First Impressions / Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Part 1

「D.C.コンフィデンシャル」 (D.C. Konfidensharu)
“D.C. Confidential”

Well this episode acted mostly as a recap for the past 11 episodes and reveals that the Demons were behind every ghoul from the start. However, instead of a straight recap with no explanation, they inserted it in by having it as a report being given by the Demon sisters. Since all the ghouls have failed so far, the Demon Mayor is naturally displeased, and reveals his true goal of finding the Hellsmonkey’s blood kin. I’m pretty sure this is the first time “Hellsmonkey” is introduced, but apparently it is the key to unlocking chaos in Daten City. The Mayor also happens to reveal that he enjoys bdsm, similar to Stocking, and apparently wears some sort of corset he likes to tighten every once in a while.

While I myself am displeased that I pretty much just watched a recap, there was some development that occured within the episode to save it from being completely pointless. The most obvious would be the Mayor’s plan, simple as it may be, and the not so subtle remarks about Brief near the end make it clear that he probably has something to do with the Hellmonkey. We also see that apparently the demon sisters like to engage in sexual play with each other, but that’s more on the trivial side. After watching the second part, I could see that this episode served merely as a little introduction so that their sudden appearance in the second half wouldn’t be without explanation.

 

Part 2

「パンティ+ブリーフ」 (Panti ando Burīfu)
“Panty + Brief”

Acting as a prelude to what will be one hell of a finale in PSG 13, part 2 was pretty much the Act II leading to Act III of any action movie (and Act I was episodes 1 to 11). You’ve got the main protagonist losing her partner and slowly her powers, the supporting male character all of a sudden gains importance, the B story romance is created with Brief’s new look, and the enemy somehow manipulates the big party where everything begins. Opposing Garterbelt’s name as Corset, I assumed correctly that Brief would be of some connection with the Hellmonkey and that Corset would be nabbing him with some sort of plan, but I couldn’t foresee that his genitals were actually the key to unleashing the chaos of Daten City. With Brief gone, her partner in heaven, and a complete loss of angel powers, Panty has reached rock bottom. If this were a movie, we would be around the one hour point, where the movie starts heading into the final battle and conclusion. Of course at first, Panty will need to go through some sort of character change and learn from all of this, then Stocking will come back, and you can probably guess where it will go. This will probably happen next time.

Anyway, this episode was a rollercoaster of emotions, encompassing romance, action, and just a little bit of suspense. While everything was a little predictable and had an eerie sensation of “I swear I’ve seen these scenes in some movie before,” it was fun to see it all happen to these kind of characters, especially when it’s pulled off so effortlessly. Panty, who has merely just been an unsympathetic character on screen so far, surprisingly projects an ever bittersweet aura throughout the last half of the episode, and combined with frustration and anger, finds herself actually vulnerable and depending on Brief as her “last one.” Seriously, this is Panty we’re talking about, the “cumdumpster whore” that everyone chose Stocking over, and I’m finding myself immersed into the character? Consider me shocked.

Besides that, I was pleasantly surprised with the events that unfolded throughout, but I don’t have to tell you that I’m not exactly foaming at the mouth over the cliffhanger. Turning Panty into a sympathetic character in a matter of 10 minutes was impressive and did show some potential the show may have had in the past, but you can’t just bring in a villain that hasn’t ever appeared to say, “I’m going to unleash chaos now,” and expect me to care about the consequences. However, the episode cleverly had me tricked that it was trying to make up for its past non-existent plot and character development by rushing it now, but then I realized that’s pretty much what this episode was trying to go for, perhaps just trying to be sentimental and deep for the sake of parody again. Regardless, I couldn’t imagine a better way to hype up the last episode.

 

47 Comments

  1. Actually Panty had a LOT of fans, however those(like me) were just more on the quite side, while the Stocking fans had to declare their love for her all over the internet(until “that” episode of course) and she actually had more character than you would think, you just had to carefully read what she said from time to time, she is actually pretty sweet, and before this episode. ANYWAY enough with my Panty-obsession.

    Awesome episode, the episode i was waiting all along for(i love me some plot) and like you said, gainax did everything right with it

    Kibate
    Reply

    1. I want to thank you for giving me one of the best first comments ever (as far as I can remember), one that doesn’t just say something along the lines of “this was a great episode” or “first,” but actually demonstrates reading and responding as a first comment. It’s that rare, lol.

      On topic, I’m a little on the fence on whether or not people should be looking for or expecting plot in PSG, but for those that are happy with what it does have, more power to you.

      Kiiragi
      Reply

      2. Haha, thanks, i never understood why people do the “First” thing in the first place. I just happen to be lucky to be the first here(i randomly checked if you posted a summary yet) and got lucky that i had enough time to write as the first poster hehe

        i know, people told me before that i am stupid to be expecting plot, but this is gainax, and everyone who has seen enough anime(and write it themselve) realized since the first episode that there will be a plot
        of course, unfourtunely there are only like 4 or so episodes that actually count as plot development^^”

        Kibate
        Reply

  4. I had no idea that was Brief when Panty saw him through the fish tank. And I know the feeling about the nostalgic scenes. Hahaha I gotta say though, Brief had a really nice look. He was handsome! My goodness. Best looki- scratch that because there’s the cross dressing prince from Kuragehime. Haha

    Next week is going to be horrid. Yet great! End of so many good shows.. But very enjoyable episodes to be had. Can’t wait. Can’t wait..

    Thanks for the generous post before calling it a night, man. Sleep well. ^^d

    Shirt
    Reply

  16. I’m not sure why you say “you can’t just bring in a villain that hasn’t ever appeared” when the existence of the Mayor=BBG (big bad guy) has been hinted at for several episodes. Might I remind you that the Demon sisters are counter parts to our lovely angels. Even Chuck had his opposite in Fastener. It’s obvious Garterbelt would also have his rival. The Mayor, who is giving the orders to the Demon sisters, was the likely candidate.
    In retrospect there are additional hints about the story arc in the last episode. Notice at the very end of the Garterbelt episode, there are two copies of the leaflet that Gartebelt kept getting from God. One is very old and torn and has the letter G below it. The other is newer and has the letter B below it. I thought it stood for Garter and Belt but now, it obviously meant Gaterbelt and Brief. The arrow symbol also has weird protrusions on the side of the shaft, much like a key. The arrow is a phallic symbol. The same arrow was painted on the Vitruvian Man’s crotch instead of his penis.
    Can’t wait to see how Gainax is going to wrap up the story!

    bertman4
    Reply

  21. Here’s a fun fact,I noticed how Brief’s personality changes when his hair’s pulled back. Just like Allelujah/Hallelujah Haptism did at the end of Gundam 00 season 1 (and onwards). Turns out that both characters are voiced by the same guy, Hiroyuki Yoshino.

    aint that something?

    KidKaz
    Reply

  23. feels like that motto from spiderman…

    “…With great power comes great responsibility…”

    …and we got the flip side of it here w/ panty.

    btw, Brief looked great when he produced that smokescreen

    info600
    Reply

  25. You really didn’t see that point about Brief? I thought it was obvious given the nature of the show. I’m a bit annoyed that it wasn’t until she found out he had a handsome side that she decided to sleep with him but frankly that is more realistic and they actually did a good job of making her as human (for lack of a better word) as Stocking a few episodes ago. Really a pity we don’t see more of the demon sisters outside of plotting (maybe a throwaway episode fighting over Briefs for foreshadowing instead of Corset’s last minute realization) but they were as humorous as ever.

    Grant
    Reply

      1. The whole his genitals being the Key thing. I saw at least a 50/50 chance after Corset saw Briefs in the video (how did Garter not notice THAT?) and once they tried to have sex and failed it seemed obvious.

        Grant
        Reply

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