She Puts 'em On One Leg at a Time

I was just a few days ago wondering where all the really interesting anime is. The early 2000s had such a bounty of experimental series and movies, including Shinbo Akiyuki's work at Shaft and multiple series from legendary anime studio Gainax. Then, looking on Amazon Prime, I was surprised to see one of the last good Gainax series, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, had returned with two brand new episodes already streaming on Prime. Both episodes are good and seamlessly continue in the humour and style of the series that concluded fifteen years ago. God, has it been that long?

Panty and Stocking was a Gainax series but Gainax filed for bankruptcy last year, long after most of the talent that had built the studio's reputation had departed. Many went to Anno Hideaki's new Studio Khara, which produced the new Evangelion movies. The director of Panty and Stocking, Imaishi Hiroyuki, formed a new studio called Trigger which saw almost immediate success with Kill la Kill. Trigger acquired the rights to Panty and Stocking so once again Imaishi's back at the helm, explaining the consistency in tone and style.

Since Top wo Nerae in the '80s, much of the more interesting works from Gainax, including Evangelion, have at least in part been commentaries on and analyses of sexuality in Japan, particularly of common sexual neuroses. From Evangelion, which routinely included direct promises of "fan service", works from the Gainax crew sought to present sexuality as something that isn't shameful to indulge in. One of the most striking aspects that can be seen in Evangelion, FLCL, Gurren Lagann, and Panty and Stocking among others is the portrayal of female libido. Anime almost universally portrays shy virgins and maternal figures as the only positive roles for girls and women. Panty and Stocking, meanwhile, is a gross-out comedy centred on two nymphomaniac angels.

The first of the two new episodes finds the supporting characters of Garterbelt and Brief trying to reassemble Panty, who was cut up into cubes by Stocking, who was possessed by a demon in the cliffhanger fifteen years ago. Once they put Panty back together, they find her personality has changed into the typical blushing virgin of the average anime. It's only after they turn her into a giant and see up her dress that they realise that one crucial cube is missing: her vagina. All of this business seems to be built around the often senseless policies of Japanese censorship, which normally prohibits the portrayal of genitalia. Panty's crucial cube is just a pink brick with one vertical line. The implicit joke comes from wondering at what point this thing ought to be censored.

As with the original series, Panty and Stocking has an art style and fast paced gross-out humour fans of Invader Zim will be familiar with (Invader Zim creator Jhonen Vasquez even commented on it). Shows with that kind of pacing and humour, such as Hazbin Hotel and The Amazing Digital Circus, have been gaining popularity in Japan. Maybe Panty and Stocking will find a new audience.

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is available on Amazon Prime.