| Once Upon a Time in Garterbelt | |
 | |
| Kanji | ワンス・アポン・ア・タイム・イン・ガーターベルト |
| Rōmaji | Wansu Apon a Taimu in Gātāberuto |
| Season | 1 |
| Episode № | 11A |
| Air Date | JP: December 10, 2010 EN: August 7, 2012 |
| Previous | "HELP! We are Angels" |
| Next | "Nothing to Room" |
"One Upon a Time in Garterbelt" is the 23rd segment of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. It aired during the eleventh episode on December 10, 2010 in Japanese, and on August 7, 2012 in English.
Synopsis[]
Panty and Stocking suspect Garterbelt of engaging in sexual activities behind their backs and search for incriminating evidence to use against him. Instead, they find his diary.
Plot[]
The episode starts with a narrator, who assures lies can both, conceal and expose. The setting changes to Daten City's Church, where Garterbelt is lecturing the angels, as usual. Garterbelt says that instead of dispatching ghosts, the angels have been handling false reports, assuring Daten City has become a living hell, due to all the ghosts who are on the loose. While punching Chuck, Garterbelt drops one of his BDSM belts, but retrieves it quickly. The angels get suspicious, and decide to follow Garterbelt in order to bust him doing something inappropriate.
The Anarchy sisters find a secret passage inside the church, and after going down the hundreds of stairs, have to run from the various traps set in there. Upon defeating an armored enemy, they come across a dead end, where Stocking finds Garterbelt's diary. The angels decide to read it in order to learn Garterbelt's deepest secrets. The setting changes to a dirty city, where Garterbelt encounters two police officers. However, Garterbelt ditches the officers shortly after. Garterbelt then proceeds to explain he has committed every crime in the book, including assault, extortion, murder and prostitution.
Garterbelt says cities revolved around money, and that he just kept climbing the ladder, killing anyone who got in his way. But after being finally on top and having it all, he was gunned down in his own office. Garterbelt ends up in Heaven, where he is given a mission, which he refuses. When he starts insulting Judgement, however, he is suddenly struck by lightning and sent to the beginnings of time on a sort of trial. Garterbelt is then pursued by a T-Rex, when a meteorite suddenly falls from the sky, killing the dinosaurs. Garterbelt is later attacked by a bunch of monkeys, and even survives the Ice Age and encounters Adam and Eve.
He is later found by Noah, and taken on his ark. Garterbelt is then seen participating in several important stages of history and biblical passages, including Moses' and Egypt. He keeps surviving through all the eras, but upon looking at all the dead men after the crusades, he finally understood that all his suffering would eventually lead to true happiness. The Anarchy sisters fall asleep while reading his diary, and decide to leave shortly after waking up, since they couldn't remember why they were there in the first place. In the end, Garterbelt is revealed to have been judging himself all along, with bondage, using Chuck's help.
Gallery[]
Plot Elements[]
Locations[]
Trivia[]
General Trivia[]
- During the montage of Garterbelt traveling through history and around the world, he can be seen dressed as Jimi Hendrix and Space Ghost.
- This is the last episode of the series that Brief doesn't appear in.
References to Other Media[]
- The episode's title is a parody of Once Upon a Time in America.
- The monkeys touching Garterbelt is a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Panty and Stocking fight a clockwork suit of armor reminiscent of Viral's various mecha from Gurren Lagann. Its overall form resembles Enki, one of its weapons appears similar to the axe-halberd weapon of the Enkidu, and its multiple arms hearken back to the Enkidudu.
- When Garterbelt is in his office by the end of his younger days, it is a reference to Scarface.
- Panty is wearing a t-shirt that has a logo of Slave Labor Graphics, a comic book studio behind famous comics such as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl, and Serenity Rose.
- Stocking's attire in the beginning of the episode seems to loosely resemble Lenore Lynchfast, the protagonist of the comic series of the same name that’s also by Slave Labor Graphics.
Music[]
Songs used in this episode[]
- "Theme for Panty & Stocking" - Opening credits
- "Daten City" - Garter telling off the angels
- "Jumping Mole" - Garter through the ages