Phat Company's Scanty & Kneesocks + Fastener Figure Set

While the Panty and Stocking figure set may be great, its arguably the least interesting set of the four Phat Company have released as the characters in their generic costumes are available via a variety of costumes (also available is the highly-coveted-by-me Angel ver. set, and a limited edition version of their police uniforms with the colours done by clothing company Galaxxxy). But alongside the three Panty/Stocking sets is one featuring characters whom as far as I know have not had any other form of figure release. I'm talking of course about the demon sisters and series bad guys Scanty and Kneesocks. After rewatching the series I've found myself liking these characters more and more, so picking them up really couldn't have come at a much better time.

Like their angel counterparts Scanty and Kneesocks are packaged in the same "You either open it or keep it MISB forever. You can't have it both ways." bubble packaging, only their colourful card features a lot more red and green rather than pink and yellow. The two are also in a generic character pose, Scanty looking somewhat perturbed with her cane and her sister in a (really nice looking) walking posture. Little details such as the ones on their school uniforms and Kneesocks "rrrrrrrules" book have been nicely replicated, as well as hair tone and very well done eye paint.

Not to be outdone by Chuck, his demonic counterpart Fastener has also made his way into this set. While he may not be quite as detailed as Chuck, this is largely due to him have a much simpler design in the show itself. The figure stands are identical to the ones that came with Panty and Stocking, only this time their moulded in a much more fitting clear red plastic.

If you've bought the Panty and Stocking set, these two would make an excellent display addition. If you like the series but don't plan on getting the Panty/Stocking set, you should get these on the basis of them being possibly the only figure versions of the characters around. Merchandise for the show is naturally going to decrease as it gets older, and I'd imagine any statue versions of the characters that come will probably be based on their transformation designs. I'm somewhat biased in my opinion because this was the set that I bought, but the demon sisters definitely come out on top when you compare the two. Again, they'll probably cost you a little more than retail on the aftermarket, but even so it won't be hard to find them at a price that's worth it.

Phat Company's Panty & Stocking + Chuck Figure Set

While perusing the dealers' room at this years Amecon, my eyes were drawn in by some figure sets I'd be considering buying for a while. Originally Phat Company's (distributed by Good Smile Company) Anarchy sister 2-pack from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt had been my planned purchase in terms of figures (since I knew they were eventually bringing a Scanty and Kneesocks set out too), but I eventually passed on them in favour of the Nendoroids. However my want of the Scanty and Kneesocks set still remained, and when my girlfriend and I stumbled across both sets we decided to clean house. She bought Panty & Stocking, while I happily took home the Demon sisters. There's not really a lot to say about them to give an extensive review, but I thought I'd share some pictures of both sets for anyone considering picking these (or the other two available sets) up.

The packaging is pretty nice with its distinct Panty & Stocking "colour explosion" motif, but collectors who like to take their figures in and out of the boxes might be a little disappointed by the blister packaging. Both Panty and Stocking are in a fairly generic pose (which judging from my Daten City Paparazzi art book, is most likely from the standard character design). Poseable figures have been hit and miss in capturing the series' distinct art style - the Nendoroids avoided it but rounding off the angles, and the Rio:Bone figure tried (and in my opinion, failed) at working the designs into fully functioning 3D figures. These figurines do display some of the roundness seen in the Nendoroids, but its far less intrusive/obvious and so I'd consider this set one of the best interpretations of the characters out that aren't expensive statues of their angel forms. They both have nice little bits of detail for such small figures, such as Panty's toned hair and Stocking's striped underwear.

Also included is a yellow base for each figure, and a in-scale figure of their pet zipper-dog Chuck. Again, for such a small figurine Chuck looks great.

These figures will probably cost you more on the aftermarket now than their original retail price, but even then they shouldn't be that hard to find at a reasonable cost. If you've been unwhelmed/disappointed by the poseable/semi-poseable figures released thus far, these two are definitely worth looking into.

Anime REVIEW: Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

When the team behind Gurren Lagann first announced that this would be the name of their next project, along with this trailer, I'd be lying if I didn't wonder what the hell they were thinking. Gainax have always been known for taking things to the extreme, but this looked like it was that little bit too far. Nevertheless, because of the quality of Gurren Lagann and other Gainax works I planned to give this a go.

And I am so glad I did.

The plot is simple. It revolves around two angels by the names of Panty and Stocking, who were kicked out of heaven due to their behaviour and have been assigned with ridding Daten City of demonic creatures known as ghosts. They are guided by black-afro priest Garterbelt and aided by their pet/chewtoy Chuck (who is a homage to the disguised Gir from Invader Zim) and ghost hunter/geek boy Brief. Panty and Stocking's powers are as their name suggests - Panty has the ability to turn underwear into pistols (and various other weapons) while Stocking's stockings can be transformed into a pair of swords. While early episodes are mostly one-off shorts, recurring rivals soon appear in the form of demon girls Scanty and Kneesocks, and their master - the bondage loving Corset, and the bare bones of a story are revealed.

Its colourful, it's crude and it's genius. Panty & Stocking blends the art style of western cartoons such as Dexter's Lab and The Powerpuff Girls with crude humour and over the top action sequences. Ghosts range from excrement monsters to sperm monsters and the girls power up via a (tradionally styled anime) pole dancing sequence. Ghost deaths are provided by the detonation of papier mache and Gainax take a pop at Catholic priests in ways that have to be seen to believed. A kid's show this ain't.

Every episode title is a direct reference to something else - Excretion without Honour or Humanity (Battle without Honour or Humanity), Bitch Girls I & II (Bad Boys 1 & 2) but one episode takes it a lot further than that. Episode 7 part 1, entitled Transho'mers, is a fully fledged Transformers parody - completely with G1 inspired designs for the two lead characters, a whole heap of blink-or-you'll-miss-it references and a few pop shots at the live action movies. It's this kind of attention to detail that makes you wonder what a Transformers series would be like in Gainax's more than capable hands.

With a great cast of characters, fantastic (adult humour), a killer soundtrack and a cliffhanger ending that will leave you laughing, confused and eager for more , Panty & Stocking is everything you'd want from a comedy anime that differs from that norm. Gainax, you've done it again.

Anime of 2010? I'd like to think so.