Review: Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

So I’ve watched the first episode of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt three times. I fucking love it.  Read More to see why.

Story:
Panty and Stocking are angels who where kicked out of heaven due to their bad behavior. Meanwhile on Daten City, a group of ghosts starts to terrorize the place and takes advantage of human greed. Seeing this, both Panty and Stocking were given one more chance to redeem themselves as Angels and get back to heaven by exterminating the ghosts plaguing the city.

When I heard the first news on Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, I was apprehensive because of the character design.  Since it took obvious inspiration from Craig McCracken’s Powerpuff Girls, I figured it would be a safe, cute series that would appeal to creepy otaku.

However once I read that Hiroyuki Imaishi would be directing, all bets were off as to what I was in for.  Dead Leaves is one of my all time favorite anime because its precisely everything contemporary anime isn’t: brash, loud vibrant, noisy and entertaining.  This one isn’t for everybody, the show is full of coarse language, overt sexuality, stereotypes and gross out sight gags.

The titular characters are also examples of antiheroes as Panty is an oversexed skank with a libido that won’t quit and an equally filthy mouth, while Stocking is a Gothed-out sugar fiend that only thinks about sugar the way a crackhead jones for the next fix.

The cast is rounded out by Garterbelt, a stereotypical fro’ed out black preacher that serves as Panty&Stocking’s handler.  The episode is split into two stories “Excretion Without Honor and Humanity”/“Death Race 2010”.

The first story is an exercise in gross out humor as it introduces Panty&Stocking along with Garterbelt as their first mission deals with a Spirit that haunts toilets and kills people that turns into a shit monster after trying to kill Panty on the toilet.

The second story deals with a Spirit that only wants to haul ass and wreak havoc across Daten City while wearing Panty’s panties on its head when she loses them trying to snuff out the spirit, leading to a hilarious bit with a psychotic TV newscaster riding in a helicopter.

Panty proves her skankiness throughout by sleeping with just about every guy that wears a uniform at her favorite hangout the Motel, while Stocking stuffs herself with cake like a fatty Goth girl.

Throughout the episode the incidental music shifts at a spastic rate as it goes from instrumental hip—hop to thrash metal, to Brazilian samba, with the highlight of the episode being THE BEST TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE EVER:

Judging by the first episode, Panty & Stocking is already shaping up to be the first hit of the Fall Season.

Though the animation and storytelling are polarizing, most of those complaining typically prefer their anime to be serious character studies that bore the shit out of me.  When I watch anime I want to be entertained.

That’s why I love Panty&Stocking.  It’s spastic, noisy, irreverent and brash.  Gainax has a solid hit on their hands and I want more.