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Excel Saga is a comedy anime directed by Shinichi Watanabe and based on a manga series written by Koshi Rikudo. 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, but only the first 25 were aired (Episode 26, Going Too Far, was intentionally made to be too controversial to show on TV, even down to the show's opening and closing animation.)
Excel Saga is published in English by Viz Communications.
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Lord Ilpalazzo, head of the secret organization "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.
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.
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. But some of them have a very soft side for her dog Menchi. And who forgot the androgynous prisoner in an iron mask!
A romantic comedy spoof. Watanabe sets his sights on Hyatt, but he is actually under the control of a dating game Ilpalazzo is playing. Hilarity ensues. The title of this episode is a reference to "Love Hina", a popular romantic anime and manga. The dating game is played on a Gameboy Advance.
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.
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. Quote from Wantanabe "Just Puchu it!" (kicking a puchu)
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... If you're intrested in men who have inflamed anuses, or just think it so damn funny, watch it.
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.
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 between US and Japanese animation.
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. Quote from Kabapu "Please try to solve at least ten incidents." No matter how small they are. Quote from Wantanbe "Damn it! the people of today are too morally right! From now on, spitting on the road is a felony!"
Another Menchi detour, she makes a trip around the world with a young industry magnet who is hunted by her evil uncle.
Another recap, featuring all Pedro happenings up to this point and even some new ones.
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. Lest to say that a guitar shadow just doesn't seem right...
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 and the works of Leiji Matsumoto - complete with Puchu versions of Captain Harlock and Char Aznable, among other characters.
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. A mad max parody.
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. This is the only "serious" episode in the series, as per Rikdo's edict at the start of the episode.
It's showdown time. Pedro vs. That Man, the Daitenzin vs. Ilpalazzo vs. Excel, Hyatt vs. Watanabe. (Have a nice look at Hyatt's gun, it does look familiar...)
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 (they solve everything, didn't you know?). But regardless of content, it was not aired for ratings but the content inside. (This was not rated 18+ in some countries) And who forgot that Man? This man here, that man there and many other that mans are out to get revenge.
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