New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Unlike many people I did not wait 15 years for Panty & Stocking to be continued. Perhaps most the most shocking thing is that this new season actually continued the cliffhanger from so long ago. They managed to make it work, even tying it into the finale. But we’ll get back to the finale in a moment, I have some other thoughts to share first.

First, the entire dub cast was replaced. I believe Panty’s voice actress retired a bit ago and Garterbelt’s voice actor didn’t feel comfortable voicing a character of another race. These two characters are also the worst offenders in my opinion when it comes to their replacements. Now don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad. However, combined with the fact that the dub is a more faithful translation it makes for a weaker sequel. In fact, I initially didn’t watch past the first episode, figuring I had enough going on. I obviously ended up returning to give the show another shot about halfway through the season, and while I was still unhappy with the dub changes they somewhat made up for it with the parodies of other works as well as the addition of the Poly brothers, Panty and Stocking’s cousins who use a lot of Gen Z slang that simultaneously brings the show to the current decade and will probably age it horribly.

Returning to the show we do have TeddyLoid and other musicians. The OP is a lot of fun and I prefer it both visually and musically to the one from the first season. That being said, I don’t feel like there’s any iconic new songs that came out of this. “D-City Rock” and “Chocolat” were stuck in my head for a good bit after I watched the first season, this season the best we have is the theme of the Poly brothers, but that’s just a quick 5 second boyband thing in the context of the show usually.

I do want to talk about the finale a little bit, nothing plot-specific or really spoiler-y but consider this your warning. The finale plays out across episodes 12 and 13 in three parts, which don’t really feel like they’re all that distinct in my mind. However, its got some good messaging and visuals and helps lead the show in a new direction. The final shot seems to be setting up something new, with text even promising another season. However, there’s been no official announcement, once again leaving the show in a weird spot that they could have avoided. Leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, though the finale can work as is.

As someone who only finished the first season earlier this year, I don’t have the same attachment to this show. I don’t think I can really say whether it’s a worthy successor, but I think fans, especially of the dub, should not expect the same show. However, I think it’s still a good show and do recommend people watch it.