conn.jacey - 2015-01-03 00:06:43

Complitly retarded and pointles anime about sex jokes but increnebly entertaning if you like family guy and anime here is your dickbut 

hazle06 - 2014-09-21 14:25:25

kihn.maribel - 2014-08-08 06:16:47

Some guys at Gainax watched "Drawn Together" and thought it was the greatest thing that America gave to the world. Then one of them was like "Let's do that!" What happened afterwards will live on as a gem in the world of anime. Pretty to look at, funny to watch, the soundtrack is quite possibly one of the best I've heard, and overall a bat-shit crazy ride!

walsh.monserrat - 2014-03-30 04:08:11

If the "Powerpuff Girls" was an immature, sex filled, foul-language, western influence anime it would be Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. I really enjoyed this series because I felt uncomfortable watching it and that's something that rarely happens with me. Panty and Stocking is an episodic series with most the episodes similar to western cartoons like "PowerPuff Girls" where they beat up a bad guy in 15-minute episodes. I love the animation to P&S and Studio Gainax did a great job with it. I also enjoy the OST and the ending song titled "Fallen Angel". The english dub is won of the best in recent memories probably better than Japanese verison. Jamie Marchi (panty) and Monica Rial (Stocking) and the entire cast had performances. Overall, P&SWG is mature theme series filled explicit themes and amusing references If u love shows like "South Park" or " Family Guy" u would enjoy P&SWG. P&SWG isn't for everyone but still is one those shows that will keep u laughing and asking yourself What the fuck is this?

lamont07 - 2013-08-21 16:55:02

As always, my reviews are spoiler free.

MAL-era import review; please excuse my lack of experience.

Story - 3/10

Panty and Stocking, a pair of angel sisters are rejected from heaven due to their questionable natures. In order to get back in, they must kill ghosts to collect heaven coins. It seems like a pretty simple story, and that's because it is; each episode (with a few exceptions) is divided into two halves, each killing a ghost wreaking some sort of havoc in the city. This havoc is usually directly involved with some sort of crude humor (the tissue factory has been taken over so men can't "relieve their frustrations, all of the city's sewer waste has been possessed, etc.). Panty and Stocking will show up and, with an interesting incantation and poll-dancing mahou shoujo transformation sequence, destroy the ghost with their weapons made out of their... panties and stockings. There really isn't so much fighting as their are one liners.

This is a comedy anime, but not the average one. It relies almost entirely on dirty jokes, which can get old pretty quickly. On the other side of the heaven coin, however, there are many witty scenes and parodies to appreciate. A favorite of mine was sperm soldiers assaulting a beach with a certain "mound" being their final goal. Therefore, we have a mixed bag of stale sex and bathroom humor and relatively thoughtful parody, although the former certainly dominates the show.

Animation - 7/10

The animation is totally different from any other anime I have seen. Many say it is like South Park, but I would say it looks much closer to cartoons like Invader Zim. It is likely going to be a very polarizing factor, but I liked it. They will occasionally change the art style to a more traditional anime or chibi style for various purposes (meaning sex appeal or comedy). Overall, I liked the change of pace, with a nice color pallet and comic book sound effects written into the backgrounds.

This is the animation.

Just kidding, 99% of the series looks like this.

Sound - 9/10

Whether or not you enjoy the humor or animation of the show, most people would agree that the soundtrack for this show is superb. I want to also mention in this section that the dub would be far superior to native English speakers. I found the Japanese audio with subtitles to be totally unfunny, but the banter between Panty and Stocking is much more entertaining in English, profanity and all.

Fly Away Now, Part of the great OST.

Panty and Stocking Dub (NSFW).

Character - 7/10

Panty, Stocking, and Garterbelt are not particularly good characters in their own right. However, when they are combined together, the situations they get themselves into can prompt some hilarious dialog. The arguments between the sisters are brutal but funny, and Garterbelt's attempts to keep the two in check never go as planned. Each of the characters has a few overarching personality traits. Panty is completely sex crazed (her goaling being to sleep with 1000 men on earth before returning to heaven) and lazy in her ghost killing duties. Stocking's adoration for sweets is unbelievable, but she is the more serious of the two in both daily life and ghost killing. While she is not a total whore like Panty, she shows strange interest in the opposite sex and is into some exotic bedroom activities, like bondage and electrocution. Garterbelt doesn't act like the priest he is in any way, other than the stereotype of enjoying... younger company. Together, they make a good comedy trio. The other characters are essentially useless.

Enjoyment - 5?/10

How much you enjoy this show will depend entirely on how much you like the characters and if you like the crude humor. I liked the characters, but not so much the humor.

Other Thoughts

You will probably like this show if you enjoy Western cartoon aimed towards adults.

It contains a large amount of crude humor, foul language, and sexual themes.

Watch the dub (another strange exception to my Japanese language preference).

metz.shemar - 2013-08-16 11:21:40

"Story"

There is not much of a story, it`s basically just 2 sisters killing ghosts to get heaven coins so they can go back to heaven, and during that time they get into lots of trouble, misadventures and fights with the demo sisters. The episodes are split into 2 parts of 10 minutes, and it`s mostly just the anarchy sisters killing ghosts or fucking around...some times even literally.

"Animation"

The animation is nothing special it looks as if it`s done by flash animation, and some times it even does drop to flash animation for a few second or more. But it does have different styles of animation, from it`s main one, to south park style, to some beautiful animation, that is mostly only used when they transform.

"Sound"

The sound is the best part of this anime, with it having too many amazing OST, and the dub, oh sweet jesus the dun, I mean don`t get me wrong the sub is good as well, but considering how much fucking swearing and cursing there is in this anime, I`d tell you to try then dub, since it`s always more fucn to hear 'FUCK" or "SHIT" or "MOTHERFUCKER" then "KSA"

"Characters"

You got panty, a blonde slut, who just wants to fuck as many guys as possible.

Stocking, a Goth who is interested in nothing but sweets

Garterbelt, a stereotypical black guy who is also a stereotypical catholic priest, which mixed together gives a very interesting character

Chuck, who is there just for the abuse and some light humor

And finally Briefers Rock, a ginger nerd

I really don`t think I need to go deeper into them, since this is pretty much it

"Enjoyment"

This is probably the most fun I have had with a comedy anime, which is funny cause it is so westernized. But I still laughed more than I have ever in any other anime. Of course my enjoyment has nothing to do with the final score of the show.

"Overall"

The show will not make you laugh that much, this show is more of a good time than laugh out loud. But it is still good nonetheless, and I recommend trying it, and give the dub a shot, I mean it is inspired by an American comedy show. And it`s always more fun to hear curse words on English, or just a language you can understand. Just don`t expect to much from the story, cause it is not what this show is even about, and if you do expect to much of it, you will probably be pissed with the ending, unlike me, I just laughed my ass of.

lfay - 2013-07-24 03:57:29

If you are looking for an anime that has the guts to use a different aproach to animation style and uses crude humor (and a ton of it) then look no further. If you are looking for a show with the comedy of K-ON! or the drama of Clannad then you couldn't have drifted farther away from your destination. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is a roller coaster of spoofs and dirty jokes all for your enjoyment, so with that lets get on with the review!Story: Well, to put it plainly, there isn't much of one. The story is about two angels, the sex crazed Panty and the sugar addict Stocking, trying to collect an unknown amount of Heaven's coins so that they can return to Heaven. The story is pretty episodic, there aren't that many connections from episode to episode. Although, near the end the episodes do seem to connect but only about two of them with a little flashback to previous episodes. The story is definitely one of Panty & Stocking's weak points, so I'll give it a 7/10Art: The art is extremely bold. I haven't seen any anime with its style before (not to say there aren't any, just none that I have ever seen before). It does remind my of American styled cartoons quite a bit, although no American cartoons that have this kind of humor ever turn out nearly as funny. There is one episode however where they completely change the animation style, mostly for the purpose of making fun of other styles but I still found the inconsistency to be annoying. For that inconsistency I can't give this section a 10/10, but it still lands a 9/10Sound: Loved the soundtrack. The intro is only 33 seconds long but it is still good and I really liked the outro. All of the background music was very good and I found myself downloading the soundtrack after seeing just a few episodes. For the great background music, intro, and outro, I will give sound a 10/10Enjoyment: Well, Panty & Stocking was a strange and fun ride, so it is easy to say that I enjoyed the anime. However, it wasn't an anime that I could blow through all at once. I really tried to pace myself a little when watching this anime so that I could spread out the comedy because when there isn't much of a story to follow, it's hard to go through a whole anime in one day. This has to be one of the only anime with extensive amounts of parody episodes and a filler here and there that I enjoyed. My enjoyment of the show comes out to a 9/10Overall: When looking at it from an overall perspective, the anime is pretty damn good but if you do not enjoy a great deal of trashy jokes then I would stay away from this anime. Also, if you watch the first episode and find that you don't like how it is, then I would drop it if I were you because each episode has the same feel to it as the previous one so unless you have a change of heart and suddenly start to like crude jokes, just save your time and drop the anime. For the amazing music and art, combined with my enjoyment for the show, the overall rating will land at a 9/10

lemke.ara - 2013-07-16 09:56:55

I've learned something about anime fans. There's two types of them; fans who've known where it's gone and how it's changed, and fans that see it as a different form of storytelling and artform.Some people are both!And it seems that anime, whatever era it's in, tends to stick with that style for quite a while.Panty and Stocking... seems to be the first series that LARGELY steps away from this present era(moe).And there comes the fork in the road: To fans who grew with anime, P&S is the poison that seals anime into a dark, gritty pit that will further isolate it from the world.And.... to fans who love anime for what it was, is, and can be... Panty and Stocking will be more than just "a little interesting"!They'll find it to be actually astonishing!Story: 8/10First off, don't try to take P&S seriously. That is what we usually want from anime though: to take cartoons seriously.Heck, the reason Gundam was made was because the concept of man fighting with sophisticated machines was just... the silliest idea ever!And that's exactly what you'll say when you first start off.Daten City is a metropolis that's "on the edge of Heaven and Hell". Living there, are two "fallen angels", Panty and Stocking.Two VERY "naughty" angels that are non-so-coincidentally dubbed the Anarchy Sisters.But there's a little method to this OTT madness.Y'see, we're usually supposed to be the best we can be because we ALL(supposedly) want to go to heaven.But... I don't there's anyone in this purgatory that really gives a damn. They all seem to want to do/be/have whatever they want.And it's that right there, that gives the show it's charm, the sense of complete freedom.The series' early episode seems to give a fairly understandable impression that this show was lazily adapted from 90's Cartoon Network/Nickelodeon shows, mixed in with some Adult Swim original gross humor.A couple of episodes later, we will eventually see some stories wrapped around general concepts that we usually don't see so badly warped...One could call P&S a show that seems to bathe in the improper aspects of things. They're not really trying to glorify the negative, so much as show "there's always something different to what we're used to".A friend of mine, called this a hearty "fuck you!" to present-day anime. But I don't think it's limited to only that.This is as much about anime, than it is about.... everything!Now, how does all this please(or displease) both fans?Fans of animation will come to welcome the departure of contemporary anime styles that the show uses.Remember a little OVA called Dead Leaves? Well, it felt like what he REALLY wanted to do was this!The range of ideas it expands upon is staggeringly massive, and just when you think you've seen it all, something even more crazy happens.Fans of typical anime, will most likely call this show the bane of their life.Calling Panty & Stocking the "next type of anime" will be the most tasteless joke to them.Because.... in all honesty, that's not really what this show is, or aspiring to be. It's just wild energy channeled creatively.My advice to older fans, if you want to enjoy P&S. Don't look at it as "this will be used instead of moe", look it as "so this is creative people wanting to try new stuff".I like to consider Gainax as being a sort of Pixar studio to anime. Look at Panty and Stocking as an "expansion" of anime, and not simply as an evolution.Art: 9/10At the very least, one has to respect this: The absolute loss of the "feel of anime" this show has!The reason this show would win on Adult Swim would be nostalgia. Many adults now, are people who loved Dexter's Laboratory, or Powerpuff Girls.Lots of thick lines, crazy sharp character rendering, and very simple design features.It's a real blast from the past!The animation, on it's more cooler ideas(namely episode 6), is just simply amazing.Not only is it crazy smooth and steady, they also go overboard on what they animate.Imaishi's intent to unleash Gainax's powers of "Cool!" have set the bar to levels beyond expectancy.The only way you won't be impressed with this visuals' feast, is if you cling to your moe dolls at night.Sound: 9/10The show makes use of a lot of English language songs(further proof that this show could be domesticated easily in those countries).Panty & Stocking also gives special love to music too.One episode has a very well done music video, that not only properly defines the main characters and the show's soul, but also relates it to a lot of other bands, music references, and styles that follow suit."Give respect where respect is due" somebody said to me once. I can say that P&S deserves some for D Rock City!Their famous "transformation" sequence, has a hearty theme "Fly Away" that pays homage to magical girls... and all of their sexual innuendos.The OP theme is something to be desired. I really would've liked to see more... effort in it.The END theme is also strange. It may be the only part of the show that isn't chok full of it's rebellious nature. It's sweet. And calming. And.... positive.A reassurance that the show does intend to offer viewers an (dis)honest good time.Great heavy techno themed BGM are mixed in well. The rivals of Panty and Stocking's theme couldn't be anymore devilish.If you thought you'd get your average J-pop soundtrack for this show, let's just say... you don't always get what you want, in the way you want!Character: 7/10As much nice takes on popular phenomena as it does, it isn't as deep as something like NANA. But, this can be a good thing too. Especially in anime.It's good to not always place characters in a category. And if there's one thing that anime almost always have, is stereotypes.Not to say there aren't any in P&S. But there's not any of the ones that anime typically has.That just goes to show Gainax's willingness was to craft this show; Panty sticks to her "have sex, ask questions later" guns.Stocking will always prefer cakes over veggies.And Garterbelt will prefer........ a boy over a girl in the confessional hall.It's just good ol' spastic characters. They aren't looking for the next greatest warrior to fight, and they aren't trying to hide their feelings by being as bitchy as possible.They're just reacting to crazy in their own crazy manner.The fun random energy emanating from this directive, rivals that of Family Guy's cast, because it shows that the character's actions are just as important as the show's ideas.Enjoyment: 10/10(for people that like animation) 6/10(for the most open-minded of older fans) Altogether: 8I hear older fans complaining about how moe completely transformed the industry from a creative encouraging market, into cutesy-cloning factory.And, even now, they're still trying to make peace with it!They're not gonna like the idea of Gainax's attempt to borrow outdated foreign cartoons, anymore than they're gonna like Clannad: After Story Again.But.... they should be able to, if they persist enough, recognize a strong desire to exclaim "something". They'll be able to see that there is some effort put into this show. And perhaps they'll be curious to see where it all goes. In the long run, any serious anime fan should want to explore P&S because it's struggle to invent itself is as admirable as Anno's desire to explore the mecha genre in other ways than one.Fans of animation will simply love this. The pacing is just FAST and unpredictable!To find a way to bore yourself with this show, you'd have to use to heavy drugs, stay up for 3 days straight, and have the swine flu to get even remotely mentally unready from this!It's just a matter of finding something to connect to. You can love the dark comedy, the allusions to it's topics, the music, the art, the mystery of "what happens in the next episode?", anything!This is a show that strongly entertains in more ways in one, effortlessly.Overall: 9/10While still taking into account that this show is as unstable and not for everyone as much as a nuclear plant meltdown, I still consider this show one for the history books.It.... makes a strong impression on you.I find it doubly impressive for this to happen on any non-noitaminA show, but also because this could've failed.... badly.Gainax could've found themselves with as bad a stain as He is my Master!But.... instead we have different for the sake of different. Effort for the sake of effort.A loose cannon, but with spectacular range and glamorous power.Is it misguided? Yes. Crazy? Absolutely. Brainless? No. Meaningful? Probably not... Entertaining? Damn straight.Is it something that'll make anime worse by simply existing? No freakin' way.Even if you think anarchy isn't the answer, both in anime and for your government, a respectable person should see Panty and Stocking as something truly special.+ A welcome way to see anime in a VERY different light. Insanely fun. Characters that are witty with their ways. Music that's well suited and tasteful. Nostalgic art and atmosphere, and otherworldly animation. Great range with the episode's usage.- Definitely not for those who think Gundam, Clannad, and DBZ are the way anime should always be. Not to be taken seriously. Characters are as shallow as Dixie cups.

tiffany56 - 2013-07-16 01:39:32

I am normally a video reviewer but if you prefer a good read I have made my scripts reader friendly. You may decide in the manner you indulge in this review!

Written Review:

Since the beginning of time there has always been a kind of rivalry between American cartoon fans and anime fans. Anime fans see cartoons as either childish shallow dribble that doesn’t hold a candle when it comes to stories or a bunch of adult sex humour shows with the substance of a spoon, and cartoon fans see the others as a conglomerate of weird perverted tentacle rape fantasies with the same 3 frames of animation consisting of a fan base who spend way too much time with their pillows. So who knew that one day some Japanese guy would get drunk off his tits and decide it would be a great idea to make a raunchy sex filled comedy anime with an art style that looks like some cartoon set in a demented knockoff adult swim dimension, staring a black priest, a goth and Paris Hilton - but that’s exactly what Penis and Sex jokes with Gangbang is all about.

Meet the fallen angels Panty and Stocking, the anarchy sisters who got thrown out of heaven because they somehow were too offensive with their foul mouths, un angel like behaviour and general attitude of not giving a fuck…or apparently too many. As punishment they are now trapped in the purgatory of Daten City, where the show follows their daily adventures of killing ghosts, taking names, kicking ass and chewing bubble gum – or condoms. Under the guidance of Garterbelt they use their heavenly powers to transform their divine panty and stockings into holy weapons that they use to battle the evil monsters of shit, the wicked beats of snot and ….this paragraph makes little sense

Yes I am not sure what Gainax were smoking/snorting/injecting when making this but that’s as much sense as a plot synopsis is ever going to make because trying to sell Panty and Stocking for its story is a like trying to sell porn for its cinematography. What the show is really about is it’s over the top zaniness and vulgar humour as a homage to American animation and a parody of western media.

The first thing most people will notice about this anime is that it looks nothing like a fucking anime. The art style resembles power puff girls on crack and it mostly consists of 10 minute one off “monster of the week” stories in the same format as something like Dexter’s laboratory and has minimal continuity until the final few episodes. Each episode is pretty formulaic with a new ghost appearing which our main duo need to kill, which they go about doing in various ways when they’re not busy parodying transformers, tasking a stab at high school movies or re-enacting the opening sequence to Saving private Ryan with sperm.

You have Panty, a typical feisty blonde with a foul mouth who transforms her underwear into guns while fighting ghosts though she’d much rather spend all her time partying and finding different guys to fuck. Her sister Stocking is an equally lazy gothic Lolita with obsession for sweets who’s power comes from her stockings that she uses as Katana’s. Garterbelt completes the trio off, a black priest with an afro who has secret obsession with bondage and molesting little boys (HA HA Subtlety) his job is to keep the two angels under control, and the only thing missing about his character is that he didn’t get voiced by Samuel L Jackson

Now here’s where I hit a road block in this review because you know what. This is a comedy anime, and how funny it is will vary from person to person because comedy is such a subjective thing so the best I can do is describe to you and hope you’d get an idea of whether it’s your type of humour or not. In a nutshell it’s crude and unrestrained touting every kind of immature joke in the book, which is ironic considering this is meant to be a “mature show” when I would say that the humour is anything but. Hehe Butt, and here’s exactly what I mean.

The basic formula DICK JOKE for an episode is to either parody or reference a popular western theme BLOWJOB while throwing in swear words or sexual jokes every other line VAGINA. There’s not that much thought put into the writing since most jokes are as low brow and vulgar as you get COCK, and while this may be amusing for the first few episodes it can get kind of grating after a while since there is no subtlety and it JIZZ and it’s the same kind of thing every episode GIANT ERECTION with a different setting.

You have to know what to expect when going into this, Gainaix knew its target demographic were a bunch of complete dipshits like me, and it’s the perfect anime to just switch off your brain and let that immature 14 year old slip out and run wild for a few minutes, but that’s not to say the dick jokes are the only thing the show’s got going for it. Despite its simple art the show actually has some very decent and fun action scenes spread throughout with one of the series highlights being the over the top cat fight mid series and its little things like this that somehow gives it an anime taste despite being so westernised, though there were times when the animation quality really did drop down to flash animation level.

Another plus is that the sound track was great and mostly consists of catchy electronic tunes which perfectly match up to the fun feel of the show and while we’re on the subject of sound - the Dub for this show was amazing and did everything it needed to do. For such a vulgar show the dub held nothing back often adding to it and hearing the banter in English was just so much funnier than trying to read it. You could obviously tell how much fun the voice actors were having with it which shines through their performance and with the western style this is going for it’s a no brainer that this is one anime that needs to be watched dubbed.

All this adds up to a very entertaining package that has more going for it than meets the eye. It was fun seeing the typical stupid transformation sequence turn into a seductive pole dance, it was a nice little touch to have the clay ghost blow up every time one was killed and just seeing an anime like this was a breath of fresh air in itself, even if it was trying to appeal to the American audience so hard the back of the box art might as well have consisted of the words please adult swim please and a picture of someone bending over backwards, but as an experimental anime I would say that it was a success.

You can quite clearly tell that Gainax tried really hard with this and even if it was just full of dick and sex jokes they put their heart and soul into making every dick and sex joke as vulgar and low brow as possible which deserves credit in some weird twisted way.

Overall Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is a mixed bag with a few hit and misses but some of the spread out action scenes and a great soundtrack save it from being just average. For me the show was more fun than funny, more entertaining than laugh out loud and it surely won’t appeal to everyone but if you can let that immature side of you run wild for a while and aren’t easily offended or watch stuff with your mom in the living room, you could try giving it a watch.

orville.nienow - 2013-03-22 04:44:26

"Oh pitiful shadow lost in the darkness, oh evil spirit born of those drifting between Heaven and Earth, may the thunderous power from the garments of these holy delicate maidens strike down upon you with great vengeance and furious anger, shattering your loathsome impurity and return you from whence you came. Repent, you motherfucker!"

In Japan animation is a diverse storytelling medium, but in the West it's a different story. While there are some exceptions, there are pretty much two types of shows Westerners are comfortable seeing animated: children's shows and unrestrained adult comedies. Panty & Stocking is essentially both mashed into one. Just from looking at its character designs you might not even realize it was made in Japan, they're nearer those Saturday morning cartoons we all grew up on. As a further similarity, most of the episodes are broken into two vignettes like an American cartoon. Unlike those cartoons we grew up on, though, this show is filled to the brim with profanity, sex jokes and toilet humor. A show like this could only have come from the creative minds of studio Gainax.

With a couple of exceptions, Gainax as an artistic group has historically been best-suited to more cartoonish and exaggerated art styles. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that they're right at home and having a big party. The character models are stubby and wide-eyed, in keeping with the "Saturday morning cartoon" style I mentioned earlier. The show defaults to a soft-lined, bright pastel-shaded aesthetic, but its repertoire is far from limited to that. Like FLCL, another noteworthy Gainax series, Panty & Stocking is an animator's playground--it doesn't stand out so much for its high budget (though it does have good production values) as its wide variety of memorable styles and techniques, paying homage to several other works on both sides of the Pacific. With only a few slip-ups this show looks consistently good-to-great, artful even. Ghost designs range from atrocious to repugnant, but that's the point. This series knows how to show its audience something gross, and conversely its eye candy dazzles just as effectively. Episode 6 and the finale in particular pull out all the stops.

The music is even better. I'm not really a fan of electronic or hip-hop music, but I can appreciate that it's a well-made score. Pretty much every piece sounds great on its own, but it was written for the show and fits it seamlessly, ranging from lighthearted piano to seductive jazz to the bouncing notes of curiosity to the high-energy leitmotifs that punctuate all the major battles. Of particular note is the series' signature piece "Fly Away" (that's a Japanese euphemism for jizz, fun fact) which plays during Panty and Stocking's transformation sequences. It probably wouldn't sound out-of-place coming from a local strip club, and this is the only show I can think of where that's actually a compliment. To the musically inclined, I'd recommend giving the soundtrack a listen even if you have no interest in the show itself. Also, the ending theme is equal parts adorable and disquieting.

As far as voice acting goes, I'm inclined to recommend the dub over the sub, but the reason for this is a cultural one that has little to do with actual performance quality. Japanese is traditionally thought of as a softer, more understated language than English, but the seiyuu cast does its darnedest to prove that notion wrong. It's an enthusiastic, appropriately raunchy and over-the-top performance that definitely did the show's tone justice. Still, crude and crass dialog only has so much punch in a language you don't speak, and that's where the dub comes in. It couples equally bombastic and cartoony performances with an adaptive script that colors the dialog with more f-bombs than the now-legendary Black Lagoon dub, I am not hyperbolizing. Profanity is no substitute for wit, of course, but all of the lines are modern and in-character, and they fit the show's overall tone. Just as importantly, it's clear that the folks at Funimation had a blast dubbing this show.

Now that I've gotten the show's technical pedigree out of the way, let's set them aside and look at the story on its own merits. At the very least it's a pretty unique concept, the fusion of children's cartoon and adult cartoon tropes is different enough to make this show stand out, but it still leaves the question of what the selling point is. Raunchy comedy being what it is, the humor here is fairly predictable. The characters are flat and the jokes are in-your face rather than subtle, so most of the humor comes purely from catching its audience off-guard. I understand why some people get immature giggles out of this, and I'll admit it even got me a couple of times, but for the most part that brand of comedy doesn't impress me. As I mentioned above, profanity and offensive content aren't a substitute for genuine humor, and I've already established in my Pani Poni Dash! review that weak hit-or-miss comedy isn't enough to warrant a recommendation from me. There are some genuinely clever moments, such as Panty being unable to remove her Panties because she's wearing shorts, but these moments are few and far.

I know that many people will find this show repulsive and I don't blame them. For those readers who are still blissfully unaware, the ghosts Panty and Stocking fight include a gigantic turd that haunts toilets, an enormous woman who produces super-fattening milk, and a penis the size of a skyscraper, I am not making this up. Those are probably the worst of the bunch, but the rest of the show is far from tame in that regard. There is simply no way to make this series sound dignified, not with that kind of content. If hygiene is important to you, stay away from this show at all costs. At the opposite end of the spectrum, this show is peculiar in that it dabbles into just about every fetish imaginable and yet outside of a few glamour shots Panty & Stocking is never really "sexy". On one hand it's refreshing that it doesn't go for cheap exploitation, but on the other, if you're going to cram this much suggestive subject matter into thirteen episodes, I can't help but feel that the least you could do is make it appealing. Just a thought.

The writing behind this series is far from impressive either. I'm not talking about the disjointed storytelling, that's perfectly forgivable given the episode structure, and leaving a vignette with a problem unresolved (such as a zombie horde or their dog-like pet Chuck losing his brain) is also something I'm willing to let slide--again, this series pays tribute to Western cartoons. I'm talking about the underlying arc they create. Yes, they really do try to weave all the story elements (at least, starting around episode 6) into a coherent plot, tying together the Daemon sisters Scanty and Kneesocks, Panty's hopeless suitor Brief, and Garterbelt's mysterious past. This series may be aimed at an adult audience content-wise, but much like its predecessor Gurren Lagann the plot is, to put it bluntly, stupid. One episode Panty and Stocking will be fighting a ghost in public and regarded as superheroes, the next they'll go "undercover" as high school students. Why, when Scanty and Kneesocks are introduced as "the mayor's daughters", do they never investigate said mayor? I assure you that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Despite the numerous issues I have with this series, however, there are two reasons I can't bring myself to write it off completely. My first reason comes back to the show's artistry and production values, and I think that's where most of this show's appeal (if you could call it that) comes from. On one level it's nostalgic, hearkening back to those 90's Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Warner Brothers shows many viewers grew up on; even if this show fails at wit, I think there's still some merit to its cartoony slapstick comedy. The characters, conflicts and fights are simple, but the presentation is striking and the battles, at their best, are high-energy and genuinely fun. At the same time, this series isn't completely derivative either; there's one segment animated in a style reminiscent of the likes of Tekkonkinkreet, focusing on a typical Japanese salaryman trying to make it through his day job and still be a hero on his daughter's birthday. Another half-episode is shot entirely from a single camera angle, and there are quite a few other moments in the series that stand out in their own rights purely for the creativity poured into them.

At the same time, what really struck me about this show is that no matter how crass and stupid it got, it still felt genuine. The writing may be a muddled mess, but when all was said and done I never saw Panty not being Panty or Stocking not being Stocking. The jokes in this series might not be my cup of tea, but Panty & Stocking doesn't care. Getting back to Gainax as a creative studio, I think that the spirit in which this series was made is one they need to adopt more often. It's not trying too hard to impress its audience with wit or subtlety, it's just having a good old time, and anyone who wants to join is welcome. If nothing else, Panty & Stocking is a labor of love. The coda at the end of the show basically takes the entire plot, throws it into a blender and hits the switch without covering the lid. I'm pretty sure someone at Gainax stood up and said "hey, wouldn't this be a cool idea for a sequel?" and they threw it in at the end without a second thought. I feel like this should piss me off to no end, but I can't muster any rage against it. It was a stupid and immature ending, but that fits the show perfectly. If they ever turned that idea into a second season, I'd probably watch it.

At the end of the day, Panty & Stocking was made for a very specific audience, and it definitely won't work for a lot of people. If the premise repulses you to your very core, the execution will do nothing to change your mind. Still, if anything about this show piques your interest I'll tip the scale in its favor. For those who're doubtful, I'd recommend watching episode 6 to gauge your reaction, and unless you really love what you see you can ignore everything that came before (except the latter half of episode 5, which is actually pretty good). It's a stupid and pointless show, but unforgettable execution and sincerity are enough to earn a passing grade from me.