Excel Saga
Haaaaaaaail Ilpalazzooooooooooooo!!!
Review by: Craig "Nabeshin In Training" Norris
Length: 26 episodes
Genre: Comedy, parody
Watched: 1-26, subbed
I was in the mood to watch something brainless and funny. I had heard that Excel Saga fit that description, but I hadn't heard anything else. So, when M.H. invited me over to watch it, I wasn't quite sure what was waiting for me. M.H. cued up
episode 1. And thus began my descent into madness...
Plot synopsis: The overly-energetic Excel has been recruited by the top-secret organization Across, whose leader Ilpalazzo is bent on world domination. But, he wants to start small and expand, so he first dispatches Excel to prepare F City in F
Prefecture to be conquered. With her partner Hyatt, and a host of strange characters she has even stranger interactions with, Excel braves floods, avalanches, and Puuchuus to bring glory to Ilpalazzo and Across.
Artwork: This series was energetically animated. As far as straight art quality goes, it's pretty good, but the real fun is when it becomes a part of the parodies. For example, in episode 3 we are treated to a series of "stock film" shots that
range anywhere from live footage to crudely-rendered crayon mockups on notebook paper. And on more than one occasion, Excel's head begins to rotate around for no reason, with a very exaggerated expression on her face. The visuals are fully
integrated into the show, which contributes to the humor in a very positive way.
Music: Since the show is obviously a parody, the music had to follow suit. Some of the tracks are the most cornball songs ever composed, but you'd swear you heard them somewhere before. And they just fit so well! The ending theme is just
bizarre, featuring Menchi the dog barking a sad ballad, made even stranger by the verbal translation given along with it. As with the animation, the soundtrack works together with the show to produce a complete entity of utter insanity.
Characters: Excel Saga features a modicum of characters, all playing off some sort of anime stereotype. There's the overly-energetic and inept Excel, whose shrill and annoying enthusiasm is mitigated by the fact that you know you're not supposed
to take her seriously. Excel's partner, Hyatt, is sensible and soft-spoken. And she collapses quite often, a virtual river of blood winding down from the corner of her dainty little mouth. The leader of Across is the level-headed, unemotional,
and stereotypically bishounen-y Ilpalazzo. How did he get to be leader? Probably because he definitely looks the part. His presence is really felt when he tries to better himself, whether it's setting up dominoes, learning to speak English, or
taking up the guitar. Not to be overlooked is Menchi, Excel's dog, whom she keeps only as an emergency food supply. Most of Menchi's life is spent trying to escape from the clutches of her meat-hungry owner. Then there's the three guys in the
apartment next to Excel: Watanabe, who lusts after Hyatt and gets a public service job just to impress her; Iwata, who provides a constant annoyance to Watanabe and lusts after just about everything female; and Sumiyoshi, always level-headed and speaking in text. There's Pedro, the foreign laborer. *sigh* Poor, poor Pedro. Throw in a bunch of other weirdies like Will of the Universe (Iz-san for short), Space Butler, That Guy, and the Puuchuus who show up in every episode (ala Kuroneko) and you've got an amalgam of characters that is pretty much a gumbo of goofiness.
I saved the best for last, because this guy deserves his own paragraph. Nabeshin is the coolest guy in the show, and possibly in all of anime. With a Lupin-esque wardrobe that borders on copyright infringement, Nabeshin is always poking his
head in to perform some impossible task or otherwise repay some unknown debt to a friend, without ever really explaining why. He's just there. And he's just cool. And he's got a mighty afro that gives Batman's utility belt a run for its money!
Plot: There's the underlying thing about Across trying to take over the world, but in reality there is no clear plot in Excel Saga. Each episode is just an excuse to mercilessly bash on some sort of anime or pop-culture cliche (the episode that
makes fun of American-style anime hits really close to home). The later episodes of the series try to cram in a lot of plot to make up for the random insanity that buried it, but as a result the show loses a lot of energy. As a whole the plot
should not really be considered a driving force behind this anime, but my guess is that you'll be laughing too hard to even notice.
CHICKS!: Excel Saga has plenty of eye candy to satiate an ecchi's sweet-tooth, mainly because obligatory fanservice is a subject often parodied (one episode is devoted entirely to women in bikinis at a pool). Excel is just too hyper. She'd be
the kind of date who would drag you to about a million places that you didn't really want to go to. Hyatt, on the other hand, would be quite a catch. That is, if you don't mind her flat-lining in the middle of a romantic evening. Her demure and
quiet demeanor is impossible to resist... much like the scene in the opening when she's sucking on a banana. Yes, really. Misaki and Ropponmatsu 1, who work with the Safety Assurance Agency, are extremely easy on the eyes. It's no wonder Iwata
is so bent on winning their affections. Misaki can often be seen in a very tight uniform. Yummy. Ropponmatsu 2, on the other hand, is too young, and too hyper (though not nearly as hyper as Excel). Toss in a few RAF (Random Acts of Fanservice)
and the chick factor rises to a level sufficient enough to hold the attention of a letch like me.
Overall: Do not watch this show unless you want to be in pain from laughing so hard. I am not kidding when I say that some parts had me doubled over, gasping for air and sore. Just about everything that an otaku holds dear is brilliantly
satirized and systematically ripped apart, turning it into a feast of silly, slapstick, and sometimes depraved humor. Predictably, it's hard for twenty six episodes to proceed at such a pace, and some of the later episodes show some loss of steam,
but overall Excel Saga is an egregious romp that holds nothing sacred, even itself.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Funny, funny, FUNNY!
+ Clearly recognizable and well-done parodies
+ Doesn't take itself seriously (in a good way)
+ Nabeshin
- Plot progresses poorly
- Dulls a bit in later episodes
Rating: 8.5/10
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