Desert Punk

Sunabouzu is an ongoing manga started in the late 90s and written by Masatoshi Usune. In 2004 it was adapted into an anime by Gonzo, a Studio we've looked at quite a bit with series like Bakuretsu Tenshi, Basilisk, Gantz, Brave Story &, most recently, Strike Witches. Let's look at Sunabouzu and see how well it compares. Story: In a post apocalyptic future the vestiges of civilisation subsist in various cities throughout a great desert. It's relatively lawless with might and money deciding things. In that desert, there's a group of handymen who take mercenary jobs and our protagonist, the titular Sunabouzu, is considered oneof the greatest of them. The series follows him as he takes a variety of jobs and shenanigans ensue. What little story there is is beyond weak. It's cliched, full of contrivances and ends on a really stupid note. It's a lot like a Michael Bay film, with over the top action sequences replacing anything of substance. But, this is largely a comedy. So, we can forgive the terrible over-arcing story if it's funny, right? So, let's examine the humour a bit, shall we? The “comedy” of this series hits pretty much every single lowest, most base, mean-spirited point it possibly can. It uses a lot of rape jokes, usually with our protagonist threatening someone with rape and the joke being his pursuit of her and how she tries to escape. It also has a few gay jokes, because every horrible comedy feels that it's hilarious to point out that gay people exist. Those jokes that aren't horrible are just supposed to be funny because the characters are acting like idiots or because something over the top happens. If there's a single “joke” that works in this, then the sheer stupidity of the series must have caused me to drone it out because I didn't notice. I watched through all twenty four episodes without so much as a brief smile. Characters: The characters aren't so much one-dimensional stereotypes as they are over the top presentations of one-dimensional stereotypes. Because making characters who are just one-dimensional stereotypes is too subtle for this series. So it decided to make them more annoying. The only character who even develops in some small way is Taiko, who has a pretty typical character arc of going from a student to standing on her own. It isn't much and her personality stays pretty stagnant throughout, but it's more than anyone else gets. Art: The art is the best part of the series. It's not good, it would be pretty mediocre if not for the rather poorly done action sequences and the ridiculous boob physics that even Team Ninja would consider excessive. Sound: The actors give performances that are absurdly over the top to the point of being really obnoxious. Saito Chiwa is normally very skilled, but she's one of the worst offenders and that ridiculous, overly squeaky laugh she does is just ear-bleedingly painful to listen to. The music is over the top as well, but not quite as bad. Ho-yay: There's a gay side character who shows up in one episode and in some flashbacks later, because the series wanted to do some gay jokes. They just thought it was very important for building this bland post-apocalyptic world with its single type of terrain. Clearly, the whole thing would have just fallen apart if they hadn't made fun of gay people for daring to exist. Final Thoughts: Sunabouzu is one of the worst comedies I've ever seen. It's a bunch of overblown, loud, flashy spectacle with a sense of humour that ranges from downright nasty to just unfunny, poorly done action sequences and nothing passable in terms of either story or characters. It's tripe that tries to appeal on the grounds of being flashy and exaggerated. My final rating for it is a well deserved 1/10. My next requested review is Glass no Kamen, but it's going to be a while before I can finish it. So, next week I'll look at the second series of Yuru Yuri.

Ahh, Desert Punk, this show is all about the nice surprises:) It is something you definitely shouldn't miss out on, despite the fact that it's kinda hard to get into at first. First of all, let me tell you that I almost dropped this series.I watched the first 5-6 episodes and I stopped, because quite frankly I didn't think I could handle any more boob jokes.However, the other day,having nothing to do, I decided to finish the series.Much to my surprise, despite that the boob jokes did not diminish in numbers, the show started to grow on me, mostly because of the wonderful character development. Also,it is a very light-hearted show ( for the most part, more on this below ), and it's quite funny.My personal favorite among the supporting characters remains Amagumo, this guy makes me chuckle every time he pops up on screen :) However, what got me completely by surprise is the fact that a series that started in such a simplistic way presented me with one of the most profound and satisfying endings I've seen in anime.Without spoiling it, I can just say that it is about freedom: not necessarily the freedom of making the RIGHT choice, but the freedom of making A choice.Your choice and no one else's.And have the strength to face the consequences of that choice without lying to yourself.For Sunabozu is not presented as an ideal, but as a real person, with real strengths and flaws, who till the very end remains true to himself. This is more than can be said about many of the other characters, which throughout the series seem to have indisputable moral superiority over Kanta.Desert Punk is also one of the few animes where there is no distinction WHATSOEVER between good guys and bad guys.It's all about different groups of people in the middle of the desert, fending for themselves.I felt very realistic. That's pretty much all I'd like to say about the show.I won't comment on the technical aspects , I think you'll get a better idea of them by simply watching 5 mins of an episode.So, to wrap it up, give this show a chance, you won't be disappointed.

OK, so here it is. My latest review. Just recently I finished watching Suna Bouzu, and I really have to say that I have some mixed feelings about it. I think the show had a great deal of potential which remained unused for the most part, due to a few unfortunate lapses in the show. Story: 6 The story was for the most part decent, if a little unoriginal. The setting is a post - apocalyptic desert where people must use whatever they can to survive the harsh conditions (Road Warrior, anyone?) However, the structure of the show is slightly odd, in that it is very episodic rightup until about episode 15 or 16, then it switches to have an overall story arc, where there was really nothing tying the previous episodes together before. Like I said though, the story is fairly unorginal - a conspiracy laden government....mysterious ruins from the past containing legendary super - weapons. You get the picture. Art: 7 The art is pretty good, if a little dated and undetailed. The character design is quite good, as all the characters have their own distinct look and personality to go with that look. Sadly, the setting does not lend itself to panoramic vistas (jt's a boring desert) so the background suffers at times, looking far to bland. Other than that, the art is very standard. Sound: 7 I can't say I noticed the music for the most part, except for the first opening theme, which is a jazz - inspired piece over live action clips of a guy dressed as the eponymous Sunabouzu. It's a fun introduction to the show which sets up the tone of the show quite well. Other than that though, I'm assuming that the music is pretty standard fare is it was so unnoticeable. In terms of voice acting there was some solid talent up there, with some good voices for each character, however dislikeable they may be. I did appreciate Wakamoto Norio (AAAAMMMEEN!) as 'the Repo Man of Souls' Character: 5 The characters are the biggest stumbling block that there are in this show, at least to my mind. The lead, Kanta (the Sunabouzu) is just a terrible person. He's stupid, greedy, arrogant, incredibly perverted...you name it, he's got it. I would say he's one part Vash the Stampede, and a about nine parts Borat. Ordinarly these traits in a character just provide a bit of variety, but Kanta displays them to such an extent that it detracts from the rest of the show. Many of the other characters are quite difficult to like as well...Asagiri Junko, one of the major characters is manipulative where Kanta is stupid to the extent where she is no longer possible to empathize with. Kosuna, the main character's sidekick, is not an unlikeable character, but her voice and squeaky laughter pretty much achieve the same thing. That said, some characters are great, but sadly most of these are the supporting cast, such as the Repo Man of Souls I mentioned earlier, who is positively hilarious and pretty much saved the show for me. Enjoyment: 6 Now that's a tough one. The problem I had with this show, apart from the characters, was the inconsitancy of it, in the quality of the episodes, no less. Essentially, it's like every other episode must be rolling on the floor funny, or cringe - inducingly painful. There's one scene in the second episode which still makes me laugh (I won't give away any details) but on the other hand I've had to block Kanta's behaviour from my mind. Overall: 6 This show is packed with Ecchi. The title of the first episode (The Demon and the Double Ds) pretty much says it all. If you think you'll be offended by it or the huge amount of pervertedness that accompanies it than please do not watch this. I would reccomend watching this only if you like mindless humor and pantsu, or if you really need a break from a string of dark, psychological shows (as I did). To sum up - occasionally very funny, highly offensive and very inconsistant.