Every once in a while, a renowned studio like Gainax (or Trigger in this context) will make an anime series based on the ramblings of partygoers and a fever dream just to prove a point: people will watch whatever a renowned studio would put up even if it’s unmitigatedly trashy and crass. Oh, and also the look of a Genndy Tartakovsky Cartoon Network series if it were on crack cocaine mixed with acid.

That’s Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt in a nutshell back in 2010, a show about two Fallen Angels trying to earn Heaven Coins by killing demons and ghosts, but ultimately have to conquer their own vices to succeed. Panty’s the promiscuous one while Stocking is the sweets-loving glutton, and they’re a handful for their caretaker Garterbelt, a black priest with an afro.

Half the time they’re fighting evils in Daten City, but mostly the duo are fighting amongst themselves and being the biggest bitches in the block. There is a semblance of an arching plot at the tail end of the show involving the show’s whipping boy character Brief and his junk (no, really, it’s the key to the show’s macguffin), but it’s mostly animated nonsense loaded with as much swears, filth, stupidity, and cartoonish ultraviolence, with absurdity rivaled only by 1996’s Excel Saga.

Years later, we finally get a sequel on Amazon Prime Video. And it’s just as unabashedly vulgar as one would remember, though with a bit more budget. After the cliffhanger of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (2010), the new show just continues on like the 15 past years didn’t happen. Yes, Studio Trigger is wise enough to make a joke at this right at the start. Our side characters Garterbelt and Briefs have to go collect 666 pieces of the now-dead Panty and snap Stocking out of her new allegiance with the big bad Corset, who is reduced to a tiny-ass demon. The Devil Sisters (antagonists from the last season) join in reluctantly, resulting in a bunch of Tom and Jerry-esque slapstick humour and ultraviolence fit for the show’s 18-and-above rating. This first episode starts out with the following highlights:

-A bunch of people performing a Japanese fertility festival (Kanamara Matsuri) shrine-carrying ritual, but instead of a giant penis, it’s a block of someone’s vagina.
-A philosophical debate in someone’s mind about whether you love someone for who they are, or just because they’re a bitch and you love being tortured by them.
-A giant woman in a miniskirt fighting a puddle demon, guts strewn out, heads flying, and all.

New Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt isn’t going to win new fans with its old-school crass, but it isn’t meant to. It’s just a follow-up 15 years after, just being nonsensical, vulgar, and hyper colour-filled like its past series under Gainax. Trigger is just giving fans what they want after getting their non-sequitor creations back, now with a lot more lessons in animation and 3D mastery, blending the two to just making s***, piss, and bitch jokes at our cast’s expense. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not-So-Final Score: 80/100

Sub or Dub?

Both are masterfully done, so there’s no wrong answer. However, I do feel that there’s a lot more liberal swearing in the English dub, which is always a plus when dealing with an anime with fallen angels who love f***ing, sweets, and ultraviolence.

https://www.tiktok.com/@kakuchopurei/video/7525267456970116360

@kakuchopurei Our latest Japanese VS English dub comparison quickie video is on New Panty & Stocking episode 1. Let the swears fly high! #anime #primevideo #trigger ? anime – Daily Musik Production