Virgin Punk is the latest anime from the legendary anime studio Shaft and the equally legendary director Yasuomi Umetsu. Like other works of Umetsu, Virgin Punk is a “girls with guns” series with plenty of action from the moment it starts, this time being centered around Ubu Kamigori and her hatred toward the despicable Mr. Elegance.
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The first part of Virgin Punk’s six-part series, Clockwork Girl, premieres in theaters on November 11 after being shown at various events worldwide. It’s probably too late to see it before the official premiere, but regardless of when and how someone watches Virgin Punk, they’ll be in for a truly phenomenal experience that will only get better with age.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
| PROS | CONS |
| Some of the best animation of 2025, by far. | The main villain’s obsession with the protagonist’s child self can be uncomfortable for some. |
| Story has a good balance of schlock and genuine heart. | The story has a good balance of schlock and genuine heart. |
| Incredibly engaging protagonist who’s a perfect throwback to an older era of anime. |
Virgin Punk Is Cheesy ’90s Action At Its Finest
Shaft’s Virgin Punk, at least in its first episode, is hardly what anyone would call fine art. Not only is the story and world incredibly simple, but it all feels like the kind of stuff every anime fan watched in the ’90s and 2000s, so if someone’s hoping for something with a bit more substance, they’re bound to be disappointed.
All of that, of course, is what makes Virgin Punk so fun. Clockwork Girl is filled with cheesy dialogue and over-the-top action, and as audacious as it can get, the sincerity with which it’s executed just makes it fun to watch and serves as a great callback to the kind of schlocky action anime that dominated anime of the ’90s.
It also helps that the film is incredible from a visual standpoint. Yasuomi Umetsu is known for the incredible visual quality of projects like Mezzo Forte and 1998’s Kite, and sure enough, Virgin Punk always boasts breathtaking visuals to make every action scene beautifully over-the-top. It’s a perfect encapsulation of cheesy ’90s action, and hopefully, it will only get bigger.
How Virgin Punk Creates The Ultimate Retro Action Hero
Naturally, much of what makes Virgin Punk work is its protagonist, Ubu Kamigori. Between having her old life destroyed, being forced to harden herself in the aftermath, and the horrible situation she’s forced into once the plot gets going, Ubu is an incredibly likable protagonist whose story is easy to get invested in, despite the edge to her character.
Helping make Ubu even better is how much she adds to the action. Much like Yasuomi Umetsu’s previous heroes, Ubu is one of the toughest fighters in the story from the second it gets going, and every fight scene with her never fails to show off her strength with stylish animation and choreography that’s always fun to watch.
Ubu is especially great when contrasted with her villain, Mr. Elegance. Between his goofy mannerisms and his creepy, explicitly pedophilic obsession with Ubu, Mr. Elegance is the kind of scumbag who’s fun to watch specifically because of how over-the-top he is, and he would be a perfect villain for Virgin Punk, even without a personal connection to Ubu.
Virgin Punk is very much a love letter to ’90s action anime, and between her dark backstory and personality, incredible fighting ability, and the utterly disgusting person who serves as her archenemy, Ubu is the exact sort of hero needed to make a story like that work, and hopefully, she’ll get even better in future installments.
Virgin Punk Is Bringing Back One Of The Best Hallmarks Of Retro Anime
The biggest way Virgin Punk sells itself as a throwback is how it’s reviving a hallmark of retro anime: the OVA. Back in the ’90s, OVAs were commonly used for presenting new anime to people, but with the downfall of physical media and streaming giving rise to ONAs, the OVA format can be considered all but dead at this point.
That being said, not only is Virgin Punk’s aesthetic exactly what one would often see in an OVA, but its release format as six short films is exactly how OVAs were released, as well. That’s very neat to see in this day and age, and if anything, it further emphasizes the retro feeling that makes Virgin Punk so great.
Overall, if someone is looking for a series that invokes everything great about schlocky ’90s action anime, then Virgin Punk will be an essential watch. Just from part one, it’s looking to be another masterpiece from Yasuomi Umetsu, and even if only one part is coming to theaters this November, the sequels will surely be worth the wait, and more.
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