Seldom does one see a show that is this perverted without really showing anything that perverted. Other shows that claim to be less perverted show a whole lot more than these folks. Now, I will admit that when I heard the title “Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt”, I had no real idea what it was all about, but it has genuinely NOTHING to do with underwear and garments as you might think they should.

Our two heroines are Panty (the blonde) and Stockings (the brunette), the Anarchy Sisters. They are fallen angels, kicked out of heaven for their very bad behaviors. They have been sent toDatenCity(and here is a joke; datenshi is Japanese for ‘fallen angel’) and they have to do battle with monsters (or ‘ghosts’) whom torment this city.

Depending on how hard or involved the fight with the ghosts is, this manifests itself in the amount of coins they get. They are literally trying to buy their way back into heaven.

Overseeing this is the Reverend Garterbelt, who acts as a liaison and mentor for the girls, but is constantly frustrated at their lack of commitment to the task at hand. The ladies have peculiar predilections. Panty is a sex fiend, with her goal of having sex with 1000 men before she returns to heaven (and this makes Yamada look like a piker) plus her being a major slob.

Stocking, despite being Goth, is neat and organized but turn to jelly when offered sweets and desserts. This, of course, leads to numerous arguments between the sisters, as they battle each other as much as they battle the ghosts.

And where do those weapons come from? Panty takes off her panties and they turn into the semi-automatic pistol, “Backlace”. If she can get two pairs of panties (which she usually steals from Stocking) they can become two pistols and this allows her to combine them into a more powerful weapon.

Stocking takes off her stockings and they transform into “Stripes I and Stripes II” (as she wears striped stockings). A set of mean katanas, she normally uses just one, but will use both in tense situations.

Support people are all named after undergarments or garment-related: Briefers “Brief” Rock, Mayor Corset, Scanty Demon, Kneesocks Demon (yes, those last two are also sisters), and Fastener. Oh, and the girl’s automobile? That’s called See-Through.

I bring up the perversion factor as we see Panty having sex, but not graphically engaged in sex. It might be a silhouette or she wakes up in bed with some guy, or even a huge CENSORED panel, but you never actually see anything. Even when she takes off her panties, nothing is revealed. Admittedly, the art style (somewhere in the “Powerpuff Girl” – “Samurai Jack” – “Dexter’s Lab” nexus) does not lend itself to caliber fan service, so the story relies more on being rude and vulgar and crass to hilarious results.

To wit, in the “Lingerie Run” episode, when Panty and Stocking arrive at school, the girls line up on one side and the guys on the others (PS, EVERYONE is in their underpants, OK?) Stocking heads down the girl’s row, slapping their prodigious boobies in the process and the ladies all faint from bobbling ecstasy. Panty brushes against the baskets of all the guys and they get nosebleeds and pass out. We do not see anything except bulges, but the idea is strong enough.

The reason the fan service rating is so high is less for content and more for intent. If we based it strictly on skin, I would place this around “Gurren Lagaan” or “Maburaho” (four to five). But because of the intent behind things (not just nudity, but other factors), it rates higher.

This show has the ability to really offend people, with a lot of bizarre situations and circumstances, but it is never done with a sense of being perverted just to be perverted; it’s just how things come about. Another thing to factor in is the salty language. Plus, how they use the language gets silly. They use terms like “Excrement!” and “Intercourse!” (this is a family forum, so I cannot use the actual terms, but you understand) and no problems, as you hear it in its full uncut glory, but the censor horn comes out for words like ‘virgin’, ‘hymen’ and ‘penis’. It, again, fits their character to speak this way. But since things move so fast, you can easily miss a lot of stuff, so it could be ‘worse’ than I imagined.

Despite the constant fighting, things are kept moving so you do not feel you are seeing the same idea retreated constantly, but you do get weary of their attitude. Panty really is a bitch cranky person and that wears thin. Things get really hard with the last four episodes, as there is a strongly connected arc to wrap it all up but things are pushed to the breaking limit, with Panty’s sex run and her extremely coarse attitude.

But if you want something really out of the ordinary and “in your face”, then this is a good show for you. If you are expecting something like “Save Me! Lollipop”, you had best move on.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork           4 (Cartoony)
Plot                 7 (It is a bit old hat)
Pacing             9 (It gets frantic and does it move)
Effectiveness  8 (They make it work well)
Conclusion      8 (It ends and more or less how you imagined)
Fan Service    7 (A similar shows would be “UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie”, but it’s the intent as well)
Overall            7 (It gets repetitive, but still a good offering)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Hmmmmm….sex or sweets….