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Anime Expo was full of surprise announcements, but none were as surprising as the announced return of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. It has been 12 years since the last Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt anime premiered, although this time it will be helmed by a different studio than the previous installment.The Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt franchise is a crude, vulgar comedy about two fallen angels who were booted out of heaven for "gross immorality". Led by their boss and priest Garterbelt, Panty Anarchy and Stocking Anarchy attempt to earn their way back into heaven by exorcising ghosts using their specialized weapons made from their lingerie. However, neither of the Anarchy sisters takes this task seriously.The 2010 anime was produced by Gainax, known for anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, and Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann. Hiroyuki Imaishi, known for working on both Gurren Lagann and PROMARE, directed Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt before leaving Gainax to begin Studio TRIGGER, who will be taking over the series.The announcement and trailer were revealed during Studio TRIGGER's 10th Anniversary panel. The trailer, which at this time is still exclusive to Anime Expo and has not been released to the public, has been reported to have the text "NEW PANTY & STOCKING" alongside a quick animation of the Anarchy Sisters.The anime has been a long time coming, as the project was originally announced by Gianax back in 2016 through a tweet on their website. However, most who were involved in the project left to join Studio TRIGGER, so the project remained in limbo until this year. The announcement tweet showed silhouettes of the angel sisters, with the promise of another announcement to come soon.
It has not yet been confirmed by Studio TRIGGER if this anime will be a sequel to the series or a total reboot. The original English voice actors for both Panty and Stocking responded to tweets announcing the series but have not confirmed whether they will be returning to the franchise or not. It is also not confirmed what staff will be working on the series yet.
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is currently airing on Funimation.
Source: Crunchyroll