Desert Punk (砂ぼうず) created by Masatoshi Usune directed by Inagaki Takayuki (2004)
25 September 2007I saw the first episode of this Gonzo produced DVD off of a NewType USA dvd when my friend Ryan Hill was in town and was intrigued, not only by the live action opening, but the wacky humor, and great action scenes. So once the whole series was released in a reduced price set I picked it up, and I enjoyed it, though it is certainly weird, and I am not sure how I feel about the ending. Sure it fits with Muzino Kanto “The Desert Punk”‘s character, but it is pretty brutal. Still enjoyable if you like strange black comedies and fan service.
This is the story of Mizuno Kanta 水野 灌太 aka Sunabōzu (砂ぼうず) the Desert Punk played by Suzuki Chihiro and Eric Vale in a post apocalyptic future, where mankind gets what it wants at the end of a barrel. Kanta is s desert handyman, or mercenary who is affiliated with Handyman’s leage, and is a young guy missing teeth who is completely obsessed with breasts and sex, but still manages to be the top mercenary in the desert, and would have no problems if it wasn’t for his female problems. Even Kanta takes on a young apprentice in Kosuna 小砂 played by Siato Chiwa and Luci Christian, who gets him to accept her by showing a photo of her mom, with her huge breasts, so Kanta thinks someday she can be his sex slave, and for now she can help out if only she stops messing things up. Kanta’s biggest rival and problem is the female mercenary Asagiri Junko 朝霧 純子 with breast she could knock herself out with. She has no scrupalls, and often betrays Kanta, but he always lets her go mainly because he wants a chance to fondle those breasts.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
Kanta has another rival, Rain Spider 雨蜘蛛, played by Wakamoto Norio and Kenny Green who is almost the punk’s equal and supposedly the best collector in the desert.
Also there are the Machine Gun Brothers who Kanta grew up with, and eventually their sister Kawaguchi Natsuko 川口 夏子 played by Minaguchi Yuko and Jamie Marchi who we initially think was a love interest from Kanta, but in fact he terrorized her, fondled her breasts and blew up and outhouse she was in, causing her to change completely and join the military.
The show starts off pretty light, and we see that Kanta really is the best. He uses a back winch and balloons and a variety of other tricks to defeat his enemies and always comes out on top. Eventually he takes on Kosuna, and things stay light for the first half, but then the opening and closing titles change, and slowly he is drawn into the politics of the region, and even a fight with Natsuko and her group who are in open rebellion against the Government who have many secrets of the dark ages, before the apocalypse, and even fighting robots. Kanta offifically graduates Kosuna to a mercenary, and then tries to sneak away, but gets taken by government robots.
Kanta is presumed dead and life goes on with Kosuna becoming a mercenary and taking on an apprentice. And Natsuko organizes the rebellion, even getting Rain Spider in, but then a giant tank shows up led by Junko and Kanta who was captured and switched sides. He gives Kosuna a chance to switch, but she stays with her friends.
••••••
It is totally within Kanta’s character, because he only does care about himself, but it is still brutal to see him out trying to kill all of his former friends and quite the evil man. Still a good and enjoyable series. I enjoyed it.
Feedback
You must be logged in to post a comment.