







By: Ana Bruja-Khayos





Ah Netflix… what would I do without you. If you are like me and work behind a computer all day you probably run into the problem that you must have either music or a video you have seen tons of times playing in the background in order to make the time more bearable. In this line of work I often find myself looking for new series to watch. I will say that I’ve always been a Disney kid but in the recent years I’ve been migrating to more and more anime. Not because I love the art style but simply I love to watch giant robots and more adult based stories. Something Disney just can’t do or simply are not willing to do anymore. So I realy on my Netflix to suggest something to watch. Low and behold here comes “Desert Punk”

Desert Punk is what I like to call “couch day anime”. Meaning you can literally watch the entire series in one day just slacking on the couch and you don’t feel unsatisfied when you are done. The series only has 24 episodes, but you will laugh you buns off.

The Story

When I first saw the intro of the show I was worried that I might have started watching something that looked like Power Rangers. There’s nothing wrong with Power Rangers but I simply was not in the mood to watch people fight in monster costumes. The intro was gritty and looked like something that a college film student made but it really added to charm and I’m sure it helped cut down cost on the animation budget. The music is catchy and after awhile you find yourself humming it as you continue to watch the show.

The story takes place in the very distant future after a horrible catastrophe left most of the humans roaming around planet full of sand and little water. Our lead character is a reflection of the harsh conditions people face in this world. A young teen boy name Kanta Mizuno, has earned the nickname of “The Desert Demon” but his reputation follows him under the name of mercenary “Desert Punk”. Just like many others he must wear heat protection suites, carry weapons, and supplies not only to survive but to do his job as a mercenary. The ruthless desert has truly pushes people of all ages to do whatever needs to be done in order to survive including stealing, blackmailing, double crossing and killing friends, family, and associates. No one can be trusted, not even toddlers.

Desert Punk is involve with several other rivals mercenaries for hire in the area such as The Machine Gun Brothers, and Rain Spider. Each group very deadly and merciless but they all untruthfully rely on each other when things get tough. Just like most young boys Desert Punk really doesn’t have any long term goals since he lives in a world where you can die at any moment, however is very intelligent and is often underestimated which becomes his greatest and deadliest weapon in the harsh desert. His goals are simple “guns”,”food”, and “chicks with big tits”. The first two is not so bad but the third one gets him in a world of trouble when he meets another mercenary known as Junko Asagiri, followed by a little girl name Kosuna who quickly becomes his future apprentice. Between Junko’s tit’s and Kosuna’s miss haps Desert Punk goes through some funny and hard scenarios that make this show so funny.

Story Origins

At the time the 13 volume manga was written and illustrated by Usune Mastoshi back in 1997. His previous manga work involved other works such as “Killer Boy” (1987), “Metal Box”(1989), and “Eater” (1991). The series was produced by Gonzo Studios and directed by Takayuki Inagaki who has an extensive resume as a director, assistant director, animator, storyboard artist, key animator in series such as “Naruto”, “Space Travelers”, and “ Princess Tutu” to name a few. The series originally ran October 4th, 2004 to March 30th, 2005 and was mainly aimed at Seime (young men of 18-30) demographic.

Final thoughts

All in all this was a very fun series, however I would not show this to young children and definitely not to a hard core feminist since the main focus of the main character is chasing after women like a horny dog chasing after meat. Hey the guys is around 14, what do most teen boys think about around that age… exactly. All in all the show was full of action, funny moments, and twist and turns that will keep you entertained for the entire 24 episode run. All in all this is a must re-watch in my book and will recommend to others to watch.

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