Released to great anticipation in 2004 after an arduous 10 year production period, AKIRA director Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic scale steampunk animated film Steamboy ultimately failed to wow fans and critics, ending its domestic theatrical run in the red, earning only $18.9 million against a production budget of $26 million. At the time its release back in 2004, it was apparently the most expensive Japanese film ever made.
I like to think of the film as a failed masterpiece; the story and drama never quite reached the lofty heights of Otomo’s magnum opus AKIRA, but it is nonetheless a most visually stunning piece of animated cinema. The amount of creative labor invested is evident in the beautifully drawn, meticulously detailed storyboards; now collected in this new 2 volume set.
This new edition released with the Otomo Complete Works series of art books is in my opinion superior to the older, now out of print edition released back in 2004 ( read my review here ).
2 main technical points to consider – This new edition is slightly larger in print size, thus allowing for more detail and fidelity in the reproductions. Secondly, the print quality itself is better; by comparison, the older edition’s drawings are darker and overly contrasted, losing the nuanced details of Otomo’s pencil/graphite drawings that can be better seen and appreciated in the new edition.
Another addition point to consider is that the new edition now comes in 2 volumes, which potentially allows for more rough sketches/omitted drawings to be included in each volume. Indeed, the page count for this first volume is already 480 pages ( so likely a total of about 960 pages for Vol 1 + 2 ), while the single volume older edition is only 771 pages.
(above & below) The first few pages of the book steps the reader through a list of technical jargon used when working in the Japanese animation industry ( pertaining to camera movement/layering, etc ), many of which I had to learn when I was working at Sunrise. Regrettably, I’ve since forgotten most of them.
(above & below) I mean, really, really ridiculously detailed drawings. You might be wondering why it was even necessarily for the storyboards to be finished to such detail; a question I once asked myself as well. After all, storyboards are just a pre-production process, yes ?
I did not have a good answer until a few years back when I chanced upon an illuminating piece of information on twitter about the working process of the late Satoshi Kon, who in his earlier years was mentored by Otomo. As you might be aware, Satoshi Kon’s storyboards are also famously detailed. It turns out that he would print out his completed storyboards in an enlarged format to be used later on as a base for his layout boards. And suddenly it all made sense to me.
Steamboy might not have been the anime masterpiece that AKIRA fans were hoping for, but the visual brilliance of the film alone still elevates it above many others, and Otomo’s stunningly beautiful storyboards for the movie is one of the ways of enjoying it. Highly recommended.
“Steamboy Storyboards Vol 1 ( Otomo Complete Works ) 大友克洋全集” details :
Dimensions – 17.7 x 2.3 x 24.9 cm
Softcover with dust jacket, 480 pages
B&W, In Japanese language
Buy From Amazon.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Amazon DE | Amazon ES
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October 3rd, 2025 at 7:53 am
“I like to think of the film as a failed masterpiece; the story and drama never quite reached the lofty heights of Otomo’s magnum opus AKIRA, but it is nonetheless a most visually stunning piece of animated cinema.”
I grabbed the DVD when it first hit the states, and this perfectly captured my feelings on the matter; I was in awe of the work that went into it, but the actual story is quite flat.
I love looking at storyboards, however, so thanks for covering this!
October 3rd, 2025 at 7:56 am
I wanted to love Steamboy. I’ve tried so many times. It’s just so hard to get through. The story just meanders and doesn’t really go anywhere. I think my main problem is the color palette. Everything just seems to be different shades of brown for the majority of the movie.
But of course I still bought the new book. At first I was disappointed cause it seemed like a downgrade to me. The printing was noticeably lighter than the original hardcover.
But I’ll take your word for it, since you are in the industry after all, that the lighter printing brings out more subtle details.
Steamboy was ultimately a big dud for me, but my god, you can’t complain about these drawings! Otomo’s art remains without equal!
October 3rd, 2025 at 9:32 pm
It’s unbelievable how detailed Otomo’s and Kon’s storyboards are. I mean, they are basically completed layouts.
Still never watched Steamboy, but it sure looks like a very well made production, similar to AKIRA.
October 7th, 2025 at 2:28 am
It’s strange how often productions with long gestation periods – in all art forms – end up being less successful than hoped for. I realise that that there are many that don’t follow this pattern however.
I wonder at what stage in the production people begin to have doubts and whether this is influenced by seniority. Imagine working on something for so long knowing that it is doomed to ‘fail’, or even believing that it would be a masterpiece right up until release.
This is coming from someone who would have been proud to have associated with this particular ‘failure’ though! Creativity means taking a risk and becoming vulnerable.
October 7th, 2025 at 9:45 pm
March – It’s a weird situation. I guess some works will always be niche and don’t get the recognition they deserve – despite being created by high praised individuals.
And it’s unfortunate that, today, these kind of very creative productions are almost impossible to be done in the first place.
October 23rd, 2025 at 11:38 am
what size of the paper of the storyboard if they can draw so details.
October 27th, 2025 at 4:45 pm
anonymouse007 – I’ll be curious to know as well ! It’s gotta be a decent size to get all those details in !