Excel Saga: To "Excel" is to invite a spray of mace in the eyes

Afro jokes, old anime references, random acts of violence, fast talking so fast that it actually hospitalizes voice actors and weird shit that is SO WEIRD that it puts all other weird shit to shame.

My number #5...

Let's press the issue that is Excel Saga!





(opening chunk of episode 1, note after Excel's death you overhear people in the crowd say things like "I can't believe they killed the main character in the first scene!" and "Is the story going to be okay?!")


Nothing says "I'm willing to go the distance" like starting the first episode of a series literally killing off the titular main character at 3 consecutive occasions within the first ten minutes and following that with sending her off to assassinate the author of the comic upon which your show is based. The concept alone is both baffling and hilarious and that's just the beginning of this amazing show which has nothing but contempt for the 4th wall and an english language dub made of pure, unadulterated awesomeness.

26 Episodes of awesomeness, actually. The last episode was direct to video since they wrapped up the "story" and wanted to do things that they couldn't get away with during the course of the television show.

Additionally, there's a spiritual successor in the really REALLY weird Puni Puni Poemy OAV, which has Nabeshin, Ms. Kumikumi and his production staff showing up either as main characters or in cameos and the voice actors from Excel Saga returning as new characters (as in the girls who sang the opening theme are now the main characters and Excel & Hyatt are portraying two of their sisters).

You'll notice my energy and tone for this show is a little different than the others because my normally frothing rage is non-applicable to this show. I have a hard time working into a froth over Excel Saga because it's so difficult to focus on any one thing. Not to imply that it's hard to follow because I'm not implying anything, I'm saying outright that it's ridiculously hard to follow.

Actually, there's nothing to follow. Things develop over time, but as an actual flowing narrative there is nothing of even remote worth. But even then that's not entirely accurate since each episodes ties roughly into the next and well, I guess it's more complicated than I'm doing it justice.

Let me clarify things a little...

There's no "story" per se save for the primary character plot points that muddle through sketch-style comedic spoofs or "missions" of other anime series (Gundam, Galaxy Express 999, etc.), big movies of international renown (Aliens, Rambo, Zombie flicks, etc.) and TV Shows (Japanese talk/celebrity shows, Sentai/Power Rangers, etc.) that frequently lead into a story reset by an omnipotent character made of a swirling sphere of the cosmos with very feminine human arms dangling from either side (referred to as the "Great Will of the Macrocosm, AKA Miss Will). If Miss Will sounds like an odd sight now, wait until you see her smoking cigarettes in bed or making out with Pedro as Excel interrupts their alone time with a request to un-do her accidental destruction or mass murder. Yikes.



Let's address the "story" as it is presented. It really comes down to 3 separate intertwining plot points that frequently criss-cross into one another and ultimately collide in an effort to resolve themselves, not including the arguable 4th story literally starring the head production staff of the show and the original comic-book author as they fight over the fact that the story doesn't go anywhere and the director keeps inserting himself for no real reason save for random hilarity.


(Hyatt goes on a sorta-date with Watanabe while Excel freaks out at home eating bread crusts and making out with her Ilpallazzo dummy. Note Hyatt draining the life from the plants Carnivale style)

A Plot - Excel and Hyatt, two minions in the organization known as ACROSS that serve Lord Ipallazzo in their quest to conquer the city and stave off starvation as they continuously take on new part time jobs that usually go horribly wrong because Hyatt literally drops dead on the job or Excel does something unspeakable in her scatterbrained blathering.


(A Daitenzen AMV spoofing the opening credits for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV show. I think they went too far assigning them as actual MMPR characters, but I was too busy laughing to give a rat's ass.)

B Plot - The City's Giant Cat's Paw brigade (Municipal Force Daitenzin). Excel & Hyatt's neighbors (Sumiyoshi, Watanabe and Iwata) at their apartment complex apply for the civil service exam and become Power Rangers.
I'm not kidding. They work for this ludicrously overfunded arm of the city (ironically, by the very corruption within the city that Ipallazzo keeps referring to) devoted to protecting the peace per their boss whose name literally translates to Mr. Hippopotamus. They pick up 3-4 additional (mostly female) characters in their respective storyline that also move in to their apartment complex, but the biggest dose of irony is that their very reason for cohering as a team is primarily to eliminate ACROSS and the two active ACROSS members live next door in the same apartment complex.


(A "Pedro: The Movie" trailer used in the New Year's review episode)

C Plot - Pedro, wandering soul of palpable sadness. An otherwise unrelated character until later in the series who dies because Excel caused a massive series of vehicular accidents at a part time job because she gets excited about working for ACROSS (a frequent occurrence). Anyway, Pedro burns to death and when it comes time for Ms. Will to reset his fate, she remembers another appointment and leaves him to wander the earth alone as he tries to make contact and/or reconnect with his Sexy Wife and his son, Sandora.


(The opening bit for the last episode showing Excel fighting with Koshi Rikdo & Nabeshin over making an Excel Saga musical)

Pedro's kind of a distraction from the ACROSS girls, while the Power Ranger neighbors are usually trying to thwart/flirt with the ACROSS girls respectively. Again, you could technically argue that the production staff count as a fourth storyline as they interrupt the show (usually in the form of the Director Watanabe's afro-sporting alter-ego "Nabeshin") to argue about why the story isn't going anywhere with the Director taking a special, personal interest in interfering with major plot points (such as taking on ACROSS higher-ups or meddling with the affairs of the Puchuu invaders). They even go so far as to have characters chide or threaten the director!

Take THAT fourth wall!!!

Things escalate to the point that the opening gag goes from Koshi Rikdo happily tendering his seal of approval for Nabeshin & Co. to bastardize his work and they actually begin stealing his seal to accomplish whatever they want. It's awesome.


(As part of the final episode, Excel & Hyatt swap bodies and go on the expected rampage while Illpazzo has joined with the Mohawks band as he tries his hand at Japanese "visual style" of rock.)

I haven't had this much fun with anime EVER. Really. I'm told the manga actually goes much further than the anime in terms of weird, disturbing and offensive materials, but I assure you the anime itself goes to so many strange places that you won't be bothered to care.


(Excel takes a very familiar stand against some generic American mobsters who deal in knockoff anime cels)

Anime spoofs come and go, this is a little different... Bastardization comes to mind, but then I have trouble applying such labels when I'm laughing this hard. I'll be the first to admit that Excel Saga is an acquired taste and one that I'd actually be a little afraid of trying myself if I hadn't been at Comic-con where it was being shown in one of their wildy packed viewing rooms and ADV Films (*sniff* Back when they were among the living) had bundled the dubbed first episode with the pop-up video info feature in with their preview swag.



I bought it before I had left the convention that day at their humongous booth and have been hooked ever since. Like Urusei Yatsura, there's a lot of cultural gags that in eyes outside of those in Japan will not make much, if any, sense. AnimEigo has tiny text referential stuff that'll usually float above the screen during culturally humorous moments, but ADV Films did one better. As a subtitle setting on the DVD periodical bubbles will appear not unlike the VH1 Pop-up videos of old (sound effects and all) will appear giving quick, concise explanations of the weird shit on screen, even going so far as to point out visual anime gags you might not otherwise catch because there's ALWAYS a lot of life in each and every frame during the show so you'd be surprised how many little things you might miss. My suggestion is watching each episode by itself and then watching it again with the AD-Vid notes turned on.

If I had a gripe, it would be that the animators get lazy. Don't misunderstand, as contemporary anime today utilizing the digitally assisted method of animation there aren't many that can both capture the essence of the original work AND look this good. It's just that there's frequent moments where detail doesn't mean a thing and features melt away on characters faces. You'll be able to spot them, easily.

It's a superficial gripe, but I've got standards and even my favorites don't meet them all the time. This digital shit always made me irritable anyway. I can't condone the way it makes everything... glisten. ARGH!

Anyway, watch Excel Saga if you enjoy life. If you don't enjoy life, you may need Excel Saga more than you know.




(The infamous closing song by Menchi, Excel's adopted stray dog and emergency food supply that she strongly considers dining upon every episode)