Desert Punk, Vol. 1 - Into the Desert

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre anime Starring Chihiro Suzuki, Tomoko Kotani, Norio Wakamoto Publisher FUNimation Productions, Ltd. External Links Official Desert Punk Website Official FUNimation Productions Website

It’s unclear why they waited two years to release this anime to the states. The American audience sure could have used it. This may be what die-hard fans of classic anime have been waiting for. The originality surrounding this series should keep people attached and wanting more.

Desert Punk brings us to the Great Kanto Desert, which is nothing more than a vast expanse of an ancient civilization that was eliminated due to destructive technology. Now nothing but a stretch of sand and ruin where survivors exist, water is a commodity (apparently) and mercenary jobs are plenty.

Enter Sunabouzo. Almost anyone associated with either the mercenary lifestyle or the criminal element knows him as the Ghost of the Desert. His methods are questionable and his tactics are mysterious. One thing’s for sure, though. He never leaves a job unfinished. That is, until a rival mercenary assigned to pull the same job seduces and confuses him, then makes off with the loot and leaves Sunabouzu with a rather sizeable debt. Forced to find this siren of the sands with the double-D bra, Sunabouzo continues to live his life by a simple motto: “Get the job done, collect the money, repeat.”

Desert Punk can be summed up in two words: fresh breath. Even if the concepts of unlikely mercenary “hero”, post-calamity scavenger towns, and big-breasted, double crossing vixens are nothing new, they are presented in a seemingly revitalized light. It might have to do with the nature in which the episodes are handled. Sunabouzo gets double-crossed by Junko in the first episode and vows to get his revenge, but you don’t immediately run into her in the next episode. There is a side departure which deals with other aspects of Sunabouzo and the perils of his lifestyle. Junko comes back for the third episode and some story is revealed about her and Sunabouzu, but the final episode once again departs from the two of them to chase after something else. In other words, the series does not totally rely on one set of protagonist-antagonist playoffs. The best part is that it all fits together.

The extras really shine with the inclusion of two great features. The first is a brief look at the creation of the live action opening, which is truly a unique mark for an anime. The wardrobe is well designed, but the “cartoon explosion” factor cheese it out just a little. The second is a small piece of 3D animation which won the Excellence Prize in the Animation Division of the 2003 Japan Media Arts Festival. Definitely worth a look and definitely deserving of their award.

The first volume of Desert Punk shows great promise. It’s well animated with a smooth story progression and plenty of action. True, some of the humor may be a little juvenile or stretched, but it’s entertaining. Major bonus points for handling the sexual humor with actual taste, which is a rare find in a good anime, much less a good series. Off-color never looked so good.