Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Final Thoughts

My second and last final impressions post for the Fall 2010 season is for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, a series from the unpredictable minds at Gainax which turned out to be one of the most unique and not to mention lewdest anime series I have watched in recent memory.

Brief Description of the Series:
Two angel sisters, Panty Anarchy (a sex fiend) and Stocking Anarchy (a sweets addict), are kicked out of Heaven for bad behavior. Panty and Stocking are sent to Daten City to be supervised by Reverend Garterbelt, and in order to get back into Heaven the sisters have to earn enough Heaven coins by killing monsters called Ghosts that terrorize the city.

Thoughts:
Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is a series that stood out because it's so different than most other anime that's out there. Animated mostly in an American cartoon style, PSG is a hectic and unpredictable show that tried its best to be as vulgar and indecent as possible, and it was very successful in that regards with loads of sex and poop jokes. Other than the vulgarity, there was quite a bit of action, a lot of parodies/homages (the series itself can be considered a parody/homage of American cartoons) and some "experimental" elements consisting of non-standard storytelling and animation. It's a very strange mix, but then again the creators supposedly came up with the concept for this series while they were drunk.

The point is PSG is quite a unique series, and overall I enjoyed watching the series. I don't mind low brow humor (if it's funny), and so I wasn't turned off all of Panty and Stocking's jokes about sex and poop. I am also an action fan, and PSG showed itself to be more than capable of delivering fast paced action and had some very entertaining fights. Due to the experimental nature of the show, not all parts of PSG were good. Some segment were plain bizarre, while other segments were only so-so (ex a number of the movie parodies), but when PSG was good it was crazy, fun and awesome. It was just one of those shows that you watch for brainless entertainment, and more often than not it would provide the amusement. Panty and Stocking is not a show for everyone, but I'd recommend it because it has that ability to be mindlessly fun.

Here is my list of PSG highlights in no particular order:

• The first battle between Panty/Stocking and their demon counterparts Scanty/Kneesocks. It was the best battle in the whole series.
• The music video for "D City Rock". Parodies in Panty and Stocking weren't always good, but the music video was a gem. The song wasn't half bad either.
• The second to last episode with the Romeo and Juliet movie parody, because Geek Boy finally got laid (or was about to). Also it was the one movie parody that worked well in the series.
• The final battle. It wasn't as good as the first battle between the angel and demon sisters, but it was a fitting way to close out the season.
• The first episode which introduced the cast and set the tone for the rest of the show. Also had some one of the better action sequences in the series with the speed demon segment.

And my list of strange and WTF moments:

• The ending. Gainax is trolling us, but I certainly wouldn't mind a second season.
• The segment with the sperm Ghosts. Just plain bizarre.
• The segment with the old salaryman and the different animation style. At the beginning I wasn't sure if I was watching the right show.
• Chuck of the Future.