Steampunk Anime

[Jer Alford]

It's no doubt that steampunk is back in a big way with the underground fan commnunity. But while there might not be alot of Hollywood-produced properties based on this genre, there has been a signifigant number of anime titles.
LAPUTA: CASTLE IN THE SKY
One of Miyazaki's earlier movies was this gem which borrowed a little as far as mecha designs from the old Superman cartoons from the 1940s. In this alternate history, a lost flying city called Laputa is being saught out by the evil Col. Muska, who wants to use the young Sheeta and her mystic stone which he believes will help find it. Sheeta escapes thanks to some sky pirates, and is befriended by an orphaned miner, Pazu. The two of them join forces with the pirates to stop Muska and his plans for stealing Laputa's ancient secrets in a quest for power. This film utilized alot of Miyazaki's fascination with bizarre Da Vinci-styled flying machines, either in blimps, bi-planes, or even transforming robots.
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
Man! Miyazaki likes movies with the world "castle" in the title. Based on the Diana Wynne Jones novel, it is set in a world that blends magic with late-19th/early- 20th Century technology. Sophie is a teenager who is briefly flirted by the enigmatic young sorcerer Howl. But the jealous Witch of the Waste transforms her into an old woman for catching Howl's eye. Sophie leaves home, and becomes Howl's housekeeper, although his "house" is a walking mishmash stucture on mechanical legs which is powered by the fire elemental, Calcifur. Sophie gets caught in the middle of Howl's mission to stop two nations from battling each other, all while being pursued by the contradictory Madame Suliman and the royal army. There's some amazing visuals in this film, particularly Howl's castle itself, as well as the flying sequences where Howl is taking down fighter planes in the form of a giant bird.
LAST EXILE
Granted, their aren't alot of anime TV series that embrace the high-flying adventure type of steampunk stories like in Miyazaki movies, but this wonderfully animated show is a great substitute. On the other world of Prester, airplanes called vanships are all the rage, and are used as the main means of military for two warring nations. Sky couriers, Claus and Lavie, unintentionally become the guardians of the young Alvis who is the key to bringing an end to the war. Alot of the inspiration for this series was from the end of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, plus the uniforms are a blending from the Civil War and the French Revolution. This has series has some of the best arial fights outside of Sky Crawlers, and is definately worth a look for the likeable characters and entertaining story.
NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER
In what alot of people have thought as being a ripoff of Laputa, this TV series from Gainax was actually based on the works of Jules Verne, most specifically 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Here, Jean is a boy inventor from France who come across the circus performer Nadia while she is being chased by the trio of thieves called the Grandis Gang(the Team Rocket of the early 90s)who want her jewel, the Blue Water . They eventually decide to head to the ocean to escape them in Jean's personal airplane, although they get lost and later picked up by the renegade Captain Nemo and his crew on his submarine, the Nautilus. They are all then dropped into a feud between Nemo's side and the evil Neo-Atlanteans who want to use Nadia's jewel to take over the world. The series(which was followed by a particularly bad movie)featured some great storylines and character development, even though the musical episode might've been a little unnecessary. Alot of the elements in this were later used in Gainax's biblical giant robot anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

KISHIN CORPS
Set in an alternate WWII, the Allied Forces not only have to deal with the Nazis, but alien invaders too. Germany and Japan are attempting to possess most of the alien tech they can find to win the war, while a special group of freedom fighters called the Kishin Corps use giant robots to repel the united threat of the Axis powers and the aliens. This short OVA series had some impressive mecha designs, and great retro-looking characters.
SAKURA WARS
Also known as Sakura Taisen, this multi-media franchise has had several OVAs, a movie, and a TV series remake. Based on a line of video game, this takes place during the 1920s where a secret force known as the Imperial Assault Force(sometimes called the "Flower Division")use special steam-powered mechas to fight against demons and other evil forces. The Flower Division are mostly all-female, and maintain the secret identity of performers at a theatre. Each one of its members has their own superpower which is enhanced by their spiritual energy, which is also used to control their mechas. There are divisions of this group in Japan, France, and New York, each one of which gets its own game or anime, but the majority of each story happens in Japan. The selling point for this series was the mixing of the game as a dating sim/RPG adventure, plus the colorful music.
STEAM DETECTIVES
From X-Men artist Kia Asamiya came this anime TV series based on his manga about a boy detective(not Case Closed!)named Narutaki who solves crimes in the appropriately-named Steam City, along with his sexy nurse companion Ling Ling and their large robot Goriki which houses the brain of Ling Ling's father. Goriki is a Megamaton, which are slightly common in Steam City, although alot of them end up getting used by criminals like the Machine Baron or Crimson Scorpion. Asamiya was very inspired by Batman when he originally created this, which is convenient since he went on to do an actual Batman graphic novel. There are also elements of Sherlock Holmes in this too, especially in the masked villain Le Bred who is Narutaki's personal Moriarty. This is an excellent neo-noir series, even though the animation suffered from some production costs that were apparent to anime shows in the late 90s. 
STEEL ANGEL KURUMI
Here's one that really spread itself thick! It was first a manga, then a TV anime series, an OVA series, another TV series, another OVA series, and then finally a live-action TV series. Also set in an alternate 1920s, the young priest-in-training Nakahito unwittingly becomes the master of a sexy pink-haired android girl named Kurumi. Kurumi was created by the Japanese military along with other robot-tanks, but their creator went AWOL. Now, Nakahito along with Kurumi and her "sister" Saki have to hunt down the runaway scientist, who it turns out was captured by his former associates from the future. Kurumi and the other androids(called Steel Angels)were made to fight demons for a possible Judgement Day far into Earth's history. There is some decent steampunk tech in this series, although the parts that actually take place in the 1920s are the original TV series and its OVA spinoff of Steel Angel Kurumi: Encore. The rest of the story takes place in either modern day, or further in the future.

CHRONO CRUSADE
Originally titled Chrno Crusade, this manga-turned-TV series has been colorfull referred to as "Nuns with Guns". Taking place in an alternate Roaring Twenties where demons attacks are commonplace, a special branch of the church called the Order of Magdeline is dedicated to keeping America safe from them. Perky blonde Sister Rosette(who it turns out is not really a nun!)and her good demon partner Chrono work to stop demons from getting a strong foothold in the constant struggle between Heaven and Hell. Aside from Chrono's "portable phone", other steam-tech used by the demon hunters are steam-powered jalopies, battle-zeppelins, plus special weapons like exploding holy bullets and forcefield generators. The major selling point of this anime is the relationship built between Rosette and Chrono which is forbidden in the eyes of the church, and their search for Rosette's brother who is enthralled by the demon lords. The animation is very impressive for a TV series, and has some great comedy moments mixed in with the dark action.
D. GRAY-MAN
Taking place in Europe during the late 1800s, the cursed Allen Walker joins a group of organized exorcists called the Black Order to stop the demonic Noah Clan from possessing innocent souls. The Black Order uses steam-ware mixed with divine weapons like robots, sonic-blasting boots, headphones that can capture demons, and more. There's some erie dark story arcs going on in this with a real attempt of the heroes trying to save people from the forces of Hell.
FULLMETAL ALCEHMIST
I'm sure even the average anime-on-American TV watcher is familiar with this show. Set in an actual parallel universe, Edward Elric is a young alchemist who along with his brother Alphonse are searching for the legendary Philosopher's Stone to be able to change their bodies back to normal. Edward has a mechanical arm and leg which are called automail, the practice of which is a pretty thriving business here. It's later revealed that their world is parallel to ours during the interwar period. Alot of steampunk elements might seem more magical than technological, but FMA manages to blend the "science" of alchemy as a believable plot device. It also has some of the most gripping plotlines ever shown in an anime, which has made it favorite even of non-otaku.
STEAMBOY
Closing out on probably the most well known steampunk title in anime, this movie was created by Katsuhiro Otomo whose original manga/film of Akira has made anime one of the most recognized forms of animated media in the world. Set in 19th Century England, Ray Steam is the son of a missing scientist who has perfected a compressed form of energy called a Steam Ball, which is sent to Ray in the mail. But Ray nearly escapes some thugs looking for the ball. He eventually runs into Scarlett O'Hara(not from Gone With The Wind!)who is the granddaughter of the head of the company funding the project by Ray's father. His father Edward is secretly working on his own to perfect the immense amusement park/battle platform called the Steam Castle that he intends to use as a fortress to make the heads of Europe realize the full power that he has created. This leads to an intense long series of Ray either working for/or against his father with his grandfather, while using a steam-powered mini-rocket to save Scarlett who keeps getting into trouble. The movie has some impressive animation, and incorporates alot of the better elements from the steampunk genre. The only drawback is that the film tends to go on a bit, and seems a little longer than it needed to be. But otherwise, most fans of steamology should find it enjoyable and should add it to their collection.