Desert Punk

Desert Punk (砂ぼうず, Sunabōzu, lit. "Sand Brat" or "Sand Punk")

Voiced by: Chihiro Suzuki (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)[5]

Real name Kanta Mizuno (水野 灌太, Mizuno Kanta), he is also known as the "Demon of the Desert". A 17-year-old member of a mercenary group known as the Handyman Guild, he is outwardly obsessed with large female breasts and sex. Although thought of as a despicable person, he is highly professional in accomplishing assigned tasks. His legendary reputation is due to his good luck, practicality, sharp wit, specialist equipment, and his grandiose self-promotion. In volume 13, he changes sides in the civil war raging between desert oases, betraying his old friends in the hope of trading them as captives for a promotion. He offers Taiko the chance to join him, telling her that she has no trade value. She declines, and after this point, Taiko becomes the main character.

Desert Punk uses his father's old Winchester Model 1897 shotgun, along with other equipment. Enemies will often mistake his rocket-powered winch as an ability to levitate and fly. He carries a massive quantity of balloons which are identical to his outward appearance to obscure his position. He also employs smoke bombs, and has sabotage devices for his own equipment in case it is stolen.

Kosuna (小砂, lit. "Little Sand")

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese); Luci Christian (English)

Real name: Taiko Koizumi (小泉 太湖, Koizumi Taiko). Kosuna is the former apprentice of the Shimmer Sniper with a goal to become the desert's number one "power babe" mercenary. After the Shimmer Sniper is lying naked and defeated, Kosuna immediately abandons him and begs to be made Kanta's apprentice. He only accepts after she shows him a picture of a large-breasted woman Kosuna claims to be her mother.

Seemingly unable to complete any task by herself at first, she is an able assistant and honestly looks up to Kanta, despite his extremely perverted ways. She is very loyal and follows orders with little or no complaints. As the series progresses, Kosuna becomes an excellent mercenary, surpassing Kanta's abilities in marksmanship even when her weapon is unfamiliar or oversized. Kosuna becomes the series' main character in volume 13, after Kanta betrays his friends and she declines his offer to switch sides with him.

Childhood friends of Desert Punk. They are often seen making fun of Desert Punk, though it is implied they actually respect him. In situations where they save Desert Punk, they are seen jokingly asking if they should finish him off, with quotes such as "well, time to go kill him." Kanta attempts to betray them, along with Natsuko and Kosuna, in volume 13.

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

Fuyuo Kawaguchi (川口 冬夫, Kawaguchi Fuyuo)

Voiced by: Jiro Saito (Japanese); Jeremy Inman (English)

Fuyuo is the biggest of the three, and is seen giving orders occasionally. His weapon of choice is a Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun with rifle stock and forward grip.

Akio Kawaguchi (川口 秋夫, Kawaguchi Akio)

Voiced by: Otoya Kawano (Japanese); Justin Cook (English)

Akio is the second oldest brother and the biggest smart-aleck. His is seen with a weapon designated as an "M249 SAW".

Haruo Kawaguchi (川口 春夫, Kawaguchi Haruo)

Voiced by: Yasuhiro Takato (Japanese); Mike McFarland (English)

The youngest brother, Haruo carries the traits of a crybaby. He is good friends with Taiko, and uses an M60 machine gun.

Junko Asagiri (朝霧 純子, Asagiri Junko)

Voiced by: Tomoko Kotani (Japanese); Stephanie Young (English)

A female rival of Desert Punk with voluptuously large breasts, she is known as the "Vixen of the Desert". She is introduced to the series in a situation where she uses her sex appeal to steal an important key from Desert Punk which he recently procured as part of a mercenary contract. Despite this and other similar actions, she remains an object of Kanta's desires, which she uses to further manipulate him. Despite often working closely together, the series never confirms if she and Desert Punk become romantically intimate.

Rain Spider (雨蜘蛛, Amagumo)

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese); Kenny Green (English)

A male rival of Desert Punk, he is depicted as an equal match for him in combat. He is renowned as a fearsome debt collector who is rumored to collect even the souls of his targets. While he has earned his reputation through forceful tactics, he is not against running away when he is at a disadvantage, however often his seeming retreats are merely feints from which he soon unexpectedly returns.

Natsuko Kawaguchi (川口 夏子, Kawaguchi Natsuko)

Voiced by: Yūko Minaguchi (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)

Sister of the Machine Gun Brothers, she was a childhood friend of Kanta. She is a proficient hand-to-hand combatant and the current idol of Kosuna.

Desert Punk, written and illustrated by Masatoshi Usune, began serialization in Enterbrain's Comic Beam manga magazine on August 5, 1997. Twenty-two bound volumes have been released in Japan as of November 2020. In June 2020, it was revealed that Desert Punk would end in two chapters.[6] In August 2020, it was announced that the final chapter would be published in October.[7] Desert Punk finished after 23 years of publication on October 12, 2020.[8]

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Gonzo was broadcast in Japan from October 5, 2004 to March 29, 2005.[9] In North America, Funimation acquired the series in 2005.[10]

Opening theme songs

1. "Sand Mission" by Hideaki Takatori (Japanese Version)/Gary Eckert (English Version) (episodes 1–12)
2. "Destiny of the Desert" by Yuka (episodes 13–23)
3. "Shinkirō" ("Mirage") by Yuka (episode 24)

Ending theme songs

1. "Sunabōzu Ekaki Uta" ("How to Draw Sunabōzu") by Hideaki Takatori (episodes 1–12)
2. "Shinkirō" ("Mirage") by Yuka (episodes 13–23)
3. "Sand Mission" by Hideaki Takatori (Japanese Version)/Gary Eckert (English Version) (episode 24)