Panti & Sutokkingu with Gâtâberuto

This anime is a challenge to the senses, containing both disgusting and sublime imagery, and a synth-heavy pop dance soundtrack that will get you grooving despite yourself.

The sensual transformation sequences and suggestive subject matter make it ideally suited for the 13-year old hormonal boy in all of us, and its nearly blasphemous depiction of angels and religious figures makes us feel a bit guilty for taking such pleasure in its racy, uninhibited nature.

But to look at the surface would be to miss the core of what the show is really about. Instead of a solely sexual mind-trip, this anime takes traditional Japanese values and turns them on their head.

The clues to this revelation are in the lyrics of the music the angels sing, and in the rivals they face.

Anarchy seems to be the trait that the heavenly duo seem to endear, with an unabashed indulgence of their sexual and physical desires. Meanwhile, their demonic counterparts are all about rigid order. (Their costumes are often based upon the uniforms of the 3rd Reich).

Traditional Japanese society tells people "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down" while this anime says, "be yourself, and screw the consequences" - it is making an appeal to the youth of Japan to grasp for freedom despite the consequences, reminding me of the kind of things that led to the cultural revolutions of the 60s in the US.

Look deeper and you will see even more.

And even if you don't want to be bothered with deep messages and subplots, you can unplug your brain and enjoy the random sexy adventures of two crazy angels having a good time.

Ratings for all 13 episodes,

Ep 1 ~ 6/10; Ep 2 ~ 7/10; Ep 3 ~ 7/10; Ep 4 ~ 7/10; Ep 5 ~ 5/10; Ep 6 ~ 7/10; Ep 7 ~ 7/10; Ep 8 ~ 7/10; Ep 9 ~ 7/10; Ep10 ~ 4/10; Ep11 ~ 8/10; Ep12 ~ 7/10; Ep13 ~ 7/10

Love the voice cast (outstanding English dub). The idea of foul-mouthed angel sisters Panty (a sex maniac) and Stocking (a sugar addict) getting kicked out of Heaven for 'bad behaviour' (never specified) is a funny one. Their attempting to earn their way back in is pretty much all there is in terms of connecting plot; apart from that the episodes are pretty self-contained. There's a lot of innuendo and fan-service (without it there wouldn't be much of a show!), as well as extremely strong language, but it's done in a very funny way. And some of the dialogue between Panty, Stocking, and their Earthly 'handler', Garterbelt, is laugh-out-loud. The big problem with the show is lack of consistency.

Some episodes are pretty good, one is very good; and a few are downright poor. Almost all episodes consist of two separate stories, one usually stronger than the other (episode ratings above are averaged out over the two stories; sadly, ratings of strong segments get dragged down by weaker ones). There's far too much reliance on 'toilet humour'. And the art/animation is sometimes wanting; Panty and Stocking, their demonic opposites Scanty and Kneesocks, and Garterbelt, are fine, but several supporting characters are jarringly drawn/animated in a style reminiscent of 'Ren & Stimpy' or 'Courage the Cowardly Dog', which I can't stand.

The ending of the final episode infuriated some fans at the time, whilst others loved it. The promised (or trolled?!) second season never arrived. A return was teased a few years back but nothing came of it. If it did come back, I'd watch it. When this series hits it is very funny. Overall rating, 6.5/10.

As my summary suggests, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (PSG from now on) is easily one of the most profanity- and sexual reference-laden shows I've ever seen. It is also easily one of the funniest (albeit crudely funny) shows I've ever had the pleasure to watch.

PSG follows the story of Panty and Stocking, two foul-mouthed and short-tempered angels who were banished from heaven because of their behavior. They now reside on Earth, where they have to acquire enough Heaven Coins to buy their way back into heaven, which they obtain by killing ghosts that appear in the city they live in. Garterbelt is an almost equally foul-mouthed reverend who acts as the angels' guardian as well as messenger from whom Panty and Stocking receive their assignments.

Sounds simple enough, but these two girls have pretty extreme fascinations that constantly distract them from their true goal. Panty makes it her personal goal to have sex with one thousand Earth men before returning to heaven, and Stocking eats anything containing sugar she can get her hands on. And when they are on task, they can transform their undergarments (for which each angel is named) into a weapon (Panty's panties turn into guns, Stocking's stockings turn into katanas). Yup.

Believe you me, this show is as outlandish as it sounds and then some, and is equally as funny. Yes, most of the humor is crude, but it's also taken to an extant that, in my opinion, would nearly warrant an NC-17 rating for the entire series if it had included any actual nudity. As such, keep this as far away from children as possible but by all means enjoy at your leisure. Don't let the animation style fool you; this is anime, but GAINAX meant for it to resemble American cartoons. While it may look simple as first glance, the action segments in the series have some pretty awesome (and insane) animation, hardly a surprise considering this was animated by the same people that made Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Anyone looking for adult animation need look no further than PSG. Every episode packs a wallop in the form of an outrageous plot as well as extremely raunchy humor including, but not limited to, pervasive sexual references and language. On that topic, I would have to recommend watching this in the English-dubbed version. Frankly, I found it a lot funnier in English, especially in how the lines are delivered and how the script writers really cut loose and managed to make it raunchier than the original Japanese version.

AND it has an homage to Invader ZIM. What more could you ask for?! Watch it already!

Review based on: Full viewing of Japanese and English dubbed series (13/13)

I speak both English and Japanese but the English dub of Panty and Stocking is one of the best dubs that Funimation has made. Jamie Marchi's crass screenplay not only provides raunchy material but made the anime more true to what Gainax wanted. Jamie Marchi, Monica Rial, Christopher Sabat, Christopher Ayres, Joel McDonald, Ian Sinclair, Cherami Leigh and Colleen Clinkenbeard have provided their best voice work in that anime. It's basically if Deadpool had an anime made after him.

In many ways, this show gets a completely unfair rap from people that had been expecting something entirely different. When one conjures up images of anime comedy, one tends to think of a moe-blob and her misadventures in high school - something the creators of Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt have obviously had just about enough of.

In that respect, they're not alone. This is a show that is truly in sync with true veteran anime fans for its self-referential comedy, its blunt and honest lambasting of ludicrous anime norms and expectations, and its innovative art style.

Do yourself a favor - if you're into anime, have been growing a little bit bored with the endlessly repeated formulae that have been plaguing the genre and you don't mind being occasionally shocked or disgusted, this brilliantly animated and laugh-out-loud show will quickly become one of your favorites.

Easily the sleeper hit of 2010.