×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
This Week in Anime - What's the Big Deal About Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt?


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5512
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:27 am Reply with quote
My feelings towards the show, were that it was enjoyable to around the half way point, the big fight between Panty & Stocking and Scanty and Kneesocks was where it peaked for me.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1759
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:31 am Reply with quote
Unpopular opinion but for me this show was the anime equivalent of those American cartoons that use anime-esque artstyle and copy anime tropes and clichés (like sweatdrops) and generally try really really hard to be "like anime but cooler!!!" and end up just feeling tryhard instead of genuine. Panty&Stocking was "like American cartoons but cooler!!!" and trying really really hard to use that '90s Cartoon Network artstyle and tropes and clichés and just felt tryhard instead of genuine.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
tywhoppity



Joined: 09 Sep 2019
Posts: 220
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:02 am Reply with quote
The dub was awesome IMO! This is a show that if you take it seriously, you're missing the point.... Wink
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
livin_large



Joined: 10 Nov 2021
Posts: 107
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:22 am Reply with quote
SHD wrote:
Unpopular opinion but for me this show was the anime equivalent of those American cartoons that use anime-esque artstyle and copy anime tropes and clichés (like sweatdrops) and generally try really really hard to be "like anime but cooler!!!" and end up just feeling tryhard instead of genuine. Panty&Stocking was "like American cartoons but cooler!!!" and trying really really hard to use that '90s Cartoon Network artstyle and tropes and clichés and just felt tryhard instead of genuine.


I feel Panty and Stocking pulled off imitating American animation much better than any American animation that has attempted to imitate anime. Right from the get-go the OP is only 30 seconds long and just repeating the name of the show over and over again which was very similar to most American cartoon intros back in the day. It also had two 11 minute segments rather than full 30 minute episodes complete with title cards and the show was mostly episodic with no real rhyme or reason. The only real critique I have is while the art style aimed for a more simple and crude style like American animation, it's still a bit too dynamic due to Gainax/Trigger just being that good I guess so it never really captured the stiff, flat, blocky style of American cartoons. I'm guessing there's just some things you can't un-learn or intentionally change due to different industries and culture. Note I'm not counting the intentional shift to more traditional anime and sakuga like the transformation.

I don't think the show was deep but it was pretty enjoyable and unique. The OST was great and it has a lot of style. I always found it really cute and funny when Japanese girls swear in English. Before we had Vtubers like Pekora and Miko swearing up a storm we had Panty and Stocking doing it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
pi8you



Joined: 24 Sep 2004
Posts: 191
Location: Minneapolis
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 11:29 am Reply with quote
I really need to find some time to rewatch the show, but for now I'm just over here wishing for those simpler times where Gainax West had to follow up that COMMING SOON to clarify that they weren't teasing a pachinko machine.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
johnnysasaki



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 948
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:45 pm Reply with quote
tywhoppity wrote:
The dub was awesome IMO! This is a show that if you take it seriously, you're missing the point.... Wink


I remembered who voices the duo and the Booger ghost...boy,there are some good jokes to be made here...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3450
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 2:27 pm Reply with quote
SHD wrote:
Unpopular opinion but for me this show was the anime equivalent of those American cartoons that use anime-esque artstyle and copy anime tropes and clichés (like sweatdrops) and generally try really really hard to be "like anime but cooler!!!" and end up just feeling tryhard instead of genuine. Panty&Stocking was "like American cartoons but cooler!!!" and trying really really hard to use that '90s Cartoon Network artstyle and tropes and clichés and just felt tryhard instead of genuine.

I don't think its unpopular at all, P&S was never particularly big in neither japan or american. I think the general consensus as always been that's a weird oddity, but once you get pass the "button pushing" humor (which isn't hard in a world where south park has existed for a decades before P&S even came out) it's not a particularly fun/interesting/creative show.

Most of the time I see clip of it being posted you inevitably see people asking where the clip is from, followed by people telling them its not worth watching. You could put together a maybe 10 minutes long collection of clip and get 90% of the entertainment value of the whole show.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Takkun4343



Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Posts: 1579
Location: Englewood, Ohio
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:23 pm Reply with quote
Ah, Panty & Stocking, one of the shows that kicked off my first unbroken streak of watching seasonal anime as they premiered. I don't really recall thinking it was a hilarious show, but it was fun and crazy and in my book, that matters more than getting a laugh when watching a GAINAX show. Especially when the final minute of content was the first time I ever went into a Gainax Ending completely blind. Shocked To say I was stunned was putting it lightly. Avoiding spoilers for the show's second half was one of the smartest non-academic things I did back then, otherwise it wouldn'tve had the same impact.

That said, I can't say I agree with your sentiments and hopes that the next season is better in taste than the last. Being offensive to anyone and everyone is in Panty & Stocking's bloodstream, and to tell it to be less that is like shouting into the hallway of an abandoned building the morning of its scheduled demolition. Things might happen in your favor, but it's just as likely they won't. And we'll just have to accept that, because this being Imaishi's undistilled brainchild, his mind will be set long before the episode hits the airwaves. It's not a pretty theory to face, but it's a plausible one.

Also, Kneesocks is best girl. Her sister and her underbite can f*ck right off.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Zalis116
Moderator


Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6900
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:09 pm Reply with quote
One thing I appreciated about P&S w/G is that they didn't only go for the low-hanging, most-obvious fruits when it came to parodies and references -- there are some surprisingly deep cuts in there. Like at 12:50 of ep 08 ("One Angry Ghost"), which spoofs this scene from the 2000 movie, Magnolia. The English dub takes things a step further and incorporates some of the actual (and NSFW) language from Tom Cruise's character.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1250
PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:25 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
I don't think its unpopular at all, P&S was never particularly big in neither japan or american. I think the general consensus as always been that's a weird oddity, but once you get pass the "button pushing" humor (which isn't hard in a world where south park has existed for a decades before P&S even came out) it's not a particularly fun/interesting/creative show.

Most of the time I see clip of it being posted you inevitably see people asking where the clip is from, followed by people telling them its not worth watching. You could put together a maybe 10 minutes long collection of clip and get 90% of the entertainment value of the whole show.

I don't know that they'd go to the effort to revive it after 12 years if it didn't hit somewhere.

I feel like you're underselling what a big shock this show was in 2010, when having modern American cartoons referenced in anime at all was unthinkable. This was deep into the days of moe moe everything, so it was quite a change of pace. The character design style was and is unique to the point that people still reference Panty and Stocking by name when talking about it or imitating it - latest example I can think of off-hand is the DJMAX RESPECT V intro.

I'm not surprised if some people are saying it's not all that after all this time, as a fair bit of the novelty has been absorbed into wider culture by now. But the very fact that it's still remembered and talked about and has clips posted of it period is a hell of a lot more than I can say for like...most anime from that time. I don't think it was the best show ever or anything, but it was remarkable.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6229
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 7:04 am Reply with quote
I have to laugh at seeing a nostalgia article for Panty & Stocking, since ANN hated this show when it first came out. While the humor can go too far, I personally enjoyed it. The dub is hilarious and still holds up well.

Last edited by v1cious on Thu Jul 21, 2022 10:06 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
BonusStage



Joined: 24 Oct 2011
Posts: 307
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 7:50 am Reply with quote
v1cious wrote:
The dub is hilarious and still holds up well.


I'm of the opposite feeling. The dub completely changes the feel of the show and makes it feel like I'm watching one of those trashy American HBO shows like Girls. It made the show very unpleasant to watch compared to the sub in my opinion.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6229
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 10:13 am Reply with quote
BonusStage wrote:
v1cious wrote:
The dub is hilarious and still holds up well.


I'm of the opposite feeling. The dub completely changes the feel of the show and makes it feel like I'm watching one of those trashy American HBO shows like Girls. It made the show very unpleasant to watch compared to the sub in my opinion.


That was the point. Imaishi's inspiration for making Panty & Stocking was trashy American shows like "South Park" and "Drawn Together".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
dm
Subscriber



Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1468
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 10:18 am Reply with quote
Maybe I'd zoned out in the last couple of minutes, but I'd forgotten that ending, entirely. I just went back and watched the last episode. Well, in context, I see why I didn't think it memorable: I'm sure I expected the solution was just add water (or more likely some bodily fluid), and stir.

I also agree that the noir episode was one of the best. Hoping for more like that was one of the reasons I stuck with the series (it's usual schtick was a bit heavy-handed for my tastes).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14889
PostPosted: Fri Jul 22, 2022 6:14 am Reply with quote
v1cious wrote:

That was the point. Imaishi's inspiration for making Panty & Stocking was trashy American shows like "South Park" and "Drawn Together".


Yep, during a Gainax staff's visit to Pixar Studio in California, they explained:
Quote:
Someone asked [Hiromi Wakabayashi] about the inspiration behind the show. “ A few years ago I along with other Gainax staffers at an american convention were watching the American tv animation “drawn together” and we couldn’t believe they were showing such explicit things on tv….. I thought…why don’t we do that!” Haha. Everyone laughed.

Hiromi also sighted Power Puff Girls and his love for American shows like Glee and Gossip Girl. Hiromi is also a huge fan of American comics!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group