum this anime 4 you very easily: It's steampunk based. Those who cannot conceive this genre will most likely be displeased with this anime, those who have no idea what steampunk is will have varying views & opinions, however to those who know & in a way like steampunk then this anime is definitely 4 you. The only down-side to this anime I see is that it is very generic steampunk but I also see this as its bet asset to those who are interested in understanding this genre.
Xinil
First, let me say that I wasn't expecting much going into this film. Seeing as how it isn't directed by Miyazaki and I hadn't heard much of anything about it, I didn't plan on being impressed. Well, much to my surprise, I really enjoyed Steamboy. Sure, it wasn't anything miraculous and magical like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, but it had some of that "wonder" to it. Some of the decisions the characters made were a little too "that wouldn't happen", but aside from some of those, I really, really enjoyed the story. Biggest gripe I had with the movie was the animation. I couldn'tsee about 20% of the film because it was too dark. Quite a few scenes are nearly pitch black and unless you have some crazy contrast, you'll miss what's going on.
All in all, definitely an enjoyable watch. I'd see it again, but I wouldn't place it as high as a Miyazaki piece.
770312
Story: The retelling of history has been done many times in various series, it can be fun a lot of times, but Steamboy really dropped the ball this time. Many times actually, Ray just couldn't keep a hold of it. [oh snap, a pun] *ahem* I'm still not really sure what they were trying to do with the story. Apparently the kid's father had some skewed view on science and decided to start a war with Britain. There wasn't much of a lead up to this, it just kind of happened at some point. There are far too many obstacles for Ray. Each time heis tasked with doing something some random person or thing gets in his way. Yeah, obstacles make the story interesting and all, but not when they are so ridiculous and far fetched... and numerous. This is a retelling of history and this is an anime, but the inventions were just too much. They didn't seem believable in the least bit which is kind of disappointing when they're such a big part of the movie. The story just was not interesting at all.
Art: The art is pretty much the only thing this movie has going for it. It's extremely detailed and just beautiful. Some of the larger scenes, such as the beginning of the festival, are filled with such grandeur that you almost forget that you are watching something so terrible. The London Exhibit, Crystal Palace, is another prime example of the beauty in this series. I've seen it in other series, but in this movie it is just wonderful. The last ten minutes or so are especially gorgeous.
Sound: I didn't find myself noticing too much of the regular music, it was a bit bland. The pieces during the more action packed sequences and the ending were superb. They fit extremely well with the scenes and were just phenomenal. The sound would have gotten a ten, but like I said, the music during regular scenes was just average.
Characters: None of them were very well done. I didn't feel any sort of connection with a single one. The main character, Ray, is just a typical good boy and that's pretty much it. Then there is the Miss Scarlet character... I don't get her at all. She was made out to be extremely stuck up and terrible in the beginning, she even abused her poor dog!, yet she somehow turns out to be the romance interest of Ray. Her character was just bland and had no depth, just like their relationship. The other characters didn't have anything going for them either, they were fueled by greed, misguided philosophies, and various other cliche driving forces. The father was one of the worst as well; changes in heart after being a complete douche are just lame.
Enjoyment: This was one of the first movies I considered dropping in the middle of it. The story and characters were just so bad that I almost couldn't keep watching. The only thing that kept me watching was hope that it would somehow redeem itself in the end, a hope that was completely wasted and silly. I can't say I enjoyed this at all really.
Overall: Well, if you want something really nice to look at for two hours I'd say give this movie a watch. If you're looking for a good story.... I'd seriously recommend watching something else. The lackluster story and characters, the far fetched inventions, and the ill placed obstacles completely ruin this movie. This is definitely something that should be passed by unless you are willing to sit through two hours of crap just for amazing animation.
If you don't find this review helpful, please send me a PM or leave a comment as to why you feel that.
bedheadred
Steamboy is one of the most expensive Japanese animated movies made to date and was in production for nearly ten years. Sadly, they should have put more effort into perfecting the script for this ambitious anime. The attention to detail sets this anime apart from all others. Each cog and gear are intricately animated in the many inventions in the movie. The architecture of Victorian London is duplicated perfectly. The CGI used was so seamless, I didn't notice. The sound track is grand and befitting of the time period. The anime has no clear message and is clouded by characters whose purpose is ambiguous. Theprotagonist is faced with a situation where he must side with either the word of his father or grandfather. No evidence is presented to the viewer as to which character is more credible besides the father looking more diabolical as he was disfigured in an accident. Next enters Miss Scarlet, a young, spoiled heiress. Is her character supposed to be comic relief or an analogy about society being blissfully ignorant to scientific advancement used to further war as long as profits are made? Finally, during the second half of the movie, massive destruction of property occurs, and you would assume loss of life. The movie takes the "no one ever dies in a children's movie" philosophy. I feel that if there had been consequences in the movie, the message of the anime might have shown through instead of being buried in the interpersonal struggles.
While Steamboy offers breathtaking animation and the voice acting of Patrick Stewart, the story telling definitely runs out of steam.
mdauben
An amazing looking movie, with spectacular artwork and animation. Unfortunatly, the story and characters were not of the same high quality. An enjoyable enough movie to watch, but it fails to capture the magic of a true classic.
Danim3
With nearly 9 years of production time and a budget of 2.4 billion yen (over 20 million dollars), Steamboy is the most expensive Japanese animation ever to be made. And oh boy you can see that. Large-scale views of London, with tons of people, details of the fictional machines, and, especially, the steam - everything is done perfectly, creating an amazing world that instantly swallows you in its depths of this future-in-the-past scenario. The story of goes back to the 19th century England, when steam still was the main source of power. One day, a young child Ray Steam, working as a maintenance boy in a factory,receives a package with an ingenious device called "steamball", born in an experiment of his grandfather, Lloyd Steam, and his father, Edward Steam. Just after that, mysterious people appear at the front of his door, and they insist on handing them over the device. But Ray has inherited the inventor genes of his ancestors, and it is not an easy task for the villains to get him...
The character design is great, from the mad scientist family of Steams, desperate in their ways, but still kind to their offspring, down to the colorful and proud upper-class girl Scarlett, holding herself for extremely important, but still not egoistic in any way. I especially enjoyed seeing, how Scarlett's naively stark pride makes her fully forget her fear. There were moments, where I would have fainted, if I were her (I can't handle the heights, but there were more).
All in all, this is a professional artwork, which immediately became a must-see classic on my list. As expected after 9 years of production with a budget of over 20 million dollars. The only thing, that dragged my enjoyment down to 9 and the overall mark with it, are the pitch-dark action scenes, in which I hardly saw anything and could only hear something happening. But I guess this could have been caused by the poor quality of the transmission, the sound was very low too, so I had to max out the volume.
And don't turn it off right when the credits begin to show up. The background images represent an epilogue to the story, and each picture has much more in it, than it could seem at first. They masterfully fill in the lack of character development, which is a problem movies are usually doomed to suffer from, in comparison with anime series.
Sidewinder51
Rate a 6 English Dubbed There are 5 types of thinkers:Concrete, Analytical, Logical, Imaginative, Creative. I happen to be more analytical. This movie is for those that are creative and Imaginative. The movie progresses in a path taking adventure. Each path has its pros and cons. While the main character has his path already marked the anime forces the viewer to reflect themselves to see where they stand. In my view both sides were the same with slightly different agendas, making the siding choice hard. I am an adult i can only imagine it would be harder to make as a child(the main character). If that wasn'thard enough a loved one was on both sides.
Would i change anything if given the chance? No. Sure, this movie wasn't always riveting in excitement it did a good job at illustrating their main points. From cover art down to the ending. In the cover art for example the main character is basically begging the viewer to partake in his adventure. To see if he could do a better job. As for the color choice of red it perfect as well. Red represents fire which can be seen as frustration and passion. Both of which have a heavy impact in the show.
Although, while no 'pipe' or 'valve' was in the red zone this movie failed to get an emotional rise from me. For each character had an evil side to them. How is a good moral person like myself expected to side with a character who doesn't abide to what he sets out to do? In other words the character is not dedicated but hypocritical.
If this movie was meant for deep thinking and debating. Well done. The more i think about where i stand for this review the more 'heated' i become.
p.s. This movie unlike most anime is told in many forms of languages.
Ilyaoh
I base my reviews on my feelings, my thoughts and my enjoyment referring the specific series. So this is not a overly professional critic's review. First off all, I bought this straight on DVD the moment it got released, so my experience with audio/subtitles etc. Can be a bit different then the people who watched it from fansubbers. The fact that I bought it on DVD is because people who worked on the hitmovie, Akira, also worked on Steamboy for several years, noticeable from the drawing style. We'll go right further with that. The animation in Steamboy is really amazing if you ask me, the steam itself, thefast scene's on the steamball and Ray's own invention are truly fascinating, I missed most of the original story, just to be amazed by the animation. (May this be a warning to people who love the work of animation)
The story itself is good too, in my opinion, I won't write a small summary here, since someone already took the liberty to add one to the series page, (probably somewhere above this review). The plot takes out pretty well, it's starts in an exciting way with an amazing escape and a chase throughout a part of the city and nearby fields.
As for the animation, the art's a big and important factor of animation and of course the movie itself. Most of the art was just like the previous project Akira, only improved. The characters were "standards" and yet unique for they're way of movement, talking and thinking. You won't be bored here, but you won't be too suprised either. The introduction of the characters is well done in different ways either, yet again, not to suprising scene's.
The sound (on DVD ofcourse) is set with a few options, DDS versions etc. Nothing new, but the sound's pretty good, the voice-actors, the machine sounds and most of the backgrounds music is really good.
I rewatched this movie several times since I bought it, and although it's highly enjoyable at start, the few times after it stays the same. For an anime movie, this is pretty good, I don't rewatch alot of animated movie's.
So there's a 9 for the story, 10's for the Art, Sound and Enjoyment, and an 8 for the characters. Which I calculate to a 10 overall.
datOneperson
This movie was overall a good idea, but after watching it, it was nothing spectacular. What stood out the most was the "machine" aspect. There were lots of things moving throughout and it definitely held your attention. I liked how the "family of geniuses" was concentrated on. You were able to root for the good guy more because of it, at least thats what I did. Still overall, there was some good this and that, but nothing was amazing.
FOLC0N
Visually it is very well done, even if the art work does come across as simplistic at times. Regardless it is visually stunning and a joy to watch. The main character follows the standard Hollywood track of an unlikely hero trying to save the day. However the story structure is new and kept my interests through out. By the second act you really do care what will happen to the characters. Great characterization with an original story line. Steam boy has great voice acting as well as super musical score of the film. The Manchurian lead boy genuinely sounds Manchurian. Plus the score fits andhelps set the atmosphere.
My only strong criticism of this film is that I personally would not watch it again; there was nothing spectacular enough to make me want to watch it again. Nevertheless I would recommend seeing once as it is a fun film, that is visually pleasing, interesting and original.
jyagan0
I found this to be a great little morality play that constantly challenges its audience from different points of view. It challenges us to define a purpose for science; do more violent machines mean more war? Does the ability to innovate come without responsibility? Should the weapon makers be held accountable for their massive “collateral damage” or are they accountable only to their corporate shareholders? This little steam-punk anime is set in the mid-1800s. Funny. I just returned from seeing Iron Man. It’s set in the 21st Century yet it asks the same questions... I liked “Steamboy” even though it made the father and grandfatherout to be raving lunatics. Still, it leaves open a discussion of child as father to the man. I saw the subtitled version but I’ve ordered the dubbed version for my collection. It’s easier to share thoughts on a film like this when one’s guests haven’t been forced to read it – and “Steamboy” is definitely a film to share!
BowlingJD
The famous Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of Akira, with the help of Studio Sunrise, brings another creation of his to film. Steamboy came in the form of a steampunk adventure within an alternate timeline around 1860. In many ways, it shares similarities to Akira mixed within a Victorian-Era compared with something directly out of an H.G. Wells book. It certainly has countless original ideas and a compelling story to go along with it. Immediately, the story opens around a young man named Ray receiving a package from his grandfather. Then, villainous men show up to get this package and thus begins the adventure of constant running away.This package contains a “steam ball” which can perfectly store steam power under immense pressures. In this time, steam has become something like nuclear technology of today, and the science behind it runs everything. This created an incredible steampunk environment and atmosphere for the story. The escape scene Ray must go through just to keep this new invention away from the bad guys is both hilarious and edge-of-your-seat action. It goes from Ray escaping on an invention like a messed-up vibrating unicycle to an epic train scene being chased by this steam powered death tank. It all fits nicely at the start. Inevitably Ray gets caught and taken to where his father is. News flash, his father is bad and wants to use the steam ball to power a machine of mass destruction.
Steamboy has amazing artwork setting an amazing tone of how mankind relies solely off of machine technology. Unfortunately, because everything is in this Victorian-Era and steam oriented, this leads to the colour pallet of a grey sky in Germany during Fall. It means that the entire film is very dreary and bland. The voice acting across all languages from English to Japanese and even German, are outstanding at least. However, the characters are pretty one-dimensional for the most part. It’s not a flaw worth docking points, but the main female character in Scarlett is an odd one. She is the rich daughter of the O’Hara Foundation which wants to utilize the steam ball and sell the death machine to the highest bidder. Her character is the worst. Simply put, she is spoiled, selfish, and very naïve to the point where the viewer hopes something would shut her mouth. All the members of Ray’s family have their place, but really this anime film is about the adventure.
The film does not have much for depth other than a steampunk love story. It is one retro-futuristic invention after another with crazy action sequences taking up the majority of the movie. At one point, a third of the way through, we get steam powered armour suits murdering soldiers and these super robot soldiers roll their way through the defences. Moments like that make for either a fun action adventure, or a repetitive battle of pointless explosions depending on who is watching it. Anime fans will likely see the first.
In the end, Steamboy and its incredible production value does not bring the most in depth story or characters. However, the fun steam action and over-the-top villainous attitudes do not disappoint. Steamboy is a fun anime movie for those action junkies out there.
VR_Densha_Otaku
I grew around steam and I loved it, the art has to be some of my most favorite steampunk-esque work done to date, it feels grounded and yet I know it's not real. Loved the Alterative history about it, and I'm a big fan of "what if's?" and so forth I also like the fact that it looks and feels like victorian england, the arcitecture of the streets and stations feel like the UK hecc the trains look and sound like they were there (I could name some of the engines that looked like desgins lifted off the Midland railway) which I applaud, Ok yeah some of theEnglish voice dubs are grating but I can deal with them..
KishinEgg2
The premise of this movie is that steam is a ridiculously powerful source of energy (which it kind of is when you think about it) and that in Manchester, England a boy named James Ray Steam ends up receiving a metal ball filled with powerfully concentrated steam from his grandfather, Lloyd Steam. He can’t let it fall into the wrong hands or its immense power could be used to take over the world (or something of that sort). This movie features top-notch animation, great voice-acting (especially in the English version, surprisingly with the likes of Patrick Stewart), and a story that is easily comprehended byWestern audiences. While Otomo does have surreal works that even rival some of Satoshi Kon’s, this is most certainly not one of them. Costing a whopping $22 million and ten years to make, this ranks as my overall favourite film directed by Otomo to date.
vattgholu
Fantastic art, beautifully rendered animations that feel very fluid. For a movie titled "Steamboy" I strongly expected steam punk aesthetics throughout the movie and was met higher than my expectations. Character designs and artwork regarding its historical setting was contextually very accurate, and made for a very swift immersion for audiences into the world and beginning of the plot. Easily the strongest aspect of enjoy-ability from this movie. The several chase and action scenes of the movie involving lots and lots of Steam powered machinery was very fun. Most flaws lie in the writing of this movie, and it is rare for me to rate a movieabove a 5 with lacking writing as it is arguably the heart of any movie.
Firstly, the introduction, usage, and portrayal of the MacGuffin of the movie, the Steam Ball - was very uninspired and bland. The movie never really goes into the whys and hows of the Steam Ball, which would've made it more interesting/easier for audiences to consciously care about. However its just shrugged off as this "important thing" which has insane amounts of steam power and is juggled between the several parties for the remainder of the film. It's very easy for writers to use any form of MacGuffin as a shortcut to avoid detailed exposition, but the Steam Ball was a clear example of how NOT to use it.
Scarlett's role, in the context of the story is very VERY important. As a literary character in the movie however, was severely lacking. She didn't really serve a purpose and fell into the sad trap hole of forgettable supporting female characters.
The Steamboy himself. I felt as though his most important scenes were all done and dusted by the starting half of the film, and towards the end he simply served as a "fetchboy" of the Steam Ball without having any influence whatsoever in the events that occurred, despite the heavy foreshadowing and possible implications. Of course him carrying the Steam Ball around and stopping the antagonistic powers of the movie from abusing it was what he ultimately did, BUT it doesn't mean that the way he did it was interesting or clever.
An enjoyable movie for first time watchers, and the animation and art throughout is very satisfying to the eyes. People who love steampunk will really enjoy this film. People who don't like steampunk, will still gain interest through this film. However, the aforementioned flaws are too apparent to enjoy this movie for a second or third time.
Final Wording: GEARLTY PLEASURE
thiccvader
The most British anime with an alternative Victorian-era war setting and surprisingly, it's by far the best steampunk-related “animation” I've ever watched. Well, kind of. At first, Steamboy seems promising with its philosophy of science versus science as the nation's military forefront plot, whereby scientific achievement is acknowledged as a scale to maximizes power. Those two very distinctive beliefs are stimulated by Dr. Eddie and Dr. Lloyd which also happened to be the main character Ray's dad and grandpa. Dr. Eddie believes that science as mankind's modern God should have been used for military purposes while at the same time, Dr. Lloyd believes that science shouldbe used for the greater good and not for the greedy shareholders in the capitalist world.
But as time progresses, the debate between those two characters is getting really really reaaaallly boring. It felt like the film is suffocating me with its never ending midpoint plus their lack of emotional build ups, and to be honest if its not for their highly detailed “animation” i’ve mentioned earlier, i would for sure click the stop button cuz holy schnitzel i legit wanted to punch my laptop screen. To think that at first i thought Dr. Eddie is the antagonist made me wanted to punch both my face and my laptop screen (again) simultaneously cuz in the end it doesn't matter, both Dr. Eddie and Dr. Lloyd is just a bunch of sick delusional boomers that are blinded by their judgments. And when it finally gets better in their "rising action" act, the film somehow shifts its attention into a hero concept film by using Ray’s child innocence, sigh. But oh wait it gets worse when you hit the climax. The only way i can explain it into words without giving any spoilers is basically like listening to Vivaldi's The Four Seasons Summer in Presto opening that goes on and on but twice the speed with no ending at all.
The only interesting part i find from this film is their character placements. By placing three very different generations as their main focus and Ray as the center, it perfectly explained of how different their own generation view science can give a huge impact to mankind during the Victorian-era war. But to be honest that's it. I really tried to like this film tho, my expectations were very high specially this was Katsuhiro Otomo's film after Akira and Memories, which for me are two of his Magnum Opus.
So to sum it up, in the end im dissapointed and i don't think i'll ever try to rewatch it. It's suffocating and tiring, really.
minachan24
Well, here's the good thing I can say about Steamboy: it's gorgeously animated and has great character designs. It's stuff like this that makes me feel that anime is the true successor to classic Disney animation, not this 3D animation garbage that's so popular now. Okay, the bad news: the story starts off well and explores a very interesting theme of how inventions in the wrong hands can be used for evil, especially by the military. Everything goes swimmingly halfway into the movie, and then things get very confusing and hectic by the time we get to the Crystal Palace. Things go from bad to worsein the last act--it just goes on and on and on and on and on and on...and just when you think it's over, goes on and on and on some more until your eyes glaze over or you start looking at your watch.
Also, the grandfather character, who had started off being so cool, becomes a ridiculous figure. He spends the last half of the movie running around in rags like the Wild Man of Borneo.
So, verdict--an okay anime, just not a great one.
