Excel Saga

Reviewed by Mark Avecilla
October 18, 2006

Director: Shinichi Watanabe Studio: J.C. Staff Genre: Comedy Age Rating: 17+ Distributor: ADV Films Website: Click Here Review Rating: 9 out of 10

The secret ideological organization called ACROSS is made up of agents Excel and Hyatt. Lord Illalazzo is the one in charge of these two agents and his goal is world domination starting with the city of F.

All of the episodes start off with an authorization done by characters in the show to let viewers know what to expect. Each episode makes fun of the one theme authorized. Pretty much in every episode, Excel and Hyatt are given missions to complete which end, arguably, in failure. Excel Saga makes funny parodies, references, and gags about things like Fist of the North Star, Gundam, Dragon Ball, Japanese video games, Power Rangers, western action movies, Lupin III, and even its own manga. Excel dies three times within the first five minutes. By my count, the main character Excel had died about four or five times in the first episode and the story had to be restarted by the Great Will of the Macrocosm because Excel killed the creator of the Excel Saga anime and manga. As the show goes on, more endearing characters are introduced like Nabeshin the director of Excel Saga, Menchi the dog who is emergency food, That Man who is a villain, Watanabe the neighbor and his friends, Kabapu who goes against ACROSS, and the family of Pedro, his “Sexy Wife”, and Sandora. Trust me when I say that each character is there for maximum comedic value.

The Evolution Factor is high for Excel Saga. The show really stands out among anime. The music, animation, and voice acting are pretty good all around. The funny show has replay value since everything happens so fast and references abound. Even with so many references, ADV added notes to run during the show in the DVD extras. The show is definitely for mature audiences because of the violent and sexual content.

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