Desert Punk

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Desert Punk
砂ぼうず (Sunabōzu)
Genre	Action, Comedy, Science Fiction
TV anime
Directed by	Takayuki Inagaki
Studio	GONZO
Network	MBS
Original run	4 October 2004 – 30 March 2005
No. of episodes	24

Desert Punk (砂ぼうず, Sunabōzu^?) is an anime set in a post-apocalyptic world. Japan has been reduced to a desert and the surviving humans eke out a meagre living in the hot sands. One of them is a short man others call "Sunabouzu". He makes a living as a bounty hunter. Like a demon of the sand, he seems unbeatable. Yet, he has a particular weakness for the opposite sex...

1 Characters
2 Episode List
3 Trivia
4 Tone of storyline
5 External links

[edit] Characters

===Sunabozu=== (Spoilers!) Sunabozu (砂ぼうず, real name 水野灌太 Mizuno Kanta; seiyu: Suzuki Chihiro) - the titular character of the series (Note too that the English name assigned to him is also appropriate.). Sunabozu is a lecherous handyman, but manages to get the job done at the end of the day (at least, most of the time). He is considered to be quite ugly in a sense and is capable of winning when the odds are stacked against him, such as defeating a tank with just a knife and pistol. After defeating Kosuna's former sensei, the Shimmer Sniper, Sunabozu apparently has motives for taking her as his student (it seems that he is hoping that when she grows up, she will be as well endowed as her hot mother). Then once, when both Junko and Kosuna were in trouble, he was unable to decide between saving the current pleasure (Junko) or the flower yet to blossom (Kosuna), this showing what a pleasure loving pervert he is. He also once trapped Junko in his secret base in an attempt to break her mentally and coax her into having sexual intercourse with him. During that time, Junko was sweating so severely that when Sunabouzu gave her a chance to bathe, she took it without hesitation. It was a bad move however, as Sunabouzu was watching from a vent while masturbating and switched on an air-conditioner, forcing her to wear a white swim suit and red high heels (having previously taken away her desert clothes when she was bathing). Finally, Junko (having enough) whacks Sunabozu, causing him to lose his memory of the base's secret code (effectively trapping them both in the secret base, however he still remembers his main objective). The ordeal nearly killed them both, and prior to being rescued, his last thoughts were still about Junko. Later on, Kanta manipulates the other mercs and fakes his own death. He joins the government in its war against the Rebels and offers his apprentice to join him.

Sunabozu

The image above is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on 2006-12-16.

Mizuno Kanta

The image above is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on 2006-12-16.

[edit] Kosuna

Kosuna (小砂, real name 小泉太湖 Koizumi Taiko; seiyu: Saito Chiwa) is accepted Kanta's apprentice only after showing Kanta a picture of a large breasted woman she claims to be her mother and promising him she will look like that in a couple years. She's young and flat-chested (Sunabozu has repeatedly teased her about it and she hates huge chested women because of it.). Seemingly unable to complete any task by herself, she's surprisingly an able assistant to Kanta. After Desert Punk is seemingly killed, she takes his place and her own apprentice.

Kosuna

[edit] Junko Asagiri

Junko Asagiri (朝霧純子 Asagiri Junko; seiyu: Tomoko Kotani) - a female rival of Desert Punk with comically large breasts. She first met Sunabouzu when she was chased by Mokoto Kawazu, and, succumbing to his weakness with women, he decided to win over Junko by fulfilling her needs...In more ways than one! She uses her ample assets to manipulate him and is known as the "Vixen of the Desert".

Junko

[edit] Rain Spider

Rain Spider (雨蜘蛛 Amagumo; seiyu: Norio Wakamoto) - a male rival equal to the Desert Punk, he can easily give Sunabozu a run for his money. Renowned as a fearsome debt collector, he will not only take your money, but your soul as well (or your pants along with your underwear). In any case, his piercing eyes and towering bravado, along with his forceful tactics gives him the reputation he deserves.

Rain Spider

[edit] Machinegun Brothers

Machinegun Brothers (川口冬夫, 秋夫, 春夫 Kawaguchi Fuyuo, Akio and Haruo; seiyu: Jiro Saito, Wotoya Kawano and Yasuhiro Takato respectively) - Childhood friends of the Desert Punk back from the days when the Punk was still stealing candy from a hard-working street vendor. Nevertheless, when there is a job to be done, these guys are definitely the tricksters of the trade. Smart-alecks to the max, they are always making fun of Sunabozu even though deep down, they respect him. They are often stuck between saving Sunabozu's ass and finishing him off. They also have a sister, and they are extremely overprotective of her as her intelligence outranks theirs, and they have to do something to protect their manliness.

Their names are based on the seasons of winter, autumn and spring respectively, while their sister's is based on summer.

[edit] Natsuko Kawaguchi

Natsuko Kawaguchi (川口夏子 Kawaguchi Natsuko; seiyu: Yuko Minaguchi) - Sister of the Machinegun Trio, she was also a childhood friend of Sunabozu and was a crybaby (according to Sunabozu). She has not been in contact with Sunabouzu for quite a while as she had gone to work for the Oasis Government (Apparently, she was rather flat-chested in her younger days as evidenced from Sunabozu's shock over the size of her chest when she returned to visit). She holds a captain rank in the Oasis Government, and can fight very well. She is the current idol of Kosuna.

In a case of real life mirroring art, Kosuna's seiyu (Saito Chiwa) is a good friend of fellow seiyu Kuwatani Natsuko, who shares the same name (in both kanji and romaji) as Kawaguchi.

[edit] Episode List

1. The Demon and The Double D's

 「妖怪と、ボイン」
  Akuma to Boin

2. Sand and Rain

 「砂と、雨」
  Suna to ame

3. Tank and Machine Gun

 「戦車と、マシンガン」
  Sensha to MASHINGAN

4. Sniping and Footsteps

 「狙撃と、足音」

5. Water Well and Trap

 「井戸と、罠」

6. Rocket and Wandering

 「ロケットと、放浪」
  ROKETTO to Hourou

7. Master and Disciple

 「師匠と、弟子」 
  Shishou to Deshi

8. The dog-girl and rock

 「犬女と、岩」 
  Kenjou to Iwa

9. Life and game

 「人生と、ゲーム」 
  Jinsei to GEEMU

10. Keeper and treasure-seeker

  「番人と、宝探し人」 
   Banjin to Takara sagashi hito

11. Sin and punishment

  「罪と、罰」 
   Tsumi to Batsu

12. Girl and Rescue

  「少女と、救出」 
   Shoujo to Kyuushutsu

13. Ideals and reality

  「理想と、現実」 
   Risou to Genjitsu

14. Fine sand and Full Auto

  「小砂と、フルオート」 
   Kosa to FURUOOTO

15. Sibling and Childhood friend

  「兄弟と、幼なじみ」 
   Kyoudai to Osanajimi

16. Curry and Rice

  「カレーと、ライス」 
   KAREE to RAISU

17. Junko and pursuer

  「純子と、追跡者」
   Junko to Tsuisekisha

18. Discouragement and Despair

  「挫折と、絶望」
   Zasetsu to Zetsubou

19. Up and Down

  「上と、下」
   Ue to Shita

20. Reverse and Convenience

  「裏と、便」 
   Ura to Ben

21. Master and Disciple part Ⅱ

  「師匠と、弟子partⅡ」
   Shishou to Desihi partⅡ

22. Rain and Sea

  「雨と、海」 
   Ame to Umi

23. Suspicion and Ambition

  「疑惑と、野望」 
   Giwaku to Yabou

24. Taiko and Kanta

  「太湖と、灌太」 
    Taiko to Kanta

[edit] Trivia

The "bozu" part of Sunabozu's name may be a pun, for it means "brat", a reference to his age and ways.
Sunabozu in kanji means "Sand Monk"
The rifle that Sunabozu use is an old military 1897 winchester shotgun that his father left him as an memento.
In the last episode, when the Machine Gun Brothers destroy the Dragon Kong tank, they shout 'Wolverines!', a reference to the movie Red Dawn.

[edit] Tone of storyline

For the first half of the series, Sunabozu and Taiko engage in relatively hilarious adventures. Also, more slapstick humour is applied here. The opening and closing theme are light hearted as well.

However, the second half has a more serious tone as the duo gets involved with the government's plot. This is also reflected in the songs used (The opening theme becomes more dynamic and the closing theme has a sad overtone to it.).