https://i.ur.com/lcKXvi7.jpg?1 Gag series a subgenre of the coined genre widget series on TV Tropes are not new to anime or even American animation. In fact theres even a whole pagehttps://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WidgetSeries/AnimeAndManga listing anime that are light on plot usually a nonlinear plot and heavy on comedy without regards for a traditional narrative structure containing a beginning and an end. For a Gainax comedy the studio infamous for their nonsensical endings unrelated to the larger plot such as those in Neon Genesis Evangelion and FLCL a savvy viewer should have already been prepared for such unorthodox storytelling. However while there are dozens of comedy anime like the slapstick Nichijou and the dramedy Gintama out there that revel in absurdist humor a form of humor more traditionally rooted in Japanese culture Panty Stocking takes pride in its own ridiculous universe and its ludicrous logic instead of having the kind of selfaware fourthwall breaking winking at the camera kind of guilt comedies like Gintama would express towards its own silliness. This is especially evident by the final episode when the voice of reason geek boy Brief Briefers Rock asks how the two titular characters could be so flippant about everything to which the angelic duo answers Were always serious Dead serious when it comes to screwing around. In spite of its ostentatious crudity especially when it comes to the more promiscuous Panty of the protagonist duo the show implies that its a representation of the freedom to do whatever it wants not bounded by boring ol rules. This is pretty clear when you realized that the main antagonists of the show two devil sister counterparts to the titular angel siblings Scanty and Kneesocks have a serious passion for enforcing the rules. Created by the same staff team that brought you the overthetop Gurren Lagann the 2010 anime Panty Stocking was conceived over the staffs vacation trip with Hiromi Wakabayashi who came up with the initial idea comparing it to the likes of Comedy Centrals Drawn Together a 2004 American cartoon that also crudely parodied several styles of American traditional animation like Betty Boop and Disney princesses. The main premise the anime is loosely built on involves two fallen angels who have to work their way back to heaven by killing vengeful ghosts in exchange for Heaven Coins. Once theyve earned enough coins their return is assured. Thus we get a monsteroftheweek cartoon bearing much similarities to The Powerpuff Girls including the design of the main characters and the opening narration of every episode describing the setting of the show Daten City. However unlike PPG or even many gag anime for that matter PS tells you right from the start that its not meant for childrens consumption with or without parental guidance as its first episode Excretion Without Honor and Humanity involves the angels fighting a poop monster. Born out of everyones feces. Yeah its that kind of show. The aptly named Giant Brown is also the first of the Excrement Trinity where disgusting human waste matter are involved alongside snot monster Ugly Snot in Raiders of the Nasal Dark and vomit monster Boogey Pukey in Vomiting Point. https://i.ur.com/4kCGWRC.png?1 Befitting such vulgar content are the two angel protagonists of the anime hardly behave in any angelic manner at all with the blonde Panty being more interested in sleeping with men all day long and the bluehaired Stocking more interested in stuffing her face with confectionaries. From episode 6 onwards the anime would start to move away from its monsteroftheweek format to focus more on the rivalry between the two angels and the aforementioned devil sisters. This is where I feel the anime starts to fall into a more formulaic pattern that undercuts its initial novelty. In my opinion PS is best when they dont have any traditional plot going on in an episode at all. This is best shown through their visual variety. While most episodes bear a similar minimalist animation style in the vein of PPG the series can have a wide range of settings and storylines though still largely rooted in the comedy genre. For example one episode like Death Race 2010 is an entire chase sequence stretched out to an episode but another like Pulp Addiction is bookended by a blackandwhite sequence featuring the Normandy landings from Saving Private Ryan except the soldiers are all personifications of sperms trying to eject. Needless to say entire location sets the audience might be familiar with could be switched every episode with Vomiting Point taking place in the more grounded Little Tokyo mirroring Daten City the way Citiesville mirrored Townsville in PPGs Town and Out. In fact instead of its usual PPG style that particular episode features an entirely different animation style that resembles Satoshi Kons artstyle the guy that brought you Paprika and Perfect Blue. PS is simply at its most interesting that way showing a different style of cartoon storytelling every episode when youre expecting something familiar. To exemplify why such nonadherence to a traditional plot works effectively one simply has to look at the popular Gintama. But while Ive mentioned Gintama a number of times in this review so far PS resemblances are more similar to a more obscure title known as Excel Saga of which its full title is Quack Experimental Anime Excel Saga a name that speaks for itself just how nontraditional its structure is. Much like PS it also has a blonde airhead girl and a more subdued bluehaired girl as its main protagonists including a pet dog mascot like Chuck in PS as well. More strikingly similar however is its unique shift of genre every single episode ranging from scifi alien invasion to romantic comedy and even American animation like Wonder Woman and Disney cartoons. PS kinda treads this genrebending territory as well but more so towards its laterhalf like the aforementioned Vomiting Point Transhomers a Transformers parody down to Optimus and Megatron changing to Rodimus and Galvatron respectively Of the Dead a zombie episode 1 Angry Ghost a courtroom drama episode and even Ghost: The Phantom of Daten City which contained far more emotional elements by the end than one would initially expect Stocking dating a selfcentered ghost with a phallic head and extreme body odor. https://i.ur.com/edLV9oj.png?1 In fact its because of its unique structure which I loved about Excel Saga that made me a bit surprised about PS mixed reviews from critics most notably Anime News Network which calls it unremittingly revolting generally not funny and having style over substance. Honestly speaking I dont usually enjoy style over substance either with myself not being a huge fan of Kill la Kill but I feel like theres just something refreshing beyond PS obvious shock humor. Dont get me wrong its definitely not a deep show by any stretch of the imagination but I always have a fondness for meta shows that play around with the genre in creative ways pushing the boundaries of what you could shove into a series without traditional structures. With episodes like Chuck to the Future a mostly dialogueless threeparter with Chuck the dog as the main star Help We Are Angels a literal music video referencing various American musicians and Nothing to Room a singleshot episode with Panty and Stocking sitting on a couch waiting for dinner theres just enough range in flavor to satisfy someone like me who actively seeks out original and novel ways to tell a story. That anarchic spirit of both the anime and its titular characters hearken back to the kind of postmodernist shows I grew up with in the 90s and even shows I didnt grow up with like The Simpsons and South Park daring to poke fun in shameless ways just to see what works and what doesnt. And for PS most of the time it works surprisingly well right until the end often intriguing me with some new surprise each episode. If there is ever a gripe as there always are since nothing is perfect its not even really a gripe at all but more of a disappointment: the series is only 13 episodes long with no sequel. Practically speaking this is sensible because you can only do so much to parody different genres before it becomes stale Excel Saga somewhat suffers from this with its 26 episodes and The Simpsons shows that too much of a good thing can sour the taste. But as someone who had such a great time watching this my god I just cant help but crave for more. Unlike the many serious anime Ive reviewed PS has a carefree nature that makes me appreciate American animations like PPG and the many Nickelodeon and even Disney Channel cartoons that frivolous spirit to just give the audience a good time for the fun of it without imparting any serious morals or didacticism. It feels like a welcoming break not having to point out what political or social commentary the episodes might have contained in this review or what real life issues they might have addressed and just to have a jolly fun time with its colorful narrative styles and TerryLoids electronica tracks that grant every episode full of life and energy. https://www..com/watch?v=NiX2GVaYPg