Steamboy is a marvel on all levels. Akira has a well deserved reputation for being one of the most detailed works on animation ever and Otomo has easily surpassed his earlier work here. The level of detail in his take on Victorian England is simply staggering. There's not a single frame of film that isn't just packed with visual information and yet Otomo has such a firm sense of scale and place that his images never feel busy and never threaten to swamp the main thrust of the story with sensory overload. The design work is flawless, believable both as historical England and as a fantastic alternate history.