Studio Trigger revealed at its Anime Expo 2022 panel on July 2 a season 2 for Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt, as reported by @VamptVo. A new project was technically already announced back in 2016 but with no news since then. The reveal included a short trailer which should be soon officially uploaded.
Why Anime Fans Are Hyped For The Panty & Stocking Sequel Reveal
Produced by Gainax and directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi (Kill La Kill), Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt was first aired from October 1 to December 24, 2010. The comedy series follows two fallen angels turned demon hunters, the promiscuous Panty and the nonchalant Stocking, both following orders from Garterbelt, an afro priest.
Panty & Stocking is an over-the-top series, which goes much further into eccentricity than typical Gainax series FLCL, Abenobashi, or Gurren Lagann. It's quite hard to describe what made Panty & Stocking memorable to those who didn't live through it. The series mixed in different gimmicks or sometimes a different approach to animation altogether. The original soundtrack by several composers, most notably Fly Away by TeddyLoid, was also one of the series' strongest points.
Personally speaking, I believe it was an unbalanced series, with certain episodes or scenes being much more memorable than others. In the now obsolete era of anime blogs, a certain Kurogane once summarized Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt as "Too experimental, even for Gainax" and I still share that sentiment 12 years later.
With that said, Panty & Stocking is definitely worth watching as long as you don't mind its crude humor and imagery. If you like Studio Trigger and Imaishi's stuff, and if you enjoy Studio Trigger's more niche and experimental series like Turning Girls or Inferno Cop, I'm sure you'll love Panty & Stocking.
A Quick History Of Studio Trigger And Its Gainax Origins
Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt's director Hiroyuki Imaishi left Gainax in 2011 with several other members, to form Studio Trigger. This included Panty & Stocking scriptwriter Masahiko Otsuka and producer Kazuya Masumoto. Having lost most of its talent, Gainax has barely done anything since then, but still held the rights for the series.
The situation finally changed in 2020 as Studio Trigger got the rights for Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt and Gurren Lagann, and has now officially announced more PSG. This is an incredibly exciting announcement and a dream come true for anime fans who've been following the medium since the late 2000s. I can't wait to see what this new anime will look like.
As a side note, Studio Trigger also has a Twitch channel you should check out.
