Desert Punk

By Tim MacKenzie

Once in awhile, you come across an anime character that’s just mean. Hellsing’s Alucard is just sadistic; Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist can be quite the blasphemous pessimist, but Kanta from Desert Punk takes the cake as the most cutthroat and perverted. Seriously. Desert Punk is an action show with a huge injection of comedy (of the more adult side), and if you dig beneath the mountain of tits then you’ll find a show that’s not only amazingly hilarious (albeit horribly offensive) but it even has other good qualities as well.

The story of Desert Punk is a pretty basic one: Kanta is a famous mercenary who goes by the alias “Desert Punk,” and he prides himself on the fact that he always gets the job done. He lives to get paid. It’s just too bad he’s an immature teenager who’s obsessed with women and comes up with more euphemisms for breasts than humanly possible. He’s also a complete foul-mouth, has wicked battle tactics, and doesn’t mind extorting or blackmailing the people who hired him. In that sense, it’s kind of a refreshing show. Kanta doesn’t fit into the typical “anime hero saves people because he’s nice” cliché, he’s just a mercenary, and he acts the part. He doesn’t magically change. Some of the other characters, namely the Punk’s sidekick Kosuna and rival Rain Spider, are actually really endearing and make the show even more interesting to watch. Throughout the course of the show, we can see some characters develop nicely, but still remain the charm they showed at the start. The Punk himself goes through a change, although not in typical anime fashion. The cast of Desert Punk is well done and fitting for the story.

As for as the stories themselves go, it’s nothing really intellectual, just enjoyable. The episodes feature the Punk on different jobs (some are multi-part episodes) and whatever crazy things happen along the way, whether it is fighting an Incredible Hulk look-a-like who’s obsessed with pudding or guarding a village all the while eating all their food and drinking all their water. The dialogue is especially hilarious in Desert Punk—but keep in mind it’s a show with an adult mind. Many of the characters are extremely foul-mouthed, most especially the Punk himself, but still, you’ll find plenty of funny jokes. The main problem is that the show takes a dramatic turn near the end of the series, and winds up taking itself incredibly seriously all of the sudden. It’s fair to say that there are interesting sub-plots going on and that the events are relevant, but still, the contrast of the initial laugh-a-minute episodes to the final episodes is pretty jarring.

The animation itself in Desert Punk is pretty good and while it doesn’t offer a lot of style to the table, it’s effective. The first opening sequence is live-action and funny in as it’s so-bad-it’s-kinda-funny way, but the second opening sequence shows significant improvement due to its mix of anime and manga clips spliced together in an attractive manner. As for the show itself, the character designs are interesting and funny; Kanta looks like an immature perv like he should. The fight scenes are well done and everything moves smoothly. It’s satisfying to see how many of the fights turn out. The animation quality stays pretty constant during the course of the show, although it probably won’t “wow” anyone with its presentation. In short, Desert Punk looks good enough to get the job done.

Now let’s talk about the sound and voices. Getting straight to the point—the dub in Desert Punk is amazing. The voices fit the dialogue perfectly and really make everything all the sweeter; the voice chosen for the Punk himself is very fitting. There’s no harm in watching the subbed version, but in all honesty, Desert Punk is an anime where the dub shines. Sound quality itself is great, and the music that plays throughout the show is fitting for the situations. The main hit musically is the first opening, which is extremely annoying, but it is also charming in a weird sort of way. Luckily, the second opening for the show sounds better and although it doesn’t capture the vulgarity of the show, it’s a fine opening. The soundtrack for the series has an almost jazzy feel to it and it generally stays upbeat, but it’s admittedly one of the lesser qualities of the show.

As far as value goes, Desert Punk is a quality buy. The individual DVDs ranged at about $19.99 a pop or for the completionist, there’s a special edition box set that ranges from $59.99 to 79.99. The individual discs offer some episodes, interviews, special features (like a live-action view of the office that produced the show), art/character galleries, and so on. The box set offers the complete series in a very stylish metal tin, which would look good on any collector’s shelf. Any anime fan looking for something funny, and who doesn’t mind a constant stream of vulgarity, will probably like Desert Punk. It’s a hilarious show with an awesome dub, funny dialogue, and original characters. However, those who get offended easily will want to avoid this one.

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