Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

Story

The show revolves around the exploits of the Anarchy sisters, Panty and Stocking, angels who were kicked out of Heaven due to their bad behavior. They are sent to Daten City—a pun on the Japanese word datenshi (堕天使, lit. "fallen angel")—a place on the border between Heaven and Hell, which is besieged by evil spirits referred to as "Ghosts". The sisters take refuge under the care of the reverend Garterbelt; under his watchful eyes, the sisters are tasked with using their ability to transform their lingerie into weapons, and using them to destroy malicious Ghosts. By doing so, the sisters earn "Heaven Coins" with which they intend to one day use to buy their way back into Heaven. However, Panty and Stocking are constantly sidetracked by their respective interests in men and sugary sweets.

Development

Following the broadcast of Imaishi's previous project, Gurren Lagann, the show's staff went on a trip for rest and relaxation. At that time, they aired their opinions to each other under drunken and humorous circumstances, saying such things as "Next time, I want to try this" in approaches to animation. Almost all of the concepts for the anime was made during the initial trip; the names of main characters, "Panty" and "Stocking", were coined at the very first meeting. Hiromi Wakabayashi, who provided the initial idea for the series, cited American adult animation, such as Drawn Together, as inspiration for the show's crudeness.

Characters

Panty (パンティ, Panti)

Voiced by: Arisa Ogasawara (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)Panty is a blonde-haired pale-skinned angel whose only interests are looking for men to sleep with and basking in the popularity of being an Anarchy sister. She does not take her Ghost-hunting duties as seriously as her sister Stocking, instead preferring to fulfill her personal goal of having sex with 1,000 men on Earth before returning to Heaven. She is generally rude and aggressive to the people around her (including Garterbelt, Brief, Stocking, the men she sleeps with, and most prominently Chuck), and is fond of living the celebrity lifestyle of being an Anarchy sister because it brings her closer to the men and fame she craves. However, she does occasionally exhibit affection toward Stocking and a deep desire for what she believes is best for her, despite their frequent arguing. Although she frequently insults Brief, she sometimes shows a less shallow side to her personality with others. She has the ability to transform her panties into a pistol called Backlace (バックレース, Bakkurēsu). She occasionally wields a second Backlace using Stocking's panties, doubling her firepower and allowing her to combine them into more advanced firearms such as a submachine gun or sniper rifle. She can weaponize male underwear, though the weapon's size and usefulness depends on the size of the original wearer's penis.

Stocking (ストッキング, Sutokkingu)

Voiced by: Mariya Ise (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)Stocking is a pink-and-violet-haired goth angel with pale skin and a gluttonous appetite for sugary foods. She doesn't gain weight from consuming sugar, saying that the fat goes to her breasts, allowing her to eat to her heart's content. Although she is generally more level-headed than Panty, she can be just as rude as her sister when angry, particularly when people tamper with her sweets or call her overweight. Whilst she doesn't have the same level of interest in sex as her sister, she does show sexual urges and interests and is generally more interested in masochistic activities, such as bondage and electrocution. Like Panty, Stocking houses more tender feelings than what she usually lets on. For example, despite finding most human men disgusting, she fell deeply in love with a morbid ghost, going so far as attempting to turn her back on Heaven to be with him. She has forgiven Panty on occasions of mistreatment. Her stockings transform into a pair of katanas called Stripe I (ストライプI, Sutoraipu Wan) and Stripe II (ストライプII, Sutoraipu Tsū). She keeps a stuffed cat doll called Honekoneko (ホネコネコ, lit. "Bone Kitten"), which changes its facial expressions in accordance to Stocking's mood.

Garterbelt (ガーターベルト, Gātāberuto)

Voiced by: Kōji Ishii (Japanese); Christopher R. Sabat (English)The reverend of Daten City. He is the Anarchy sisters' guardian. Garterbelt is a large black man with a massive afro. He relays missions from Heaven to Panty and Stocking, and is constantly annoyed by their erratic behavior and lack of commitment to tasks at hand. Though vocal about keeping order in Daten City, he practices bondage and displays interest in young males, particularly Brief, and uses a masked alias called "Master G" to disguise himself while undertaking such hobbies. In his youth, he was a brutal thug who committed a wide array of crimes including robbery, prostitution, selling drugs and murder. When he is gunned down and sent to Heaven, God tasks him with finding the blood kin of Hell's Monkey, who possesses the key to unlocking Hell's Gate. Because of his initial refusal of the task, he is cursed with immortality and forbidden from dying until he fulfills his given task. Despite his efforts to guide and care for Panty and Stocking, they take very little interest in him or his job and do not appear moved at all when he is seemingly killed by his archenemy Corset.

Brief (ブリーフ, Burīfu)

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese); Joel McDonald (English)A self-proclaimed ghost hunter with an interest in science fiction and the supernatural, for which he is nicknamed "Geekboy" by Panty and Stocking. Brief tries acting as the voice of reason for the Anarchy sisters but instead becomes the butt of many jokes in the series as he is constantly knocked around and subject to abuse, particularly by the sisters. Despite this, he has a crush on Panty, who is impassive to his advances. He carries a backpack-like device capable of detecting Ghosts and blowing smokescreen, which occasionally helps the Anarchy sisters in their duties. His true identity is Briefers Rock (ブリーファス・ロック, Burīfasu Rokku), the handsome son of head of the Rock Foundation, a large corporation in Daten City. He is the blood kin of Hell's Monkey, whose penis becomes the key to the gates of Hell.

Chuck (チャック, Chakku)

Voiced by: Takashi Nakamura (Japanese); Ian Sinclair (English)Panty and Stocking's sidekick, a green dog-like creature, actually a restrained Bull Ghost, with zippers on his body, who closely resembles the character GIR from Invader Zim. Chuck is subject to mortal injuries throughout the course of the series, along with often unprovoked abuse from Panty and Stocking, quickly recovering each time. He can only be immobilized by opening the zippers on his head and releasing his brain, a 2-inch tall male demon who is romantically involved with Fastener's brain. He is used by Heaven as a mailbox of sorts, getting struck by lightning and spitting out a piece of paper containing a clue to a Ghost's whereabouts. By turning himself inside out, he can transform into a massive horned beast. He is only able to say his own name (which means a zipper in Japanese) and is capable of driving the Anarchy sisters' car, a pink Hummer called See-Through (シースルー, Shī Surū).

Scanty (スキャンティ, Sukyanti)

Voiced by: Yuka Komatsu (Japanese); Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)The older of the Demon sisters, Corset's minions and the Anarchy sisters' arch rivals, who oversee the creation of Ghosts in Daten City while acting as the mayor's daughters in public. Scanty is a demon with red skin and green hair who is obsessed with rules and conformity in contrast to the Anarchy sisters' more erratic and unruly behavior. She speaks and dresses formally, and is normally well-mannered, but easily loses her temper whenever her plans fall apart. With her sister Kneesocks, Scanty comes up with schemes to kill or otherwise humiliate the Anarchy sisters, though they are often foiled by her excitable nature. Scanty wears two pairs of panties that transform into revolvers called Double Gold Lacytanga (ダブル・ゴールド・レーシータンガ, Daburu Gōrudo Rēshītanga), which she can combine into a shotgun. Her design is a partial reference to the character Nia, from Gainax's previous series Gurren Lagann.

Kneesocks (ニーソックス, Nīsokkusu)

Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura (Japanese); Cherami Leigh (English)The younger of the Demon sisters. Kneesocks is a red-skinned demon dressed similarly to her sister but wears glasses and has blue hair worn in a ponytail. Unlike her sister, Kneesocks only has a single horn, on her forehead. She shares her sister's formality and obsession with rules, but is calmer and more composed than Scanty whenever the Anarchy sisters derail their plans. She is prone to blushing whenever she does get excited, which causes her face to turn a lighter shade of red. She wears two kneesocks that transform into a pair of scythes called Double Gold Spandex (ダブル・ゴールド・スパンデックス, Daburu Gōrudo Supandekkusu). Her design is a partial reference to the character Yoko, from Gainax's previous series Gurren Lagann.

Corset (コルセット, Korusetto)

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Japanese); Chris Ayres (English)The mayor of Daten City, the superior of Scanty and Kneesocks. Corset is a pale blue-skinned demon with a conical hairstyle who wears various types of BDSM equipment such as buckles, mouth-stretching hooks, and a corset that he frequently tightens. He is an old acquaintance of Garterbelt's, with whom he shares a yellow cross-shaped scar on their chests. Besides the production of Ghosts, Corset seeks to find the blood kin of Hellsmonkey to unlock Hell's Gate and unleash a Ghost powerful enough for him to take over Heaven and Earth.

Fastener (ファスナー, Fasunā)

Voiced by: Miki Makiguchi (Japanese); Christopher Bevins (English)Scanty and Kneesocks' sidekick, and Chuck's rival. Fastener is a pink rodent-like creature with zippers covering his body. He is more competent in his work with the Demon sisters than Chuck is with the Anarchy sisters, though he is also prone to injuries, which heal more slowly than Chuck's. He can only be immobilized by opening the zipper on his head and releasing his brain, a 2-inch tall female demon who is romantically involved with Chuck's brain. Like Chuck, he can only say his own name and drives the Demon sisters' transport, a stretched Mercedes G-Class limousine called G-String (ジーストリング, Jī Sutoringu). He can turn himself inside-out into a Hydra Ghost.

Ghosts (ゴースト, Gōsuto)

The monsters of the week in the series, Ghosts are twisted aberrations born from the regrets or suffering of people who have died and become lost in limbo. Panty and Stocking are tasked with their destruction, which allows them to pass on to Heaven, leaving behind Heaven Coins. Although most Ghosts are savage or destructive, some are relatively harmless annoyances or even oppose their true nature and try to live peacefully. Ghosts are usually slain with angelic weapons, but there are other means of destroying them, such as Ghosts killing each other or peacefully accomplishing what they wanted to achieve in life. As a recurring joke, whenever Panty and Stocking defeat a Ghost with their angelic weapons, a paper-mache model of the Ghost is filmed being blown-up.

Anime

The television series was animated by Gainax and directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi. The series' animation is done in a distinct style resembling and paying homage to American cartoons, along with the Yoshinori Kanada techniques normally associated with Hiroyuki Imaishi's work. The series has many sexual themes in every episode. The theme of the anime is "vulgar and indecent jokes", with Imaishi saying, "If we are going to do this, we will try it thoroughly."

The series aired nationwide, in Japan, between October 1, 2010 and December 24, 2010 on BS Nittele, a free-to-air satellite service of Nippon Television. It was also shown on AT-X seven days after the premiere of each episode, and made available online on Nico Nico Channel (a service of Niconico) through the series's own channel a day after AT-X broadcast. On terrestrial television, it was syndicated in eight markets, including a few JAITS members like Tokyo MX, and TVQ, a TXN affiliate in Kyushu. Internationally, the series was made available online on Crunchyroll.

The series was released in six DVD and BD volumes respectively over the course of six months, with the first DVD/BD volume released on December 24, 2010, followed by succeeding volumes near the end of each following month. The fifth volume, released on April 28, 2011, includes a disc-exclusive episode (OVA) compiling eight short stories, some of which are sequels/conclusions to earlier episodes of the series.

On April 14, 2011, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced their license to the series, which was released on DVD on July 10, 2012. The Blu-ray was released January 15, 2013. The English dub is directed by Colleen Clinkenbeard, with John Burgmeier acting as head writer and Jamie Marchi, Leah Clark, and Jared Hedges serving as episode writers. The first two episodes were made available for streaming on May 22, 2012 for those subscribed to Funimation's Elite Video Subscription service.

Manga Entertainment released the series in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2012, although upon release, faults were discovered on some of the episodes. A corrected version was released on September 10, 2012.

On November 25, 2016, the official Twitter account for Gainax West posted an announcement teaser image featuring silhouettes of Panty and Stocking with the words "Comming [sic] Soon". An announcement for "something new with Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt" will be made on December 16, 2016, which Gainax West states will not be a pachinko, pachislot, social network game or Blu-ray.

Manga

A manga adaptation of the series by Tagro was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine between August 2010 and June 2011. The series was compiled in a single tankōbon volume, released in Japan on June 4, 2011, and was published in English by Dark Horse Comics on May 28, 2015. Another manga illustrated by Hiroyuki Imaishi was serialised in NewType before moving to Monthly Anime Style magazine. Some strips were included in the Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt: Datencity Paparazzi art book, released on June 4, 2011, but the series has not been published in tankōbon format.

Music

The series' musical score is by TCY Force produced by Taku Takahashi (of M-Flo). The opening theme is "Theme for Panty & Stocking", performed by Hoshina Anniversary. The ending theme is "Fallen Angel", performed by Mitsunori Ikeda and featuring Aimee B. The original soundtrack was released on December 29, 2010. A hidden track is on the CD. The special edition of the volume 4 BD/DVD includes a bonus CD containing television edits of certain songs from the official soundtrack, as well as previously unreleased songs.

A second album, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt THE WORST ALBUM, was released on 20 July 2011 and features 24 tracks, including remixes of previous songs from the original anime soundtrack, some new songs, as well as "Cherry Corrida" drama tracks.

Reception

David Brothers of Comics Alliance claims that the series feels like the result of an unholy union between The Ren & Stimpy Show and Dirty Pair. He recommends it, saying "it's raunchy, gross, a whole lot of fun" and that "the mix of disparate influences and material makes it a refreshingly funny anime, and dumb in a way where you can clearly see the hand of smart, experienced animators at work behind the scenes." Mike LeChevallier of Japanator says that "where plot structure is hit or miss, the pure stylization, soundtrack and memorable characters make this a series one worth watching from start to finish."