Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
DrMechano
I'm a huge fan of the Excel Saga manga - but I'd have never discovered it if not for the anime, which is EXTREMELY different from Koshi Rikdo's original source material, but still an absolute blast from start to finish.
While the original manga is comedic, it's more of a clever satire of Japanese bureaucracy amid the 90s recession, with a genuinely focused ongoing plot about world domination. The anime does still use the conquest plot as a backdrop, but the story is (aside from the last few episodes) largely disconnected and episodic, opting for a "genre of the week" format, with a focus on rapid-fire gags rather than continuity. It's an anime that's completely irreverent and almost scornful at the very concept of having a focused plot; it throws the rules out and opts for jokes first, wi…
Read at the sourcebob-weebington
Excel Saga is just plain crazy. Either you love it for its goofiness or hate it, probably for it being too loud and annoying. That's easy to tell in just 1 episode though. I mean, this one can be just major stimulating if you're into it. Definitely take a look.
There is a ton of variety in the zany shenanigans the characters get into. For example, how episode 4 is played through visual novels for about half the episode.
There are tons of tiny jokes and references throughout the whole show, so a set of extra informative subtitles can add some depth to the show that you wouldn't experience otherwise.
Read at the sourcejoemaamah
Back in the day, this was a very guilty pleasure. The artwork for the times was about par. While the animation could be a bit sketchy, it wasn't horrible. But that's not why you came here, anyway.
What sets this apart are the main characters, who are completely goofy. Excel is such a bipolar chaotic mess. All hell is going to break loose where ever she goes. Hyatt is such a sweet thing, who is trailed by disaster at every turn. She's constantly taking some kind of beating. Between the two of them, they totally manage to F up everything they get involved in. They're LOL funny most of the time, and at least highly amusing all the time.
Plot? We don need no steenking plot. Although there is a gossamere wisp of one involving world domination, which is seriously botched along the way. The v…
Read at the sourceEmperorThor
This one is another good comedy show, brought to you by Nabeshin. Despite being much older than Gintama and Nichijou, and had little to copy from (other than wester animation that is), it is almost as fun and the big two of comedy.
The main plot is about 'ideological organization' called Across, that tries to conquer the world and Municipal Defence Force that tries to protect their Prefecture, because they look at 'narrow' picture instead of a big picture. Across plans are often crazy and that gets plenty of opportunities for jokes and other humor.
However they are not the only stars of the show. There are plenty of subplots and other characters that creative and ingenious in their own way, like Pedro and Will of the Macrocosm, who controls the entire show but otherwise is very emotional…
Read at the sourceStartled-Normie
Haiku review:
Experimental
Anime from long ago
Why even bother?
Prose review for more pedestrian tastes:
“Damn! Episode 16 and still no plot!” says Nabeshin (played by Watanabe Shinichi, who also directed the series and wrote the OP and ED) near the beginning of Episode 16 of “Excel Saga,” one of those experimental maybe-aimless anime typified by “FLCL” and, a decade later, “Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt,” both of which were much better than this too-cool-for-school alleged comedy. The show reminds me of nothing as much as the 1970s stoner comics that everyone liked to quote and no one admitted weren’t really all that good. Its actual full English title is “Quack Experimental Anime Excel Saga.” And talk about a slow burn . . .
Excel is the woebegone protagonist. She is not a spreads…
Read at the sourceDennis_King
Welcome ladies and gents fasten your seatbelts cause this is the big one.This is a review of one of the craziest,zaniest animes the world has witnessed,Excel Saga.
And it's not just crazy,this anime is a very important chapter in anime's history..You might be thinking that it's quite a bold claim for an anime i rated a mere 6,right?Well kinda no,you see ES was conceived in a time when comedy/parody genre was still in short trousers or in some cases not even a fertilised egg in the minds of people.And some day a mad bloke from Japan thought:"Know what,i think i can make one batshit crazy anime and people will love me and think i'm interesting and at parties they won't avoid me like they would avoid frenchkissing a bulldog"..And boy the world laughed and laughed,but when the damn thing hit…
Read at the sourceFear_the_Reefer
“This world is corrupt! In order to prevent further degeneration, the natural order must be put to right. And yet! Should the human race be unified under one rule, the ignorant masses would doubtlessly experience untold trouble adjusting to the new status quo. Revolution, though necessary, should not happen all at once, for such a thing would overwhelm the very problem it was created to solve. Nay, like the proverbial toad in hot water, the world must be conquered gradually, so the ideals of the future can have time to settle in the minds of the people. Thus, rather than aiming to conquer the entire world, or even an entire country, an act that would most assuredly be met with violent opposition and unflattering propaganda, a more prudent first step towards overall domination would be a mu…
Read at the sourceLeaderTGW
Oh my god this show is always great no matter how many times I watch it. I was almost in tears watching Excel Saga again. The box set doesn't lie when it warns you about the comedy.
Characters 9.0/10
Amazing characters. When I first started watching Excel saga back in 2005 I actually didn't like the main character Excel. I found her annoying, unfunny, and her personality was awful. 2009 comes around and I decide to watch it again and I was like "okay, this is okay, I think she's alright." Here it is, 2016 and I absolutely love Excel! So it took lots of time not only for excel to grow on me but the other supporting characters too. Hyatt, Menchi, and Pedro became some of my favorite supporting characters in the show.
Story 8.0/10
What can I say, it is bad, ridiculous, both plot and sto…
Read at the sourceAwoo4U
Excel Saga is an extremely over the top, possibly the most over the top silly anime I have seen t. Do not expect everything to make sense. The series can be best described as a off the rails parody of common anime tropes. There are frequent fourth wall breaks and there is a surplus of crude slapstick comedy. The story or rather lack of is very loosely connected. Do not expect a linear and coherent plot. The basic gist is that ACROSS seeks to establish and control the world, but they must understand the world first. The animation despite being very old is very good, much better than a lot of "modern" animation. There is not much in the sound department. Excel speaks way too fast, so you have to be quick to keep up. The characters are not the most memorable, but each have their own personal…
Read at the sourceGridley
Excel Saga is more like EVERYONE IS ON DRUGS SAGA!
This anime is 90`s version of Gintama because most jokes are hit and less miss to me.
It`s like making fun of common anime cliches and to deconstruct it.
All these moments and randomness are blended done right.
Story
Plot is not that good but every single episode is just stand alone episodic fun, the episodic formula is using the same formula as Gintama but Excel Saga came out before Gintama.
If you expect the story to be serious then you`ll be disappointed, just watch it for the randomness fun, over the top fun roller coaster ride, and crazyness.
You`ll see tons of references in this anime like Mobile Suit Gundam, Space Battleship Yamato, Dragonball, Captain Harlock, Ginga Tetsudou 999, Di Gi Charat, Hokuto No Ken, etc.
Art
It`s a goo…
Read at the sourceRoarkTenjouin
Every genre of anime has to start somewhere. For example, the Real Robot genre would not exist if it was not for the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and most "Manly" anime would be completely different were it not for Fist of the North Star. And random comedy/parody anime would not be what it currently is without Excel Saga.
Story: 10/10
The reason I give the story such a high score isn't because of the overall plot - it's because of the episodes. Each episode of the show (With exception of the clip shows, as well as the last episode, which was made to purposely get the show canceled) is designed to parody a different genre of anime (some episodes actually parody multiple genres of anime, and even have direct references to other shows). The only genre that I can think of that wasn't parodied…
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
Overview:
Do you want an anime even more random and completely insane than FLCL, or even Haruhi Suzumiya? Try Excel Saga! It is 15 years old and still probably the crown champion of random insanity. The last episode was so off the rails it couldn't even be aired on TV!
Story and characters: 6/10
The "plot" or lack thereof consists of an inept terrorist organization called ACROSS attempting to take over a single Japanese city and eventually the world! The organization ACROSS is led by the maniacal Il Palazzo (note the manga came out in 1995, the year after FF6 and its villian named Kefka Palazzo) who casually shoots his own subordinates with a rocket launcher and spends far more time playing dating sims than actually trying to take over the world. His chief minion and #2 is the ferocious…
Read at the sourceBlueAlexander93
“I, Koshi Rikdo, hereby give my permission to MyAnimeList's TheMetalOtaku, to write a review of the Excel Saga anime.”
Let me brief you briefly on this show: it is INSANE. It makes the Looney Tunes seem completely stable. Bob Clampett would revel in the sheer lunacy of this anime. Tex Avery wishes he could make a cartoon as crazy as this series. It is, hands down, the craziest anime I've ever seen.
The plot is fairly simple: The secret ideological organization of ACROSS, lead by the almighty Lord Ilpalazzo (Hailllll... ILPALAZZO!), wants to take over F City (of F Prefecture), and he has, at his disposal, a few cronies-slash-henchwomen to do his dirty work for him. And by that, I mean ALL his work.
Enter, Excel Excel (occupation: main character), the craziest character in ANY anime... E…
Read at the sourceangelsreview
Ok… this is fucken nuts… Why would a show with no plot and underlining story exist like this? Actually, maybe I’m being a little too harsh on it. It’s a rather mind numbing show, full of ridicules humor and down right perverted jokes. Almost all of it is rather random cut away gags and many people dieing and the story starting all over again. When I say no plot, it means that it never actually follows what the plot is ‘supposed’ to be!
The main character must be drinking to much caffeine and taking speed pills. I would love to have half of her energy just to get through class in the morning. Excel is… I really have no clue exactly how to explain her since she is everywhere. She is the main reason why I dislike this series pretty much consisting of the same strange energy and randomness as…
Read at the sourceNeonKazma
O.O.......... Yeah, I'm speechless here but to hell with it. Words are incredible weak to describe Excel Saga. Based on a series of mangas by Koshi Rikdo, this series was hailed as one of the funniest anime series in existence. No I'm not kidding here. Every time the name Excel Saga appears on the anime forums, every anime fan that I know say this: "OMG, Excel Saga is the best anime EVAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". So I bought the complete series, watched every freaking episode (they're are 26 episodes of this anime!) and here are my thoughts: Watching Excel Saga is like being in an asylum, being strapped in a chair and forced to forced of having my eyes wide open to see this show. It's a gang-banged, bitch-slapped, head inducing, eye-rolling, mind-blowing bat-shit mess of a show and I am here to tell…
Read at the sourceWhiteBakemono
Anime: Excel Saga
Title: you either passionately love it or fervently loathe it.
About the Anime: F City, F Prefecture: the battleground where good and evil have finally chosen to decide once and for all who will rule the world…or at least that's the general idea! Neither side seems up for the task, as surviving the brutality of everyday life is enough of a chore. On the side of evil is the organization of Across, its only member the loudmouthed and abrasive Excel who struggles just to put food in her stomach; on the side of good, three disenfranchised, unemployed bachelors whose only pursuit in life is romance. Add in alien invasions, jungle warfare, and Mexican immigrant laborers to Japan, and this war doesn't seem likely to be ending soon!
Story 7/10: "Are there any questions?"
"I've…
Read at the sourceNito-San
"There is one Earth! If it splits in half, there'll be two! All mankind is scum — and bee-yoo-ti-ful!"
Okay, so here's how I explain Excel Saga: imagine if FLCL lasted for 26 episodes, took even more liberties, and was even more bat-shit crazy. In other words, Excel Saga just doesn't break the fourth wall...It breaks every wall and shreds it into billions of piece to a point that you can't see it anymore.
Confused? Let me tell you the first episode and don't worry I am not spoiling anything: A high school girl is skipping down a street all happy, then gets hit by a car, is in an ambulance where the EMT actually sees her memories projecting right behind him. She then dies, but is then saved by the embodiment of the universe, where we find out that she is actually an alien who lives undern…
Read at the sourceEOTW
Story (6.7/10) – As with most parodies there isn’t too much of a story here. There are a few outlying plots (ACROSS’ conquest, Pedro’s redemption, civil servants), but it seems as if the plot is simply there so JC staff (creators of Excel saga) can parody other anime genres/clichés. I have no problem with this of course, because that is the point of this anime after all, but if I’m being asked to rate the story I would say the concepts are okay. In other words, if you went into Excel Saga expecting a groundbreaking story, you are in for a disappointment. It’s kind of disappointing that I have to give the story of a parody anime a rating because that is not the focus of this show, but if I must I would say the story was okay.
Characters (8.0/10) - What makes of breaks this series for most…
Read at the sourceNyRoks_Post
Excel Excel is the main character in this series and IS without a doubt the most ANNOYING character I have ever had the displeasure of watching. Excel Saga is supposed to be both a parody and a comedy unfortunately the only thing this series really is, is annoying. It has its moments from time to time being funny but as a whole this show is bad. Any witty humor attempts are quickly forgone due to Excel’s excessive and extremely high pitched screeching, yelling and blabbering. The plot in this series is an attempt to be “random” which isn’t necessarily bad thing if there is substance (such as art content) to the randomness but, everything was tied up in the last 4 episodes. This act of tying up all the plots would seem random itself if it wasn’t for the fact that there were several horrible…
Read at the source5camp
Watching Excel Saga prompted me to make a comparison between it and Seto no Hanayome. They both rely on a mixture of absurdity, parody and taking plot points to the nonsensical extreme to draw laughs from the audience. The only real difference between the two is Seto no Hanayome spends it’s time going to complete extremes with tropes, such as the schoolground division, while Excel Saga spends more time reveling in its lack of a fourth wall. Actually there’s an even bigger difference between the two. Seto no Hanayome is funny. Excel Saga just isn’t. In fact, I’m at a bit of a loss to say quite why Seto is funny while Excel Saga isn’t. Yes, comedy that often uses randomness to draw laughs can vary hugely from person to person. But let’s leave Seto aside for now and f…
Read at the source
