Steam Detectives

Steam Detectives seems to be largely forgotten by the anime viewing fanbase. Not because it’s 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 steam-powered 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 nurse-assistant Ling Ling, and his Megamaton robot named Gihliki.

The series has a lot going for it. It’s 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.

It’s very clearly aimed at a younger audience with it’s simple characters and plot, but it never feels insulting or like it’s talking down to it’s audience. There are reoccurring plot and characters throughout the show that actually lead to an actual conclusion and the series doesn’t really half-ass anything. The manga series that this is based on (which I actually recommend for the younger reading audience if they've 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 it’s 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.