Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt was a small surprise hit with many viewers when it was aired. Its ridiculously crass humour and relatively simplistic art design (taken straight out of the American Powerpuff Girls cartoon) made it stand out among many other anime shows. Although larger companies appear to have been largely ignoring the show, many of the smaller ones have jumped onboard and produced figures rather quickly.
Mr. Cortes has already reviewed the loudmouthed sex addict, Panty, so now it's time to followup with her quiet(er) sister with the sweet tooth and sharp tongue! Say "hello" to Stocking! Like Panty, this figure is of Stocking during the transformation sequence in the show, which grants the two more realistic proportions for a few seconds, which makes it easier to make into a static figure compared to the usual design.
Metamorphose Panty left Pedro a little conflicted at the end of his review with some issues marring what he otherwise thought of as a good figure. I'm not as kind as he is! So, does Stocking hold up or better her sister? Only one way to find out.
Let's get it on!!
Figure Name: Stocking Metamorphose Edition
Figure Maker: Sen-ti-nel
Retail Price: ¥8,500
Available at: HobbyLink Japan
Like Panty, the box for Stocking is bright, flashy and loud. It would certainly stand out compared to other products if placed on a shelf! The only difference between this and Panty is the focus on blue as opposed to red.
The side of the box shows off both figures if you choose to purchase both. The base used to display both is actually included with Stocking, but those of you expecting something flashy will be disappointed. The base is just a little bigger version of the standard base for both of the figures. You simply use the pole from the standard base to complete it.
The box actually provides a background mimicking the scene when the angels transform. It also matches the base as well so it seemed like a waste not to use it!
Taking a closer look at Stocking, she's been given a much more subdued pose compared to her sister. Instead of oozing out sex appeal, Stocking is much more coquettish and teasing without giving away too much, like her character.
There are also a few neat little touches as well, such as the individual bracelets on her arms, but that's pretty much where the praise ends. There are quite a few issues with this figure ...
The first issue presents itself as soon as you start unboxing. Unlike other figures, the base is just a very basic circular base with a sticker on top. Bigger figure makers would probably have used coloured plastic to get the same effect, but that would be more expensive. Using a sticker is cheaper, but it's easy to get it misaligned, and in my figure, that's exactly what happened. I can easily imagine other buyers having the same problem. There's a small bit spilling over one side and the area around where one of the pegs for the figure is damaged. Not the greatest of starts...
There was also damage on the leg. This is less likely to affect every figure, but it just happened to stand out on mine due to where it was. Colours seemed to wash into eachother a little as the white parts had a little blue tinge to them. It's subtle and was mostly removed in the post processing when I was dealing with other issues but to the naked eye, it's easier to spot.
Unlike most other figures, the material used for Stocking's hair is more of a soft rubber rather than hard material. On the plus side, it's rather bendy and flexible. On the down side, there are some really obvious marks where the separate parts join. The colours don't exactly match either. There are some subtle differences in the shades of blue between the parts.
The wings on her back also appear at first glance to be one large part which go through the hair but that's not the case. It's actually two separate pieces and the outer part rests on the hair. If you bend the hair out, the gap becomes more apparent. It's not a major issue, but it does feel like a missed chance.
More serious is the issue that was reported about Panty having loose parts, which meant that some parts felt like they were falling apart. I'm sorry to report that Stocking has the same issue. Even worse is that some parts don't even fit together properly, leaving gaps like the one you see in the image above.
The loose parts also has the unintentionally humorous situation where her finger, which normally appears to pull back her stocking, looks like it's glued to her nail.
More damage on the paintjob. This time, just on the silver armband.
On a more personal gripe, I don't feel that the details on the costume have been fully exploited. The corset simply looks like someone slapped a rather thick coat of silver paint on it and left it as it was. The detailing isn't as big a problem with Panty as she shows off much more skin, but the costume for Stocking leaves me particularly underwhelmed.
We just can't have a review of Stocking without a low-angle shot! Sadly, it also shows up more gaps between the various parts and also a slight oddity in the pose which makes the body look a little disjointed. I'm pretty sure that it would be anatomically uncomfortable, at best, to pull off a pose like this if the upper body is pushed that far out compared to the butt!
I may be coming off as a little harsh on the figure, but there is a solid base underneath it. The pose works well for Stocking and is much more stable than her sister, and her facial sculpt, while not perfect, works well. The biggest problem is a general lack of polish compared to the products of larger companies. Granted, companies like Sen-Ti-Nel don't have the budget to compete, but standing something like this next to an Alter or GoodSmile Company figure just makes it look bad. The loose parts and paint errors all work to drag the figure down as well.
Overall, people's mileage will vary with the kit depending on how much you like Panty and Stocking. Having said that, I think only the most diehard fans would not have any qualms about either Panty or Stocking. Sen-Ti-Nel look like they have the basics down when it comes to making figures, but on this evidence, they really need to up their game if they want to play with the big boys. They're not bad by a long shot, but they're pretty damn hard to recommend to anyone. Unless you hate them ...
Still, if you really have to go for one, I'd say go for Stocking. She's just cooler than her sister, and if you disagree, think about it. How many weapons can Panty carry on her person without assistance? How many can Stocking? I rest my case (though Kneesocks is blatantly superior, just ask Adam Blade! Link NSFW)!!
[Many thanks to Hobbylink Japan for providing Stocking for review.]
