Two fine young ladies cosplaying "Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt" anime (photo)

These women are fans of the Japanese television series "Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt" (which, by the way, is coming soon to the US on DVD). Photographed at the Vancouver Fan Expo #7, April 2012, by Jazman. He has more wonderful shots in this Flickr set. (via BB Flickr Pool)

• [Mantissa128]

  They can tase me, bro.

• [satn]

  If the blonde is wearing any panties then this picture isn’t canon!

  • [duc chau]

     You said “canon.”

• [Noctilucent Studios]

  No idea what the show is about, but I will watch it and buy it and it will be my favourite show of all time.

  OF ALL TIME!!

  • [AwesomeRobot]

    You will watch it and still have no idea what it’s about. It’s like a R-rated Powerpuff Girls. 

    • [benher]

      It’s like this and yet so much more! Sorry, but I absolutely love Panty Stocking. A Gainax great!

    • [bibulb]

      A DRUNK R-rated Powerpuff Girls.

  • [UFIA]

     Panty has the ability to transform her panties into a semi-automatic pistol called Backlace . She occasionally wields a second Backlace using Stocking’s panties, doubling her firepower and allowing her to combine them into more advanced firearms such as a machine gun or sniper rifle. She can also weaponize male underwear, though the weapon’s size and usefulness depends on the size of the original wearer’s Penis.   

    Just like real life. 

• [bcsizemo]

  It’s Japanese you say, well that explains a lot…

  • [benher]

    You’re right, it’s awesome.

• [MarcVader]

  This pic by Jazman is also pretty amazing:
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason_xu/6923665672/in/photostream/lightbox/

• [voiceinthedistance]

  Which one’s the bad cop?

  • [Preston Sturges]

    I’ll stick with the Puma Twins because Annapuma and Unipuma were both bad girls.

    • [benher]

      Dominion Tank Police ;)

• [Mister44]

  Poor trigger control – but other than that I approve. Oh Japan… you’ll get me in trouble yet!

  • [Wayne Dyer]

    Came here to post about that — then realized that poor trigger control might be part of the appeal .

• [vertigo25]

  I am 12 and what is this?

  • [geekzapoppin]

    Instant puberty?

  • [UFIA]

     Do you even

  • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

    “Father, designer, printmaker, skeptic, coffee addict.”How are you 12?Unless that was a scenario you were posing?Or you could be his child posting from his account?This poses a lot of questions in my mind.

    • [vertigo25]

      Sora: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/im-twelve-years-old-and-what-is-this

      • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

        You sir, have obviously never been counter-trolled before.

        • [D. Keith Higgs]

           What?! There’s a counter-troll virgin in the house?! I’d say “be gentle” but that would be the opposite of what you’re supposed to do when you identify one of those.

• [Preston Sturges]

  Let me show you pictures of my granddaughter……

• [sirensong]

  The commons on this post exhibit exactly what is wrong with this post.  Young girls in costumes making it to the top of boingboing makes me question the credibility of boingboing.

  • [Preston Sturges]

    I feel like I should have bought a six pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and then Chris Hanson is going to pop out…..

  • [satn]

    They’d have posted a unicorn but ever since furries and bronies have become mainstream all those images are more sexual than this one.

  • [blueelm]

    Why? 

  • [benher]

    Just as your spelling mistake makes me question the credibility of your “comment.”

  • [jere7my]

    The commons on this post exhibit exactly what is wrong with this post.

    So it’s a tragedy of the commons?

    • [Preston Sturges]

      Oh, isn’t it always a “tragedy” with the commons? 

       The commons needs to get over its damn self and think about why people call it “commons” anyway.

  • [voiceinthedistance]

    I believe sirensong was meaning to type “the commoners” instead of “the commons”.  

    • [UFIA]

       Communists. 

  • [bumpngrindcore]

    It’s not so much that – it’s the fact that usually at these conventions there will be some amazing cosplayers with genuine talent who’ve put huge amounts of effort into their ensemble, but it’s always some mediocre cosplayer jailbait in revealing clothing who get all the media attention. I feel sorry for male cosplayers, because they get largely ignored, and there’s some fantastic dudes out there making awesome stuff who should be encouraged. 

• [RJ]

  Panty, Stocking and Garterbelt is hilarious. For those who don’t know, it’s an over-the-top, silly and hyper-sexualized show created as a mockery of popular anime. As with many other mockeries of pop culture, the show was an instant hit. Some people appreciate the meta-humor, some are just happy to see violence, juvenile dialog and mostly-naked girls.

  So don’t take these cosplayers’ costumes too literally. Chances are, they’re just having fun with that same sort of cheesecake sexuality which made the show famous.

• [yri]

  Just read the Wikipedia page. Apparently, their undergarments transform into weapons. This is both utterly appalling and brilliant at the same time. And I grew up thinking the Church of the Subgenius was clever… Ha!

  “Panty Stocking & Garterbelt” could immanentize the eschaton in 12 parsecs flat.

  • [Sum One]

     A parsec is a measure of distance… bro.

    • [Ashen Victor]

       Not for Han Solo.

      • [Andy Campbell Smith]

        No, they retconned that - 
        http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kessel_Run#History

• [bangagong]

  aaannnd… now I have to unsubscribe from boing boing. Tits tits tits – male urges are the only thing that matter. ~sigh~ I hate the world. 

  • [Preston Sturges]

    Where’s the beef?

    • [bangagong]

       I don’t subscribe to sites that post content that degrades women for the sake of titillating hetero men (or degrades anyone for the sake of titillating anyone, for that matter, but degrading women to get to men is how things normally work). This wasn’t one of those sites, now it is. I am down to Al-Jazeera English and a cooking blog.

      • [Alistair Stray]

        What about the gay female audience ? Sorry, that was a cheap shot. The thing is though, your stance is actually anti-feminist in its judgementality. If a woman wishes to choose to enjoy, express or even exploit her own sexuality that is her call and nobody elses. Any kind of defence to the contrary (in a ‘well, shes doing it because shes succumbing to the pressure of the patriarchal system’ way), although may arguably stand up is still hideously eltist and is extremely belittling the women who chose to do this. It is just another kind of misogyny or at least a thinly veiled attack on women who do not behave the way you think they should (be you a man or a woman).

        Edit : Because there is no other way to reply to saurabhs post below. No, I am not saying that at all, I am not denying the patriarchy exists at all. What I am saying is that the argument that they are purely doing it because of the pressure of the patriarchy isn’t a good line to take. I know that because of the current inequality between the genders that it is impossible for women to be able to express their sexuality equitably in the eyes of everyone, whereas it is possible for men to do so. However, thats not to say that they, or others, choose to do so for fun. Though I completely understand that because of our current inequalities women who choose to behave in a certain way are always going to face accusations (and probably correctly) of kowtowing to gender oppression. However you are still attacking women for a behaviour that doesn’t fit your own politic, even accusing them on some level, or by subtext, of not being smart enough to see the big picture, which is completely counterproductive to the cause of fighting for gender equality. It is possible to argue for gender equality, and sexual freedom, and freedom of expression at the same time.

        • [saurabh]

           WTF? So, what you’re saying is, social pressure doesn’t exist, and women express their sexuality for male attention are doing it PURELY because they want to, and not because, say, we live in a society where males still have the balance of power and money and like to have female sexuality freely available to them. You are just wrong, buddy. You are wrong. It doesn’t matter how much internet irony you smear on top of it – the patriarchy still exists.

      • [disky00]

        You’re welcome to disagree with the idea of the show and not watch it, but if you’re going to ignore a site that has a wealth of great content as soon as they post something you disagree with you’re going to miss out on a lot of things you might appreciate.

        I think the show looks awful too, but this comment is fairly juvenile. 

      • [Hamfisted]

        I once told a friend about a creep posting inappropriate comments in my photo gallery. I mentioned that I was particularly icked by a comment he wrote about a young cosplayer. My friend looked up from his beer and asked “Why the hell did you photograph a young girl?”. He had been conditioned to view the act of photographing young people as suspicious and wondered if I had ulterior motives.

        When I saw your comment, I thought there was something similar going on. Xeni posted a picture she liked, and I doubt there was much more to it, but you assumed there were ulterior motives to her actions, i.e. attracting male readers through titillating content. You have strong views on exploitation, strong enough to leave Boingboing, but perhaps the strength of your convictions is clouding your judgment. Not only did you assign a low motive to Xeni’s post, but you also judged the whole of Boingboing on this one photo.

        Granted, if you went looking in the archives you can no doubt find some titillating content, but I still don’t think an occasional post is proof of a nefarious policy. It’s ok to raise awareness of the problems surrounding titillating content, but to ask Boingboing, staunch defenders of free speech, to engage in complete self-censorship over this is probably not going to achieve much at all.

      • [UFIA]

         You said “titillating” twice. 

      • [Johnny Paul Coolin]

         Try wearing a pair of boxing gloves for a while.

  • [jere7my]

    Tish tosh!

    http://boingboing.net/2012/04/18/naked-man-protests-tsa-screeni.html

    Enjoy.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    Tits tits tits – male urges are the only thing that matter.

    Setting aside the fact that the two young ladies in the photo are fully-clothed and the fact that the person who posted it is a woman…….huh?

    Here, have some equal opportunity boobage.

    • [bangagong]

      You have a very simplistic view of what my issue is.  There were women who argued loudly against giving women the right to vote. The fact that a woman might want to titillate men for page views and comments is not a new thing.

      • [PNWchemist]

        i pity you. 

      • [ocker3]

        I think he point is that there are lots of things for women to find attractive on BB as well as for men. Perhaps submit some?

    • [bumpngrindcore]

      Sorry Antinous, but I’ll take a fully-clothed Gordon Freeman over a hundred half-naked Dukes any day. ;)

      • [Dan Hibiki]

         Gordon’s such a hipster.

  • [UFIA]

    You said “tits” three times.

  • [xian]

    I do hope you get your money back.

• [Guest]

  oh my god, mantabs bro…

• [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

  They’re just having fun, no need to criticize them for their hobby.  All of these sexist remarks are making me disappointed in people.  I saw these girls and they looked like they were having a lot of fun, and they looked great.  They were probably excited about doing this together as friends.  There have been cosplays where people are down to bikinis, their clothes cover a lot more.  Just calm down and let the cosplayers have fun, they’re not out to get you.  From experience, I know I wouldn’t appreciate if someone sexually objectified me in cosplay.  They’re people too, and chances are they will be able to see this article and all the degrading comments about their “tits” and how they shouldn’t wear panties to be “canon”.  The internet is a big place. 

  • [ocker3]

     A friend who runs games at Conns and always gets a Lot of people happily posing at clubs and conns for photos has this perspective: People dress up to get noticed, and they’re usually Very aware of how much attention their clothes (or lack of them) will get attention. There was one photo he posted of a woman wearing so little clothing it couldn’t have been used to cover a Mills and Boon book, but she was very happily smiling for photos. She’d created that outfit and wore it to that event, she knew she was going to attract attention.

    The good thing was, when the louts who were there started saying loutish things, other convention-goers shut them down and moved them on, respecting her right to dress up in an outlandish costume and not attract the wrong kind of attention. People Should be able to go to Conns in weird and wacky stuff and get respected for their Maker abilities and commitment to dressing like the character does, it’s very hard to put yourself on the line like that.

  • [bumpngrindcore]

    I hate to break this to you, but I’ve known more than one girl who has gone to a con in a revealing outfit because they think it will be an easy ego-boost from all the supposedly “desperate” nerd males. 
    I know this sounds horribly victim-blame-y but usually girls don’t wear skimpy outfits at cons so that nobody will look at them.
    And anyway guys will make creepy comments about a woman on the internet even if she is covered head-to-toe. :/

    • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

      Apparently they were being sexually objectified.  They still are.  It’s disgusting.  Trust me, I know they don’t want that kind of attention.  They find it funny that people are reacting this way though.  They did this as a duo for fun, I know they had problems with all the really close touching they got because of who they were dressed as.  
      In regards to your comment about the outfits at cons, I would believe anyone in cosplay would like people looking at them, regardless of how much fabric is adorning their body.  I certainly appreciate when someone sees an outfit of mine and asks for a photograph.  I’m also in Jazman’s album from FanExpo and I was flattered when I was asked for a photograph, and I definitely wasn’t wearing something skimpy.  Adding to that, it’s not just girls who dress “skimpy” for attention.  Kamina cosplayers, for example.  Or even Armstrong from FMA.  They’re both completely topless!  But since a less-than-fully-clothed female body is more taboo than a shirtless man, nobody finds anything wrong with this.  Seriously?  ”Oh my goodness look Nancy I can see that young girl’s midriff.  Get a sweater on that girl!”  And then people see a topless man walking down the street?  Apparently there is nothing wrong with that.  My point is, people cosplay because they like it, and some cosplayers do enjoy the attention, they may be flattered when someone asks for their picture.  It’s supposed to be fun, and objectifying people when they do it doesn’t make it as fun.  If the comments on here were more like “Oh they did a good job, they look really good” then sure.  Yes the attention is nice, but not the negative attention.

      Although I can tell this isn’t a site that is cosplay-centric, so I realize that not many people would understand or appreciate these costumes as much as other cosplayers would.  That also explains the lewd comments.  I personally think they did a great job, and I look forward to when they do other cosplays, because they’re both incredibly talented and pretty.

      • [Frederik]

        A bitt of sexual objectivication is just part of entertainment, wether it’s male or female. Why do you think every boy band is going on stage shirtless or nearly shirtless? And do you think those rows of screaming women throwing thier panties on stage are doing that because of their apriciation for the lyrics? The Chipendales woulden’t be a wordwide phenomenon of women diden’t also want a bitt of eye candy. Wether it’s men or women: sex sells. And that’s fine.

        Going along with that and then complaining about it, is a little silly though. The show is called Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt not “Inteligent police officers solving crime”. What part of police procedure involves being half naked and grinding up against each other??
        There is nothing to misunderstand here, it’s all about the sexiness. And that’s fine, it’s a bitt of cheesecaky, grindhousy fun. If you can pull off that kind costume, more power to you. Not everybody is born with a body to do that. But not being aware of what you are doing and being outraged about it is a little hypocritical.

        • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

          The entertainment in cosplay lies within the act of participating, not the supposed sexual objectification behind it.  There really shouldn’t be, actually.  This is not a sex convention.  Nor is it a concert where people are practically orgasming over some over-hyped band full people that are treated like objects of sex.

          Now sure, most of the appeal behind PSG in North America is the sex appeal.  (And the premise behind the show is that they are Angels fighting evil to earn their way back to heaven.  They are in no way police officers, the outfits worn were simply of some art of Panty and Stocking dressed up as police officers.)
          http://lusipurr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/pantystockingpolice.jpg

          The entire gag behind the show is that they break the mould of “conventional” angels.  Yes, this is where the sexual objectification behind the characters comes in again.  I have watched the show, and I find it hilarious.  It’s fantastic!  When I see someone pull off the characters really well, I applaud them.

          However, when people begin to criticize cosplayers for this, there is a line that must be drawn.  They don’t do this for criticism.  

          It’s not a “little” silly to be complaining about something like this.  They put themselves out there in some revealing outfits, and people are complaining about them.  How is there something not wrong with that?  They’re going out to have fun.
          Frederik, it is not “all about the sexiness”.  It’s about the creativity behind the costume, and the fun had while actually cosplaying.  Being treated like a sexual object, and let me restate “object” is NOT fun.
          Also Frederik, what you said… “But not being aware of what you are doing and being outraged about it is a little hypocritical.”  I really don’t understand the point you were trying to make there.  It seems a bit out of place.  
          I know about the show, and I know about cosplay, and I am fully aware that people can be sex-driven weirdos on the internet.
          TL;DR, who cares, they look great and they’re having fun.  They don’t deserve criticism for that.

    • [Emma Nicolay]

      Excuse me, but, me and my friend actually wore these costumes for ourselves, not for others.  We were having fun. 

      She and I are both secure in our self-confidence, and feel no need to go for a cheap easy ego-boost.  I mentioned this above, but, this is the first time either of us had ever worn such a revealing cosplay.  And even then.. I mean, fuck, it’s middrift, nothing more.

      • [bumpngrindcore]

        What made you think I was referring to *you* specifically? I was speaking about girls I’ve known who’ve gone to cons wearing next to nothing dressed up as a character they know fuck-all about just to get attention. Perhaps I should have worded my comment better to make it clear. :) And you’re right, I’ve seen way more revealing costumes, but unfortunately on the internet even if just your wrists are visible people will lose their shit. I’m sorry if people who are old enough to be your fathers are saying rather foolish things…let them embarrass themselves, I say. It’s why I no longer dress up at cons, because I have enough going on in my life without some guy on the other side of the world evaluating my physical assets, or people recognising me in the street as that girl in that outfit on the internet.

        • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

          “Speaking about girls” – Men have done things like this before, too.  If you don’t want them to think you’re speaking about them, then don’t comment on a photo of them about it.  It’s simple.  Additionally, they do know about the characters, and they did it for themselves.  ”Just your wrists” is a bit of an exaggeration, because obviously T-shirts exist and people don’t get crap from the internet’s entire population from wearing a tee in a photograph.  Hell, people don’t normally get crap from posting a photo of themselves in bikinis with friends.  

• [Joel Simmons]

  A friend of mine from college has been doing English voice-overs for years, and just mentioned, yesterday, that she is the voice of Panty! Nice article, BoingBoing! 

  @marchimark:twitter 

  • [Emma Nicolay]

     OH hey, that’s really neat, man.

• [Frederik]

  My point, in short, is that they dressing up as sexy characters doing the sexy posing and then you find it out of place that people are saying: oh wow that looks really sexy. Makes no sense. If you don’t find that fun; choose a less objectivying character to cosplay as.

  • [bumpngrindcore]

    Objectivying? :p

  • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

    I think you missed my point entirely.

    They’re being criticized for having fun.
    They find it fun to dress up as the characters. 
    The criticism isn’t fun, but COMPLIMENTS are.  They are aware of the show and the sexual content, and maybe it called for a skimpier outfit, but that’s cosplay.  Sometimes you have to to be accurate.
    Please don’t dictate who should dress as who because that’s like telling a man he can’t crossplay as a Sailor Scout and have fun with it.  Criticising that man is just as bad as criticising these girls.

• [David Llopis]

  Nothing generates more anxious beanplating than attractive, statutorily unavailable girls. I guess it’s just not worth setting off those triggers on BoingBoing.

  • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

    Statutorily unavailable?  You are insinuating they are under eighteen and are completely single and straight.

    What causes the tirades is more like the ignorant masses needing to be educated on matters they are unfamiliar with.
    It’s not just the girls, it’s the cosplayers.

  • [Emma Nicolay]

     Actually, she and I are seventeen and eighteen.  In our country, the age of consent is sixteen.

    Also, Jess (the Stocking, blue hair) has a boyfriend, and I (Panty, blonde) am a lesbian and have a girlfriend.

• [Jessica Southern]

  *sigh*

  • [Emma Nicolay]

     Indeed, Stocking, indeed.

• [Emma Nicolay]

  I must say, I find it hilarious that this photo of my friend and myself made it onto this website.  I’m even more amused by the majority of comments here.

  Just for the record, the Stocking (blue hair) is the Ms. Jessica Southern who just commented on this article, and as for myself, I’m actually the Panty (the blonde) in this photo.

  I have to say, I find it incredibly amusing that we’ve been displayed in such an unflattering light.  For example, it’s assumed that we were doing this for sexual attention from people.  That makes little sense, seeing as my friend has a boyfriend, who was actually swatting off people for us at the convention, and I have a girlfriend and am also a lesbian.  I certainly don’t want any sexual attention from men in particular, or even women for that matter.  It’s one thing to be complimented, it’s another to be objectified. 

  My friend and I cosplay for ourselves, not for the benefit of others.  We love these characters, and we thought we’d try out these outfits.  Usually, our costumes are far more reserved.  In fact, on the second day of that convention, I had a floor length purple taffeta gown and was cosplaying Yukari Yakumo from Touhou.  Jessica and I have never had such sexual cosplays on before. 

  If anything, this show actually parodies sexual themes, completely mocking them for the majority of the show.  There is honestly an episode in which everyone develops a fetish for picking their nose.

  It’s really just parody comedy.

  Also, my friend and I are seventeen and eighteen, so the jailbait comments are unappreciated.

  • [Jessica Southern]

    well said my dear Panty

  • [Harris Mckay]

     O hai, I’m the boyfriend.
    OK
    Comments like “they’re hot” or some such are statements of fact, and completely OK.
    But if someoen insinuates that they are doing this for attention? that’s a bit offensive. So think before you make yourself look dumb
    Now stop arguing, and appreciate the accuracy of this cosplay. (And go watch PSG It’s SO FUNNY)

    • [Sora Adrian Rayne Hanson]

      Nice summary of our thoughts, Harris.

      Als0 PSG is a great show.