splavin00

Desert Punk revolves around the titular mercenary, who will do anything (for a price) so he can to get by in the harsh post-apocalyptic Kanto desert.

The art is well done, there aren't many grand vistas in the desert so for what they provided, the art team made the scenery interesting. The animation is really nothing to write home about, not terrible not fantastic.

One of the strongest features of the show is definitely it's strong cast of supporting characters, all of whom contribute to the plot and have interesting/entertaining interactions with each other. The main character, with Desert Punk, is notable for being just an all around selfish asshole, sculpted by the unforgiving desert, with literally no redemptive qualities.

DP draws similarities to Lupin III, of whom I am a fan of, in that they are operatives with unmatched talent. This is when the show shines, Desert Punk in action. Watching him execute his plans and use his wits is when I found myself enjoying the show the most. However, there is a good amount of fluff that you have to wade through to get to these parts.

The plot was well paced on a whole. Starting with a few one offs to introduce the characters, the overarching story that appears in the later half of the series is well put together, making use of callbacks to previous one offs and such.

I didn't much care for the frankly obnoxious sidekick character, too much of a Determinator. DP's over the top obsession with boobs (to a very close to rape-y extent) was something that I was willing to overlook until it was dragged out to the extent that it was and made it off putting. Otherwise, the visuals are acceptable and the story shines brightly when it gets serious but is bogged down by the aforementioned fluff, and DP is a interesting take on what a protagonist is (ie. insane and cruel to the weak).

Overall I'd say this is a great series, a solid 8 out of 10.

The biggest strength for the series is by far the amazing artwork and animation. Reminiscent of Miyazaki's "Castle in the Sky", the steam punk airship technology are all interestingly designed and are beautifully translated onto the screen. Character animation is very solid, the studio clearly didn't try to cut corners, which provides expression and life to the characters. Top notch stuff all around

The first half of the series had me completely hooked, particularly the first two episodes. I totally bought into the steam punk tech especially. The characters that were introduced were likable and their motivations (or lack thereof in some cases) were clear. The scene was set for some epic reveals and an exciting ride. However, I felt that the pacing of the second half of the story was sorely lacking. I found myself begin to lose interest at times, even as things began to unfold. Not to say it wasn't competently done, but from the expectations I had from the first half, it didn't pay off the way I wanted it to.

The art and animation is incredible and the story is well above most others, give it a watch.