(L) Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

[Malkuth]

Turned out not to be as bad as I expected, the american toilet humor was not very american (rather mediterranean), pace was fast enough, they had that beautiful animation sequence, and the characters are based of some japanese archtypes (gyaru & goth-loli). On the downside (for me), I do not like the art and dread the possibility that this will create a trend in japanese animation. On the other hand, I see that at least partially the intention is to make it more accessible to american audiences, and to a large extend this is why there is possitive feedback. Also some have written already and I tend to agree that the BGM is very similar to Persona RPGs, still more fitting here than in the game.

[HandofFate]

just watched the first episode.
its alrite. I know lots of people are just going "lol" at the sillyness of it.
there were some scenes and jokes I did smile at or was like "argh..." (in an amusing way, like when Panty goes to the toilet)
it seems to be a typical gag anime, which usually goes strong the first 2-3 episodes, and then will get:

a) really stale
b) complete hit or miss episodes
c) consistant average level of enjoyment

mostly falling under A or B in that order.

only problem is that this reminds of the (imo) really really bad adult swim cartoons which is just a bunch of random garbage and non-sense lines for 15 minutes or so.

I like Stocking alot more than Panty at the moment, Stocking to me has the nicer voice and has the more entertaining lines.

and final verdict on: "Would you read hentai doujins of this?"
for me: Yes.

some scenes I really liked:

Spoiler for episode 1:

When Panty goes to the toilet and starts getting sucked in, and starts freaking out calling Stocking.

Stocking just goes "Shut up! Panty, settle down in there!"
Love these little "situational misunderstandings?" type of exchanges.

episode 2:

"ohhh, her panties turn into the guns. I see" - me.

when all the police cars keep ramming into the ghostcar, and just kept ramming cars after cars into it

definitely going to be a love or hate it anime of the season, with two of the standard very vocal members on each side.

[Master_Yoma]

wow this is just filthy

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by HandofFate

a) really stale
b) complete hit or miss episodes
c) consistant average level of enjoyment

In other words, anything can happen. The future is a bright glowing unknown, and there's nothing to do but go right into it, damn the consequences.

[MeoTwister5]

During the first few revelations about this show, everyone should have already known that the series will be based on, and will thus live on, sex and toilet humor and pretty much nothing else. Even the creators virtually admitted to it. Expecting anything more than that is... well pointless.

That's why the delineation for this show is a simple black and white question:

1. If you can like low-brow sex and toilet humor every week then you can like this show.

2. If you dislike said factors, then you will probably dislike this show.

Simple as that. You don't even need attempts to intellectualize or rationalize the show. It is what it is. Just like HotD was, this is pure unpretentious fun. Trying to inject something more than that will expectantly just ruin the fun for you and everyone else.

[wormspeaker]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

1. If you can like low-brow sex and toilet humor every week then you can like this show.

I don't think the sex humor is really all that low-brow. It's really rather middle-brow, I think. The toilet humor is definitely low-brow though. I generally can't stand toilet humor, but in this case of this anime they really pace it well so that they don't dwell on any particular joke too long so if it's not my cup of tea, at least it won't be around long. It's kind of the opposite of a SNL movie. PSGB is a half hour of jokes squished into 15 minutes and it's like "screw you" if you can't keep up. A SNL movie would be 15 minutes of jokes stretched out into an hour and a half and they just sit there beating a fart joke to death for what seems like an eternity.

[KROMEangel]

Really people? What were you expecting?

Let's get this straightened out; the plot is shallow; Very shallow. It's basically a collect-a-thon for coins (maybe some leveling up in the future?). The characters are not that deep; what you see is EXACTLY who they are right now. And the humor? I would say that it is pretty low brow, and not an ounce of thought will ever need to be spared to get it.

And you know what? GOOD.

This is NOT a provocative drama; this is NOT a witty comedy; and it certainly is NOT the over-abundant moe bullshit.
You want those things? Well then, there are plenty of animes out there for that; in fact, too much of the them really. This is going for something different; this a roller coaster ride, without the tracks to keeps things sane. and I applaud Gainax for it.

In summary, do you hate fun? Are you the kind of person who thinks fun is not "deep" enough to analyze? Then you will hate this show.

[Guardian Enzo]

Or maybe, just maybe, you legitimately didn't find this all that fun. Anything is possible, after all.

[KROMEangel]

/raspberry

Just sayin' that most of the complaints are about things that are pretty deliberate.

First episode is pretty dang immature alright. But the style and animation are all there in-between.

and I'll take back my comment about "fun".
Still, the kind of entertainment this show produces is pretty much the pure, unprocessed version of it.

[SilverSyko]

While this show fits in my definition for it, "fun" is different for everybody.

For some people analyzing a show is fun, and when a show like this comes along which doesn't allow any of that, they're not going to get any enjoyment out of it.

I agree though this is somewhat different from what Japan usually cranks out and it's a relieving change.~

[OkamiNoKaze]

Saw episode 1, this show is hilarious, and quite awesome. Stocking is definitely my favorite of two girls, I especially liked her standing on the hood of the truck with her sword, I'm pretty sure that's a High School of the Dead reference, I also of course liked the Transformation scene, as well as the way they had the ghosts explode, in a sort of live action form.

[twasdfzxcv]

Anyone catch the name of the train station the demon truck crashed in?

also the destination of the train is quite something too.

[Kismet-chan]

After taking the time to watch the thing... Eh, it's alright. I feel kind of ambivalent about it because part of me likes the style of it since it's new and fresh, but at the same time, it's looks like a rehash of several things I've seen before just smacked together (and these "things" are all from American, Japanese, and French animation). Not that this is a bad thing; in the art world, it's a wonderful thing to see a mixing of styles. But you have to do it JUST right in order to get the proper response from out of everyone. The transformation/battle scene had really nice animation, but style change for those few seconds wasn't all that special; just looked like a regular old anime style with lots of contrast and very vibrant colors.

I give it the seal of approval, and I don't think there's anything too wrong with it (bad language and racial jokes are things that do not phase me, I'm fine with it)...

... However, I personally don't understand why it's being praised so highly. I even saw one commenter say that they felt this would be the best show of the fall season. How? I'm not trying to knock the show, per se, but I can at least look over the things I like about it and analyze it with a logical, unbiased mind frame.

Or, in shorter words: It's good, but it's not THAT good.

[Tamad]

Hooray for opinions!

While I certainly think it's ridiculous that some people are already considering this the show of the season (especially since only a handful of the new shows have actually begun airing), but I don't think it needs to be criticized for what it is either. Then again, this happens with every popular show of every season anyways, so there's no longer any point wasting my breath with that.

I wasn't a big fan of the literal toilet humor in the first episode, but the second half of the episode is what really won me over. It felt like Powerpuff Girls and Gurren Lagann were thrown into a blender owned by Adult Swim, and if there's at least 15 minutes of that every episode, then I wouldn't mind folliwing this one to the very end. Stocking is also my favorite character at the moment, though Panty is pretty cool too for what she is.

And that transformation sequence is one of the very few transformation sequences that I wouldn't mind watching every episode~ I also wish there was a full version of the ending song already.

[Fenrir_valindri]

I have a pretty positive impression from the first episode, it had its funny moments, and the style is interesting (especially LOL art-shift).

I hope future episodes keep my interest.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by twasdfzxcv

Anyone catch the name of the train station the demon truck crashed in?

also the destination of the train is quite something too.

"Peni Station", as I recall.

Originally Posted by Kismet-chan

... However, I personally don't understand why it's being praised so highly. I even saw one commenter say that they felt this would be the best show of the fall season. How?

There have been about two good shows all year. This is almost infinitely better than anything I've seen since, oh, last fall.

[Keiichi_chan]

Originally Posted by KROMEangel

and it certainly is NOT the over-abundant moe bullshit.
.

you sure???


i have no problem with fun, even mindless fun.
i just didn't feel this was sheer fun so much as it was either incredibly stupid or trying really
hard to be frantic and exciting while just falling flat over and over.
not everyone is going to like this, obviously.

it totally and shamelessly re-hashed things from tons of different american cartoons, but didn't seem to capture the fun and wit of any of the shows it was borrowing from. and i get the feeling that people who self-righteously bash all the shows this is poorly imitating are going to lap this up and claim it's something amazing and brilliant purely based on it being perverted, gainax, and japanese animated. i have a feeling people who loathe and bash teen titans and shows like that are going to get behind this completely.

[octoberasian]

Originally Posted by Keiichi_chan

you sure???


i have no problem with fun, even mindless fun.
i just didn't feel this was sheer fun so much as it was either incredibly stupid or trying really
hard to be frantic and exciting while just falling flat over and over.
not everyone is going to like this, obviously.

it totally and shamelessly re-hashed things from tons of different american cartoons, but didn't seem to capture the fun and wit of any of the shows it was borrowing from. and i get the feeling that people who self-righteously bash all the shows this is poorly imitating are going to lap this up and claim it's something amazing and brilliant purely based on it being perverted, gainax, and japanese animated. i have a feeling people who loathe and bash teen titans and shows like that are going to get behind this completely.

I was completely surprised when I watched this. I was expecting a Power Puff Girls rehash taken to 18+ territory, but it wasn’t…

The humor was there, the action was there, the over-the-top animation and dialogue was there. It made me feel good (I guess that’s the right words). It reminded me of simpler times when cartoons USED to be fun to watch in the US.

This anime was pretty damn good and censorships be damned, I’ll still watch it. And, that magical transformation sequence puts a whole NEW spin on mahou shoujo transformations. XD

*is reminded of Panty’s transformation…*
*dies a happy death*

Thank you Gainax for making another good and equally enjoyable anime. It’s experimental. It’s audacious. It’s brilliantly funny. And, the art style is actually pretty good. You don’t need detailed drawings or fluid animation for this, this was just done right and is completely fitting. It gave me another reason why I like anime– freedom from the norm (aka US-style/US-puritanized cartoons).

[KROMEangel]

Originally Posted by Keiichi_chan

you sure???


i have no problem with fun, even mindless fun.
i just didn't feel this was sheer fun so much as it was either incredibly stupid or trying really
hard to be frantic and exciting while just falling flat over and over.
not everyone is going to like this, obviously.

it totally and shamelessly re-hashed things from tons of different american cartoons, but didn't seem to capture the fun and wit of any of the shows it was borrowing from. and i get the feeling that people who self-righteously bash all the shows this is poorly imitating are going to lap this up and claim it's something amazing and brilliant purely based on it being perverted, gainax, and japanese animated. i have a feeling people who loathe and bash teen titans and shows like that are going to get behind this completely.

First off, guess what? I actually liked Teen Titans. Even more surprising, I FOLLOWED IT; right from the first episode all the way to the finale movie in Tokyo.

Now, I've said it before, but I'll say it again; when I watched through the episode, I gained that nostalgic feeling that I haven't felt in a long time; of waking up on Saturday morning to see my favorite cartoon characters doing their crazy crap of the week.
Lets take Jackie Chan adventures for example (I don't know how many actually liked this cartoon but I DID SO WHATEVs). It didn't have to make sense; I didn't have to know why Jackie Chan was constantly forced to go on fetch quests for talismans, artifacts, and animals. All I had to know was that he kicked loads of ass that week and would do the same next week.

The same thing could be said about many other liked shows though. Not only was it episodic, but each episode was packed to the brim with everything needed to be both satisfied and wanting more. That's the feeling I got here; a short romp of the week that was jam-packed with action and promising to deliver more of that the next time. If anything has been rehashed, then I'm glad THAT part of it was.

Shame be damned; this show is completely shameless, and riding it like a cowgirl. The frantic nature and overkill is a Gainax trademark, so you can't really chalk that up to trying too hard; hell, the crowds of cops becoming cannon fodder confetti was done in the first episode of Re: Cutie Honey, which I believe is also by Gainax.
If you don't like that fast pace, well I guess that can't be helped. That's why people love that studio (I could be wrong about that).

And yeah, I don't see this as "moe." The art style may be cute at times, but this not K-on! at all. The closest you can get is the whole pole dancing scene, and that's just good ol' tongue-in-cheek fanservice. Other than that, I don't see a catgirl in a maid outfit in sight.

EDIT:

One more thing; self-righteous bashing? I have a love for animation in general. I'm even thinking of majoring in animation (though I don't think I have the chops). I would certainly not give two shits for anime if I didn't like the cartoons here first. So I don't want to hear this stuff about me liking things because "they're Japanese." I certainly wasn't a fan of the ACTUAL PPG anime.

[Marcus H.]

Even those guys from ANN are expressing their "WTF" at this series.

Judging that I haven't watched any of the Gainax series, I guess this wouldn't change my opinion. They're worse than Shaft in making hit-or-miss anime, and despite having Mahoromatic and Gurren Lagann as "hits", this would totally go as a "miss".

But it's better to watch out for the DVD sales for the first month. Low numbers mean terrible news for Gainax.
EDIT: Not being hopeful; seems that Japanese anime viewers aren't liking the art design.

I'm actually trying hard to not call Gainax Gaymax.