Steam Detectives seems to be largely forgotten by the anime viewing fanbase. Not because its bad by any stretch since it seems to have a relatively small fanbase that enjoy it but rather because it just never really stood out among the other anime coming out at the time. Especially considering that a lot of classic anime were coming out at the time such as Cowboy Bebop and Serial Experiments Lain along with popular cultural juggernauts such as Dragon Ball Z Pokemon and Sailor Moon. Steam City is a city where the only fuel source is coal and the only way to produce energy is a steam engine thus all technological advancement involved coal in some capacity. As a result the city is often covered in a mist and many criminals use it to their advantage. These same advancements in technology has also given rise to Megamatons large steampowered robots. Our main character is Narutaki a young detective who is also considered a child prodigy who protects the city from various criminals along with with his nurseassistant Ling Ling and his Megamaton robot named Gihliki. The series has a lot going for it. Its a steampunk detective show with an atmospheric noir theme to it with a Sherlock Holmes influence and it even has a few large robots that add some character to the series. Even the soundtrack is pretty decent. If anything it feels like the younger brother of The Big O. Its very clearly aimed at a younger audience with its simple characters and plot but it never feels insulting or like its talking down to its audience. There are reoccurring plot and characters throughout the show that actually lead to an actual conclusion and the series doesnt really halfass anything. The manga series that this is based on which I actually recommend for the younger reading audience if theyve taken an interest in this was actually written by Kia Asamiya for his son which I can respect. Steam Detectives might have been passed over a lot of people who were watching one of the numerous more popular shows at the time but its something that I think a few people could go back and watch and enjoy on some level and I think that more than a few kids in the intended age rage might get something out of this series.
70 /100
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