The Past

Steamboy (スチームボーイ) by Katsuhiro Otomo is a poster film for steampunk, set in Victorian England.

Released in Japan in the middle of 2004, it is the most expensive full length Japanese animated movie made to date (initial production cost = USD26,000,000). Not unsurprisingly, it was in production for 10 years and utilized more than 180,000 drawings and 440 CG cuts.


The world of Steamboy is set in an alternate reality: features several geopolitical and industrial circumstances that developed differently or at a different pace, sometimes as a result of advanced technological paradigms that were accomplished via the science already present in the 19th century.
However, this film also showcases the choices on the use of technology made by its owners:

• To use it solely for one's profit without regard for the consequences?
• To "underutilize" for more innocent purposes?
• Or to use it yourself for the sake of others?

In the closing credits of the film, we see the possible outcomes of such decisions:
1. Ray becomes a superhero via the use of his jet pack to help others.

2. His father, Eddy, becomes a powerful villain through his knowledge of steam machines.

3. Ray's grandfather introduces Ray to electric energy via a light bulb on his deathbed.

4. World War One being fought with zeppelins due to the introduction of advanced technology.

As the race car of technology speeds faster and faster along in the 21st century,
such questions are pertinent to humankind more than ever.

*Screenshots were taken from a DVD-Video format video

Footnotes on steam power and steampunk:
Steam power was the forefront of the energy industry during the Industrial Revolution.
The first steam "machine" which was in existence by the 1st century, is the aeoliphile (picture below): which was more for diversion rather than for any practical uses.


The first steam engine developed for industrial use by the English engineer Thomas Savery in 1698, who constructed and patented in London the Miner's Friend, which was used to pump water from mines. Steam power was subsequently taken to greater heights in industry by inventors such as Thomas Newcomen and James Watt.

Steam engines remained the dominant source of power well into the 20th century, when advances in electric motors and internal combustion engines replaced steam engines in many areas of the the machine world.

Drawing inspiration from this chunk of history is the steampunk sub-genre.
Steampunk media is often set in the Victorian era where steam powered machines are still widely used; and often portrays the technological development of these machines to be much more advanced than in reality.

Steampunk in media includes the comic book series and movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; as well as computer game titles like Arcanum, Siberian and Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends. A good example of steampunk anime apart from Steamboy is Howl's Moving Castle (Studio Ghibli) by Hayao Miyazaki.

Similar questions linger in the future.