Panty & Stocking est arrivé

Gainax's Next Big Thing is here. The trailer for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt streamed today over at Kadokawa Shoten's Yūtūbe chanaaru. Gurren Lagann it ain't — the new show looks less like the latest from The Studio That Brought You Eva and more like something from the Cartoon Network, if the Cartoon Network still was about cartoons and was programmed by creative types instead of vacant-eyed corporate drones. The new show is helmed by Gainax utilty infielder and erstwhile Gurren director Hiroyuki Imaishi, which bodes well if you like the wackier side of the 'Nax. It's about two angels who come to Earth to right wrongs, etc. using underwear-based weapons: Panty, a blonde who "likes to have sex with men", and Stocking, raven-haired killer gōsurōri in Beetlejuice tights. Panty wields a panty-based gun; Stocking's hose turn into swords. Yes, you read that correctly. There's also a Giant Black Man named Mr. Garterbelt and a kooky mascot character named Chuck (the knockoff of/tribute to Jhonen Vasquez' "Gir" character that most of you have probably heard of) to round out the cast.

I have to admit I like what I'm seeing here so far: PuffyAmiYumi + Lucky Star + FLCL. Could this be the bracing dose of new and refreshing that anime has desperately needed for so long? Or will Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt be Suck in its purest form? We shall see.