There are certain opinions that are accepted on MAL, and certain opinions that stir up lots of anger. Certain anime series can't be praised and others can't be criticized without creating an absolute hailstorm of "unhelpfuls". I don't mean to come across as a mean spirited contrarian and kick any sacred cows, but I have to be honest. This is one of my least favorite anime comedy series. I don't think I laughed once the entire time. That's an accomplishment! I'm pretty easy to make laugh. YES, I understand that the director intended the series to parody the crass stupidity of American comedy and show what American comedy feels like to a Japanese audience. The problem is that this is NOT a good parody/spoof of American stupidity. It is just a very lazy and totally ineffectual copy of it. Mike Judge's Idiocracy with the short "film" OW My Balls! was a parody. Panty and Stocking is just like watching a bottom 50% episode of Family Guy or a bottom 10% episode of South Park where Trey and Matt are really off their game that week. I don't actually hate Hiroyuki Imaishi and I KNOW that he can do better, but this series simply wasn't one of his best efforts.
Plot and character: 2/10:
There is no real engaging plot obviously. The basic premise is that 2 naughty girl angels get kicked out of Heaven and must use lingerie items as weapons in order to fight ghosts and eventually buy their way back into heaven with the requisite number of award points. To be frank, the plot to Ren and Stimpy was better than this! Panty and Stocking is highly episodic in nature and each episode is as painfully unfunny as the last. The characters are insanely obnoxious, unfunny, and have none of the appeal of the characters in South Park, Family Guy, or any of the shows that this allegedly is spoofing. This is NOT coming from someone who thinks Family Guy is a well written show BTW. I HATE Family Guy! I just happen to hate Panty and Stocking a LOT more. Why? Because Family Guy can on very rare occasion still make me laugh, unlike this giant shit monster! Did anyone else think the Giant Shit Monster in episode 1 was an allusion to the show itself? The thought certainly crossed MY mind.
Art: 6/10
The art is actually pretty decent. It is a long way from the best Gainax is capable of, but it is clearly the highlight of the series for what its worth.
Enjoyment: 1/10
There are few things in life worse than sitting through a comedy that's extremely unfunny. This is like watching a version of "Meet the Spartans" that lasts for 6 hours!
Overall: 3/10
So what could this series have done differently? Could it have been saved and remade to actually be funny? The answer to this previous question is YES! Panty and Stocking has plenty of potential, but it was highly flawed in its execution. Firstly, the 2 main characters are simply WAY too annoying. It is acceptable to have a comedy with a fairly annoying protagonist, but there is a certain line in the sand where once you cross it, the comedy becomes un-watchable. This is why nobody liked The Love Guru, Freddy Got Fingered, or Biodome. If the characters just grate on your every nerve, 100% of the time they are on screen, it stops being funny and starts becoming an absolute chore to watch. Secondly, Panty and Stocking really needed to better develop its own sense of humor, more like Imaishi's other works Gurren Lagann and Inferno Cop. There is a difference between "homage", "spoof", and lazy ripoff. This felt like a lazy ripoff. Lastly, Imaishi's high energy absurdist humor can quickly begin to wear on the viewer's nerves. Much like Seth McFarland's style of comedy, it can be decent in small doses and VERY annoying in large doses. Panty and Stocking would have massively benefited from having much shorter episodes in the style of Imaishi's later work Inferno Cop.
TLDR: If you want a goofy Hiroyuki Imaishi anime, please skip this one and go watch Inferno Cop instead. You will be very glad you did!
