Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt - Episode 12

What's this, an on-going plot in Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt?  Surely not?  There have been some pretty overt hints towards it to be fair, but this penultimate episode of GAINAX's current show finally sets up a "proper" story of sorts to close out the series.

First however, we have to put up with a sub-episode that is effectively a recap instalment, largely consisting of Scanty and Kneesocks recounting their previous Ghost creations attempts and their results to boss Corset whilst using as few frames of animation as humanely possible.  In fairness this sub-episode does also seed some of that over-arching plot we were talking about, and there is more to it than simply re-used footage, but a spade's a spade and ergo a recap is a recap.

Things get far more interesting for the second half of this episode, as the usual slaying and shagging shenanigans come to a halt as Garterbelt announces that Panty and Stocking have finally fulfilled their contract and return to heaven.  So, just as it appears to be time to say our goodbyes to the pair of them, so we come to a catch - while Stocking is accepted into Heaven without a second look, it seems that Panty's bitchy nature has finally caught up with her, leaving her needing to complete her contract all over again.  This sees Panty teamed up with Brief, which of course doesn't work too well at all, with Panty showing no interest in helping out with catching Ghosts, or indeed in spending time with Brief at all until she gets invited to a party by him.  This is where everything takes a turn, with Brief's true standing revealed and Panty falling in love with some good looking stranger, before the whole thing turns out to be a trap designed by Corset to unlock a key of some description.  With Panty's powers seemingly lost in the process, is this the end for Daten City?

Ignoring the recap segment of this week's episode, is interesting to see Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt looking to set up a "proper" storyline at last just as I was suspecting that they might not bother.  Given this shows unpredictable nature it's tough to know where it might head for its finale, but there were some nice touches in the second half of this episode to turn things around into a bit of a love story before revealing a whole lot more come the end of the instalment.  The fact that this still doesn't stand up to some of the better stand-alone episodes of the series can't really be denied in terms of either concept or animation quality, but if nothing else it's piqued my curiosity for the series finale.