Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Startled-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 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 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 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 sourcetnelson027
Where to begin....
Excel Saga starts by pretending to kill off the main character Excel. Very random. Fortunately for the plot, there's a reset button. That's where the real fun starts.
Excel belongs to a secret ideological organization ACROSS, led by Il Palazzo. ACROSS's alleged mission is to conquer F City in F Prefecture.
Each episode began with Rikdo Koshi, the original author, approving whatever genre would be parodied in that episode. This "approval" scene parodies the clashing of ideas that writers and the author tend to fall into.
One part I liked was Pedro's sidestory, which by itself played out like a soap opera mixed with a "save the girl" story. However, the Pedro plot was intregrated into the main story by way of Pedro being one of Excel's former coworkers.
Another enjoya…
Read at the sourceSolarius_Scorch
In the beginning I must state that Excel Saga is a hell of an anime series. I mean, there are lots of works that aim to be the over-the-top, crazy roller coaster rides, but most of them end rather poorly. Excel Saga does not, as director Watanabe Shinichi seems to understand well that it takes a genius to make stupidity enjoyable.
Let's face it: Excel Saga is stupid. I mean, everyone (except for Nabeshin maybe) is a total loon one way or the other, and the world itself is as realistic and serious as the one in, say, the Naked Gun series or Hot Shots. Still, the viewer is immediately drawn into this world, and the characters quickly become as familiar to him/her as those in 300-episode anime sagas. The sense of humor in this series is completely lunatic, but still very efficient in making…
Read at the sourceghostintheruins
Easily in my Top 3 anime though it's hard to choose. I love the off the wall comedy and slapstick of Excel Saga. All of the characters are really cool.
Read at the sourceSick_Bastard
Story - (8/10) - Very Good
In Excel Saga, there really is no story and the series is quite episodic, but when they parody something (which is pretty much all they do), they do it well. In the final 3 episodes, they force a storyline into it, and I did not like that very much. Nothing is safe from being parodied by Excel! Dragonball, Gundam, nothing! If you are well versed in Japanese anime's and pop culture (at the time the anime was made), there will be non-stop laughs for you. This is one of those animes that you can watch over and over, and each time pick up a new joke because there are so many of them hidden. Simply - Excel Saga set's out to parody, poke fun, and make you laugh - and it achieves all of those, so who is to complain? It wouldn't be Excel Saga if it had some seriously dee…
Read at the sourcep0pr0cks
Well the story doesn't exist, nor does it need to. The art is lacking at best. The sound is great, the charaters are over the top in a good way. Almost every episode is a blast to watch just to see what random event they could think of next. And any anime that provides "option 3: put it in" when the main character wont stop talking, is definitely exploring a new realm of character development and story telling. I recommend this anime to anyone with a short attention span!
Read at the sourcedarkwhisper
Horrible horrible horrible.. the worst anime i have ever watched. its not funny, its boring and i cant grow attached to any of the characters... the art is mediocre but its not all about the art when it comes to watching anime... its just simply not my style anime.. the main character is just way to loud and annoying. I wish it wasnt the dubbed version i watched first. Maybe subbed is better i dont know. but in my opinion...NEXT ANIME PLZ!
Read at the sourcekawaiimisato
This show is one of the definitions of random. I will say right now, if you demand structure or linear plot lines, turn back now.
Excel Saga actually not only tells the story of Excel and her escapades, but it is actually three different story lines going at once.
We have the tale of Excel, Pedro, and The Neighbors that work for the city.
With that said, the story is not easily reviewable but here goes.
Well to tell the truth, there really is no story (aside from trying to take over the city) until the last few episodes when random twists of fate bring all three story lines together (dont worry that didn't ruin anything)
Each episode of Excel saga is meant to be a parody of different genre, for instance, there is a sci-fi episode, a fantasy episode, a "power rangers/sailor moon" type o…
Read at the sourceHuntsman
What a waist of time. I know this anime is supposed to be a comedy parodying other anime, but it fails miserably. This has to be one of the worst anime series I've seen. The story is, wait what am I talking about there is no story. The characters were just plain useless and had no value. Then there is the animation, which is just plain terrible. I really don't see any value in this anime, unless you mute it, and then you can half way enjoy it watching the hot girls with DD size breasts running around half naked. I pray that I never have to see this anime ever again.
Read at the sourceVenneh
Title: Excel Saga
Manga/Anime: Excel Saga was originally an manga created by Rikdo Koshi. It began running in Young King OURS in the April 1997 issue, and is still running at this point in time, at. Viz has licensed it Stateside, and the sixteenth volume (and the latest volume to be compiled over in Japan) was released on September 11th, 2007.
The anime version was produced by JC Staff (best known for Revolutionary Girl Utena and Honey and Clover), and directed by Shinichi Watanabe (well-known for Nerima Daikon Brothers and Tenchi Muyo! GXP). It ran on TV from October 7th, 1999 to March 30th, 2000. It has been licensed by ADV Stateside, and the sixth and final volume was released April 8th, 2003.
Story: ...Story? What story? xD
Basic plot follows ACROSS' (leader Ilpalazzo and lackeys E…
Read at the sourceRanivus
Excel Saga is a pure slapstick anime made to do nothing but try to produce a comedy satire of EVERY anime genre made. It actually does a pretty good job making fun of them all. The entire fact that they're just spoofing anime creates a very weak story line. But they do manage to keep a story to keep it all together, albeit full of holes and non seriousness.
Character
The story mainly follows 2 main characters as they're "trying to take over the world" for a company called ACROSS, i forgot what the acronym stood for. The two girls, Excel and Hyatt, all work under a man called Ilpalazzo. The great thing about the two main characters is that they're complete polar opposites of each other. Excel, is your typical over eccentric and stupidly ignorant girl, and Hyatt, is very under eccentric an…
Read at the source