Desert Punk

-Details-
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Action
Company: Gonzo
Format: 24 Episodes
Date: 4 October 2004 – 30 March 2005

-Visuals- 8.8/10
Sand...sand...some interesting uniforms of the inhabitants...more sand and quite a few pretty good examples of abandoned, deserted and cities that have been ravaged by time and the elements. So...like looking at relics, ruins, ruins and relics then this is show for you. So, how these ruins look is the key and to honest overall they look pretty good. Now obviously the use of bright and vibrant colors is going to be somewhat, to say the least, limited and yet the color palette looks very nice overall as shadow and simulated sunlight are used wonderfully. The character models are well done as well, although at times a bit over the top and under/over exaggerated but still it fits the overall design of the anime relatively well.


-Characters- 9.5/10
Two main characters encompass the vast majority of the story, Punk himself (real name Kanta Mizuno) a 17 year old diminutive mercenary who is obsessed with money and sex (not necessarily in that order) and Kosuna (real name Taiko Koizumi) who becomes Punk's (Power Babe) apprentice. The interactions between the two, indeed the chapters involving Kosuna are by far, in my opinion, the best of the series. Punk is smug, capricious, and over bearing while Kosuna attempts to emulate him all the while growing and changing as a person and realizing she is not, and never really will be Punk. The supporting cast, the Machine Gun Brothers, Junko, Rain Spider and Natsuko are all wonderful and flesh out the stories extremely well. The characters as a matter of fact are by far the highlight of this series whether comical, cruel or playful it's simply a very, very well written and acted ensemble of characters. I only wish the Punk and Kosuna dynamic had been exploited and utilized evn more often than it was. Their interaction was by far the strong point of the story.


-Story- 8.0/10
The first part of the show concerns itself with introducing Punk and showing his various skills in outwitting his "enemies" all the while being as flippant as possible and attempting to either coerce every pretty girl into being with him or using all his skills to extort as much money as possible from every situation. Once Kosuna enters the scene the jokes and fun get even better, funnier, more poignant and the episodes are simply a joy to watch. Then somewhere around three quarters of the way through the show attempts to develop a more cohesive storyline and becomes, in my opinion, something it simply isn't. And that something is a serious show with serious overtones instead of a fun romp through the wastelands in search of money and sex. I really feel this is a show that would have certainly been better served if it had continued to not take itself too seriously and continued the journey of Punk and Kosuna in their attempt to garner fame and money (and sex of course). It's a shame really, I went from thoroughly enthralled and loving this show to asking myself exactly what the hell happened to the show I was watching, and why in the world did the people in charge feel it had to happen.

-Overall- 8.5/10
Pretty simple really. This show is easily a 9.5 for a large portion, then it becomes a 7.0. And man, I really loved the 9.5 portion, but I could barely tolerate the 7.0 at all. What a serious disappointment the last portion of this show was. Now, it certainly is still worth watching as the first part is seriously that good, just be prepared, it's going to go downhill and it's going to go downhill relatively hard and fast.