Leviathan: Where Steampunk and Bio-Punk Clash in an Alternate World War

A new global anime series has arrived, reimagining the dawn of the 20th century through a lens of steampunk machinery and bio-engineered beasts. The series, Leviathan, presents an alternate history set on the brink of World War I, where the course of history is shaped not only by political tensions but by a profound technological schism.

The narrative unfolds in a war-torn 1914, dividing the world into two factions. The Central Powers, or “Clankers,” of the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, command diesel-powered mechanical war machines, including immense walking tanks. Opposing them are the “Darwinists” of the Triple Entente, led by the British, whose power stems from a mastery of genetic engineering—an alternate history where Charles Darwin discovered DNA. They fight alongside “fabricated beasts,” living creatures modified to serve as weapons and vehicles.

At the center of this conflict are two teenagers from opposing worlds. Prince Aleksandar “Alek” von Hohenberg, the fictional son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, becomes a fugitive after his parents’ assassination, escaping with only a loyal crew and a battle-worn Stormwalker walker. On the Darwinist side, Deryn Sharp, a commoner, disguises herself as a boy to serve as an airman aboard the HMS Leviathan, a massive flying whale that is a living ecosystem. Their paths inevitably cross when the Leviathan crash-lands in the Swiss Alps, forcing an unlikely alliance that could alter the course of the war.

Leviathan

Bringing this intricate world to the screen is the result of a significant international collaboration. The series adapts Scott Westerfeld’s popular young adult novel trilogy, with a production that places heavy emphasis on fidelity to the source material. The detailed black-and-white drawings of the original illustrator, Keith Thompson, were foundational to the anime’s visual identity. Thompson was involved from the project’s inception, with the animation team, aided by French comic artist Alex Alice, carefully translating his intricate designs for the screen.

The animation itself is handled by Studio Orange, a company known for its distinctive 3D CG work on series like BEASTARS and Trigun Stampede. For Leviathan, the studio adopted a more grounded and realistic style to suit the historical setting, focusing on conveying a sense of weight and gravity in the movements of the colossal machines and beasts. The production also saw the studio establish its own in-house background painting team, creating rich, 2D vistas that serve as the backdrop for the 3D characters and machinery. The project is spearheaded by Qubic Pictures, a company that specializes in bridging Western properties with Japanese animation studios, and is directed by Christophe Ferreira, a French director with extensive experience in the Japanese anime industry.

The adaptation’s script, which condenses the original trilogy into a cohesive narrative, was penned by Yūichirō Kido, a screenwriter with credits on series like Dr. STONE and Fruits Basket. Author Scott Westerfeld remained a constant presence in the writer’s room, reviewing every script and animatic to ensure the story’s core themes were preserved. The auditory experience is equally cinematic. The score is composed by the duo of Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi, known for their work on the Metal Gear Solid franchise and Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045. Further elevating the soundscape is composer Joe Hisaishi, famous for his work on Studio Ghibli films, who contributed original music, including the opening and ending themes.

The voice cast includes Ayumu Murase as Prince Alek and Natsumi Fujiwara as Deryn Sharp in the Japanese version, with Broghanne Jessamine voicing Deryn in the English-language dub. With its clash of diesel-powered metal and genetically engineered life, Leviathan offers a unique vision of a world on the brink of collapse, where the fate of nations may rest on the shoulders of two young people from enemy sides.

Leviathan began streaming worldwide on Netflix on July 10, 2025.