Excel Saga
Excel Saga is a comedy
anime directed by Shinichi Watanabe and based on a
manga series written by Koshi Rikdo. The complete japanese title is へっぽこ実験アニメーション エクセル・サーガ
, translated as
Quack Experimental Anime Excel Saga. Excel Saga is a television show which originally aired on TV Tokyo from August 7,
1999 to March 30,
2000. There are 26 episodes.
Warning: Plot details follow.
Lord Ilpalazzo, head of the secret organisation "ACROSS", wants to rid the world of corruption, starting with just one city ("Conquering one city is a reasonable plan that allows some leeway for setbacks"). Trouble is, "ACROSS" consists in its entirety of himself and Agent Excel, an airheaded blonde who never stops talking. (The situation doesn't improve noticeably when Excel gains a sidekick in the second episode; Agent Hyatt is quite a bit smarter than Excel but has an unfortunate tendency to keep dying for no readily apparent reason.)
The show relentlessly parodies various films, games, dramas, and other works of anime, including but by no means limited to Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Superman, Doraemon, Fist of the North Star, Biohazard, Mickey Mouse, Lupin III, and Star Wars. It is also very self-aware and features appearances from the writer, the director and the singers of the theme tune (the Excel♥Girls).
The writer of the comic, Rikdo, is killed in the first episode by Excel, with a big Chinese sword. In a parody of many manga-to-anime translations (including Sailor Moon), Excel Saga the anime has very little to do with Excel Saga the manga (in fact, they knowingly skip sections from the manga).
The Japanese voice actor of Excel, Kotono Mitsuishi, is same as Misato in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Tsukino Usagi, the central character of Sailor Moon.
Excel Saga comics are originally based on the doujinshi comic Municipal Forces Daitenjin, also written by Koshi Rikdo.
There is also an (even wackier) OVA spinoff called Puni Puni Poemi.
Characters
ACROSS
- Excel Excel, aka Hanako Dosukoi: Fast talking, wise-cracking heroine. Initially the sole minion within ACROSS. Excel, Il Palazzo, and Hyatt are named after Tokyo's three largest hotels, for reasons unclear to anyone except (presumably) the writers.
- Lord Il Palazzo: Typical evildoer, Excel and Hyatt's boss. His obligatory catchphrase: "This world is becoming rotten!"
- Menchi: Excel's pet dog and emergency food supply. She was sent away by her caring owner who hoped she would have a better life that he could provide. What a pity Excel found her first.
- Hyatt Ayasugi: Discovered on an alien space ship and saved from the clutches of the excessively cute Puchuus. Dies all the time but always revives soon thereafter. (This aspect of her character parodies an anime tradition of attractive heroines with weak constitutions. Another less extreme parody of the same thing can be seen in Mutsumi Otohime from Love Hina, who Hyatt not coincidentally physically resembles.)
Department of City Security
- Kababu: Officious leader. Has a handlebar moustache which can spin around and even fall off (though his mouth is never shown).
- Tooru Watanabe: Excel and Hyatt's neighbor, he lives in an apartment with Iwata and Sumiyoshi, but he's fed up with them, all the time. He falls in love with Hyatt.
- Norikuni Iwata: A really stupid guy. He falls in love with Ropponmatsu.
- Daimaru Sumiyoshi: A fat guy who speaks the Kansai dialect, but only in subtitles.
- Misaki Matsuya: Attractive and intelligent female recruit.
- Ropponmatsu: A beautiful bomb-disposal expert who happens to be a robot. Rebuilt after an explosion in two forms; as herself, and as a perky young cat-girl.
Other Citizens of F
- Nabeshin: A strange guy with an afro, who dresses like Lupin III. The name comes from Watanabe Shinichi, the voice actor's name in Japanese order. (This is the same Shinichi Watanabe who directs the anime.) Being the director, he is the personified deus ex machina.
- Pedro: The unluckiest man on Earth. Died in the process of working on a construction project alongside Excel.
- Daiuchuu no Ooinaru Ishi: The Great Will of the Macrocosm. Appearing in the form of galaxy with arms, she acts kind of a rewind button to revive Excel when she dies (she dies a lot in Episode 1). She falls in love with Pedro. Usually called "Iz-chan," for no apparent reason.
- That Guy: Pedro's archnemesis, who masquerades as a friend and seduces both Pedro's wife and his lover. The characters never learn his real name and therefore refer to him simply as "That Guy" (in reality, the character only had a minor part in the comic. He was never expected to turn into such a major character and was never officially named).
Episode Guide
- 01. The Koshi Ridko Assassination Plot
Excel joins up with ACROSS. Her first task: Kill Koshi Rikdo. Pity she keeps on messing the job up, usually dying in the process.
Hyatt arrives on the scene. However, the aliens transporting her to earth have the usual world-domination plans.
- 03. The Sacrificial Lamb of the Venomous Great Escape of Hell
It's a war b-movie! Excel is trapped in the jungle, alongside some very manly mercenaries, who also happen to have some unfinished business with Nabeshin.
A romantic comedy spoof. Watanabe sets his sights on Hyatt, but he is actually under the control of a dating game Illpalazzo is playing. Hilarity ensues. The title of this episode is a reference to "Love Hina", a popular romantic anime and manga.
- 05. The Interesting Giant Tower
Excel and Hyatt set out to infiltrate the government of F City. It turns out that the officials are even more incompetent than our heroines.
ACROSS plans to set up a laser in the mountains. Of course, they become stranded. Again.
- 07. Melody of the Underground Passage
The Puchus from Ep 2 seem to have infiltrated F City's sewers. An Aliens-style cleanup action is necessary, pitting the Department of Secutity against ACROSS for the first time.
- 08. Increase Ratings Week
Everybody chills out in the pool, and the males are never on-camera. This episode is pure fanservice.
Now, to take over the world of sports, bowling, that is. ACROSS is not the only nefarious organization to get that idea, however. The title of this episode in Japanese ("Bowling Musume") is an oblique reference to the Japanese girl-band
Morning Musume (essentially, a Japanese female version of
Menudo).
Menchi has enough of her role as emergency food supply and runs away. Soon she meets up with some other strays. Disney fans need not apply.
Excel temps as a substitute teacher/baseball coach. Well, it's not like the students were eager to learn anyway...
The Department of City Security gets to tag along with a police detective for a day, while Hyatt is taken hostage by some extremely incompetent bankrobbers.
- 13. The New Year's-End Party Hidden Talent Contest
A recap of all previous episodes, in the form of a game show.
The Department of City Security gets a new member: Ropponmatsu, robotic bomb disposal expert. Just in time, because ACROSS now tries its luck with bombs.
Ropponmatsu is back, and so is her updated sister model, Ropponmatsu.
The two Ropponmatsus fall madly in love with Excel and Hyatt. It seems like having a near-indestructible combat robot fall madly in love with you is not all it's cracked up to be.
Excel and Hyatt are on a reconnaissance mission. To the States. Somehow, their wackiness seems even more inappropriate there. Contains the ultimate showdown betwenn US and Japanese animation.
- 18. Municipal Force Daitenzin
The Department of City Security is outfitted with
Sentai suits to stop crime even more effectively. Read: They now are able to blow up ANYTHING, and of course they do.
- 19. Menchi's Great Adventure 2: Around the World in 80 Hours
Another Menchi detour, she makes a trip around the world with a young industry magnate who is hunted by her evil uncle.
- 20. The Best of Mr. Pedro
Another recap, featuring all Pedro happenings up to this point and even some new ones.
- 21. Visually Appealing Type
Seems like there is such a thing as ACROSS HQ, and it sends a messenger - Key, a typical J-Rock star. He does not blend in well with his coworkers, to say the least.
The Puchus are back, and now they try to take over the world for good. This leads to an epic space opera in the vein of
Gundam.
- 23. Legend of the End of the Century Conqueror
Last episodes' space battle didn't go out so well, so now earth has some dire problems. Gangs roam the deserted wastelands. Luckily there is one person standing up against them. Not so luckily, it's Excel.
Further exploring the "wastelands" storyline, the Department of City Security has survived having a city-sized space cruiser dropped onto their heads. Now they try to reclaim their city.
- 25. We Will Not Be Held Responsible
It's showdown time. Pedro vs. That Man, the Daitenzin vs. Ilpallazzo vs. Excel, Hyatt vs. Watanabe.
This episode wasn't aired on TV Tokyo, and for good reason: It's little more than a romp through all the things you can't show on television. Completely detached from what little storyline Excel Saga managed to build up over the last episodes, it features mostly sex and violence. And explosions.
External links