I have to say that I appreciated Panty and Stocking much more on the second viewing than the first. What I appreciate the most about this show is that it's a show that doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's something rare and refreshing to see come out of anime. This show has a great lucidity to it, a kind of natural flow to the dialogue and action, a relentless pacing to the story that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you really never know what to expect from one moment to the next.
Beyond just having dazzling animation and an art style all to it’s own the show has a unique sense of personality to it, in the sense that it doesn't feel like it's trying to impress the viewer and beg you to like it or purchase merchandise. It's a show that's not posturing or posing for the audience, it's not pretending to be something that it's obviously not. It may be shallow, but within that shallowness it's opaque and solid, it's an honest kind of shallow, and for that the show has my respect. Panty and Stocking has a rare quality I love that I like to call "self-aware-stupidity" and that's the thing that makes this show shine. One thing that frustrates me is people who incessantly post on anime forums things like “P&S Season 2 when?!?!” What these idiots don’t realize is that Panty and Stocking was a lightning-bolt-in-a-bottle kind of anime, and the second you try to reproduce that you will immediately loose the very thing that made the original special in the first place. That’s what happened with the FLCL reboot, and that’s what we’re about to see happen to Cowboy Bebop.
The humor may not be for everyone, and that's okay, hell, it crosses my line sometimes but I like the fact that it dared enough to. One grumble I have about the show is that everything seems a bit too easy for the angels. Nearly all tension or serious stakes are stripped down for the sake of comedy, which ends up making the demon sisters more likable characters for me. They have a clear set of goals and they have to struggle to achieve them and that makes me want to cheer more for them. The angels' struggles being too easy continues into the lack-luster climax with them doing very little to achieve a lot. These however are minor complaints about a show I thoroughly enjoyed, Panty and Stocking overall has more life, energy and infectious charisma than 99% of anime of comparable lengths.
9.5 out of 13 users liked this review
