You would think that fashion and terrorism wouldn't mix, but "Desert Rose" somehow manages to find a way.
"Desert Rose," known as "Suna no Bara" in Japan, is a manga series that first released in 1989, ending its run in 1998. The "Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse" OVA was released in 1993 by Studio J.C.Staff. Both were, and still have, only released in Japan & in Japanese.
"Desert Rose" was written and drawn by Kaoru Shintari, who is most well-known for his work on the 1985 "Area 88" OVA. Kaoru Shintari was mostly a manga story writer and artist, working on several manga like "Cleopatra D.C.," "Buttobi!! CPU," "Young Miss Holmes," and more.
I discovered "Desert Rose" through KaiserBeamz. Funnily, I only watched the video, which I highly recommend, after watching "Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse." The thumbnail was simply enough to get my interest.
Unfortunately, the only way to enjoy "Desert Rose" in English is through unofficial English translations. Many manga in the 1980s didn't get official English translations since manga wasn't that huge, with them now being too obscure nowadays for a western release.
Due to the lack of an official English release, there won't be any pictures for the manga review section. If the "Desert Rose" manga and anime ever gets an official English release, I'd absolutely buy all of it. However, as of now, there's only one way to experience "Desert Rose" in English officially.
A Crimson Rose
"Desert Rose" is about Counter Attack Terrorism (C.A.T.), an anti-terrorist organization with different divisions. The main division in "Desert Rose" is Division M, led by Mariko Rosebank, also known as Marie, which is made up of female soldiers. I am so subtle.
People join C.A.T. for multiple reasons, mostly for the huge pay and benefits. However, in Marie's case, she's in it for revenge, with the scar on her left breast being a constant reminder.
Now's a suitable time to bring up that nudity is prevalent in "Desert Rose." At first, I was dreading the nudity, but it always feels natural within the story and for the story without feeling like sleazy fanservice.
With Marie and her right-hand woman Helga Mitelmaier, and other soldiers such as Irene Sanders, Deliah Kankunen, and more, Division M will stop any terrorist plans they're assigned to with their skills. Still have no idea how deserts or the desert rose plant come into play though.
Black Rose
The Cats of "Desert Rose"
The arcs of "Desert Rose" are structured episodically, after each ending of an arc, whether that be a mission Division M goes on or a flashback arc, nothing else in the arc is expanded on in the rest of the series.
This means "Desert Rose" does the "characters from previous arcs return" thing rarely. The main characters are also static, with their only developments being from the few backstories elaborated on.
However, this doesn't mean the characters are bad, far from it, the characters are incredible. Most characters are given an arc to truly shine, showing just how loveable, funny, and amazing they are.
For example, because of Marie's past, she's motherly towards others. She cares about everyone in Division M, feels guilty when something horrible happens to someone in her division, and loves children. She also has a light-hearted side, also making her adorable as h*ck.
However, she's serious when needed. Her skills in combat and planning anti-terrorist measures is incredible. She's highly respected by Division M, and you feel that the trust everyone has in Marie is earned.
Irene is another example, and is the most well-known character from "Desert Rose..." Which realistically doesn't say much, but hey, it sounds cool. She's sassy, hilarious, deeply caring in the tsundere way, and her internal struggle is fascinating.
Unfortunately, Delilah is sort of left in the dust since she never has an arc that gives her primary focus. We do get a glimpse into her loneliness, but no elaboration on if she's still lonely or if Marie resolved it. It doesn't seem like something a Tamagotchi can fix.
Delilah is still a great character, but she feels so underexplored. However, this is only one criticism among a main cast of eight, the cast is overall well-executed. Even the minor characters are awesome.
Another strong aspect of the cast is their designs. From their base design to their clothing, "Desert Rose" excels at character design for its main cast.
The fashionable clothes also make sense since the characters wear them to blend in or go incognito. Since let's be real, wearing soldier uniforms all the time is basically saying, "we're here to stop you" to the terrorists in "Desert Rose."
The Barbie doll proportions also highlight how attractive the Division M members are (except for Jessica Kureakin, who has muscles, therefore she's even more attractive). Again, Division M uses how some terrorists underestimate females to their advantage, sometimes sexualizing themselves straight up saves their lives.
More comedic moments have Division M in Chibi form, which is beyond adorable. The art style and visuals are eye candy all around.
Unusually Creative Terror
While most arcs deal with Division M stopping terrorists, the manga keeps things fresh with each plan the terrorist groups come up with being unique... Which is the strangest praise I'll ever give.
The terrorists have cunning plans, doing the cruelest things to enact terror on a country or even the world. There are even points where children are taken as hostages or even killed. In the first chapter, a child is just blown-up while being hung from the window of a tall building.
However, this never comes off as shocking for the sake of it, rather to show the stakes of each mission which works well. That one death in chapter one was stuck in the back of my mind reading "Desert Rose," keeping each chapter tense despite the obvious plot armour Division M has... And bulletproof armour...
It makes Division M triumphing over the terrorists more satisfying because when there are casualties, it's genuinely brutal. What also adds to the satisfaction is how Division M naturally comes to figuring out the terrorist's plans.
Sometimes the plan is hidden behind a riddle or puzzle, other times it requires intensive scouting/spying, tailing, and more to get information to figure out the plans of terrorists. It never feels like they learn something out of plot convenience.
Sometimes they even find themselves asking, "what's the place a terrorist would target to spark panic?" Since the mission for terrorists tends to be to cause the most panic possible, often involving the largest body count possible.
It's a huge reason the story is so engaging as the writing is technical, giving a lot of detail for things. It sells that Division M are soldiers and experienced at that. However, the writing isn't too technical that it's hard to follow along.
There's also how Division M fights terrorists. In combat, they're ruthless, using formations and guns to devastate terrorists. Helga specifically always has eyes of sadistic joy killing terrorists.
Division M handles the battles like soldiers, making each gunfight tense. Even outside of combat, they're prepared to fight.
The manga especially does a fantastic job of depicting the action, giving each hit impact. However, I must admit I'm horrible at following action in manga.
With how Division M fights and deals with terrorists, with a new obstacle to overcome each time, it makes it super easy, barely an inconvenience to stay invested in the writing.
With the way the characters solve the plans of the several terrorists, how they talk like soldiers, and so on makes the writing engaging. The writing is technical, but you can still follow along well. Each arc is captivating with the different scenarios and clever solutions.
The only times when plans aren't clever are when the supernatural is involved which while thankfully only present in two arcs, often feels cheap. There are no rules for the supernatural, so it can sometimes feel like the writer makes up stuff as he goes along at times. Sometimes the supernatural elements just aren't well-defined or consistent.
Additionally, it's not satisfying to figure out something supernatural since it can feel too... Plot convenient-y.
Fortunately, the arcs with the supernatural have enough redeeming qualities for me to still call them great or at worst, meh. It also lends itself to some fascinating social commentary like the rest of the series.
Social commentary often tackles social and political problems, although some of them may be outdated. The most obvious piece of social commentary being how much men in "Desert Rose" underestimate Division M because they're female. Even the government people overviewing Division M for a potential mission mistake them for assistants at first...
Now that's a Y I K E S if I've ever seen one. "Desert Rose" proves why you shouldn't underestimate females just because of their gender, just in a more action-packed way.
However, if there's one thing "Desert Rose" does not do well, it's writing antagonists. While the antagonists do have motives that lend itself to some neat social commentary, most antagonists are one-dimensional, with no real nuance, making most arcs black and white. The focus is clearly on the plans of the terrorists more than the terrorists themselves.
Now, I'm not saying to make the antagonists likeable, that's kind of hard to do when they kill children. However, I'd like more memorable antagonists.
That's not to say "Desert Rose" doesn't try to make memorable antagonists, but most of the time you get the generic evil squad of guys. Even the final boss of "Desert Rose" isn't much to write home about despite the final arc being excellent.
However, overall, the "Desert Rose" manga is incredible. However, what about the OVA?
White Rose
With the manga review part done, it's time to cover the "Desert Rose: The "The Snow Apocalypse" OVA. The OVA covers the same exposition as mentioned in the A Crimson Rose section, and the OVA also acts as an introduction, so there's no need to read the manga to enjoy "The Snow Apocalypse."
In "The Snow Apocalypse," Division M must protect political leaders in an unofficial summit in Switzerland. Naturally, since this is "Desert Rose," terrorists are plotting. Unfortunately, the summit can't be cancelled, so Division M must find the method of attack and do so undercover... AS MAIDS!
You could say they were maid for the- Why do I have the feeling you're holding a tomato? This is peak comedy.
Interestingly, "The Snow Apocalypse" takes place during the Team A arc in the manga, chapters 38 to 43. At the same time as "The Snow Apocalypse," Team A is in South America.
Like the manga, "The Snow Apocalypse" has everything that makes it fantastic. Likeable characters, fantastic action, captivating story, and stellar visuals.
While I admit Division M isn't strong in the OVA due to the runtime, they do leave good first impressions, mainly Irene. Each Division M member also gets their time to shine, so no one feels snowed in. I have a problem.
However, Division M overall leaves a strong impression. Like the manga, they're clever, tactical, and how they figure out the terrorist plan is natural & satisfying. It all creates an engaging story, that even rewatching, had me on the edge of my seat.
Division M doesn't go in gung-ho, they pre-plan and exercise patience. While there isn't that much action, the mystery of the terrorist's plan is tense.
There's still action though, and it's well-executed if sparse. That is a bit of a shame since the manga has a ton of gunfights, while I don't mind the lack of it, it does feel like this OVA is missing something from the manga. This also means Helga's sadistic look when killing terrorists is only briefly shown... I swear this is important.
The presentation is incredible. The visuals are colourful and great-looking, the animation is solid, and the music is memorable. The OVA really does feel like the manga is seeing new life.
I must give special mention to the music with the multitude of tracks that fit the mood, from the somber piano to the rock tunes. The track "After the War ~Open Your Mind~" especially, since where it plays hits hard, especially in retrospect.
The ending is also solid, while the political circumstances aren't solved, that isn't really Division M's problem. They just had to protect the VIPs at the summit. Additionally, Marie is adorable in this ending, and I am a simple man.
"Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse" is fantastic. However, what about the source material?
Overall (S)
Assuming you've managed to break out of the loophole of reading the manga review, followed by the anime review, then the manga review, etc., you'll see that I adore "Desert Rose" and believe "Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse" is a near masterpiece.
The "Desert Rose" manga is fantastic with stunning artwork, exciting stories, endearing characters, creative conflicts, and more. "Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse" is well-animated, has an excellent soundtrack, an engaging plot, keeps the same thrill as the manga minus the gunfights, and works as a great introduction to the series.
I sincerely hope "Desert Rose" gets an official English release one day. I'm optimistic it will, given the manga released in kindle form on Amazon Japan.
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