As with any decent show out of GAINAX, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt has the potential to be a merchandising juggernaut. Ridiculous-looking characters with enormous amounts of attitude lend themselves well to figures of all shapes and sizes. On the higher end, you have Alter and their upcoming Panty. That's probably going to cost you an arm and a leg, considering the quality of the sculpt and the top-shelf materials being used.
If you want something a bit on the cheaper end of things, you can go with Sega's prize figures or with Good Smile Company's Nendoroids of the angelic duo! Being Nendoroids, you get a lot of bang out of a small package and price. Hit the jump to see more pics of these little cuties!
When Panty & Stocking were announced as Nendoroids, I was pretty damn surprised. I mean, it complete makes sense when you look at the art style of the majority of the show, but I guess I didn't expect GSC to be able to iron out the licensing. Boy, am I glad they did! GSC did a great job with these *ahem* ladies. Let's start with their boxes.
There is no way you're going to miss these at a con. They're both bright and expressive, breaking the usual monotony of Nendo boxes. I particularly dig Stockings box, what with the striped motif. They do a great job holding the sheer amount of accessories for both gals, but they can only hope to contain these foul-mouthed broads. Out of the box they go!
Oh hey there Panty! GSC went out of their way to include as many additional parts as they could with these releases. Panty here has a couple of extra expressions, a pair of earrings, her pistols, several sets of arms and legs, an additional 'nude' crotch and her Gir-knockoff Chuck. That's a nice package there!
Don't let that face fool you, Panty is more of a hell-raiser than a saint. Actually, I'm pretty sure I know what she's thinking about with that expression. Let's just say that it would be best to keep her away from your other male figures ...
You may notice that Panty doesn't have your standard Nendo base. Instead of having a molded piece of plastic for her to rest on or a peg that's inserted on her back, there's a magnet located on the back of her head. The base attaches via the magnet, meaning no awkward holes or plastic lean-tos to get in the way of posing. I haven't gotten a Nendo in a while, but I'm hoping that GSC uses this stand with more Nendos in the future.
Next up is Panty's sister, Stocking. If you thought Panty came with a lot of stuff, then you'll be doubly impressed with what Stocking is packing. In her box, she's got the usual assortment of faces, an extra set of non-stocking legs, several pairs of arms, her swords, her plush cat and some delicious cake and utensils. You can have her looking bored, mean or hungry. Personally, I keep her looking mean. However ...
...it's hard to say no to a face like that!
As of now, it's a bit hard to get a hold of both gals. You can still get Panty through HobbyLink Japan, but Stocking is sold out at the most major retailers. If you can get your hands on either of these cuties, I'd highly recommend snapping them up!
