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If you haven’t heard of
Excel Saga, and are expecting it to be serious, TURN BACK NOW. It
is probably one of the most screwed and insane anime comedies ever
to exist.
Created in 1999, the anime of Excel Saga takes Koshi Rikudo’s
manga of the same title and runs riot with the plot, spoofing several
genres from B-movie war films to science fiction with an animated
Rikudo giving permission for the show to be put in these formats.
It’s the story of Excel Excel, agent of the secret ideological
organisation ACROSS, under the command of Lord Ilpalazzo. Her mission:
to conquer the city of F on the F prefecture in the name of Ilpalazzo
and ACROSS. Helping (or sometimes, hindering) her quest is Hyatt,
her terminally anaemic partner and Menchi, Excel’s pet dog/emergency
food supply.
Along the way we meet the likes of Watanabe, Iwata and Sumiyoshi,
Excel’s next-door neighbours who gain more importance as the
series continues; immigrant worker Pedro; the omnipotent and selectively
omnipresent Great Will of the Macrocosm (or Will-chan for short);
the Puchuu, despicable and horrifyingly adorable aliens from Mars
and Nabeshin, the self-insert of the director with the massive afro.
A word of warning  concerning
the ADV dub: if you didn’t like Jessica Calvello as Mink in
DragonHalf, then you’ll hate her take on Excel, as she takes
the screechy hyperactive talk to a new level. Fortunately, it is fitting
with the series.
The best feature on the disc, without a shadow of a doubt, is the
AD-Vidnotes. When activated, little dialog boxes with Menchi’s
face pop-up on screen to inform the viewer of in-jokes, references
and play on words that are either vague or are lost in the translation
to English dialogue. The feature itself is worth the price of the
disc.
All in all, if you have a warped sense of humour like I do,
you will find Excel Saga an absolute hoot. I guarantee it. 9/10
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If you enjoy big mech and space battles then why not have a laugh
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