Heppoko Jikken Animation Excel♥Saga

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 and is actually pretty smart. Its funny in a sense that they are Literally different from each other. They're not the only characters in the show tho. There are at least a good dozen characters that keep reappearing but always displayed in different situations.

Art and Sound
The art and animation is typical pre-2000 style artwork. Its all kind of lame in my opinion, but they do show their artistic variety in how they have to draw drastically different environments with every episode. The music is forgettable, although you'll laugh at the ED a few times it gets annoying after the 3-4th time listening to it. The op is a little catchy and its a nice touch to have hyatt cough during her singing.

Enjoyment
The best part of the anime is the line execution or the script. The use of the word "Shock" and the running joke of her eating her dog among all the other hundreds of jokes makes this show stand out so much. The simplistic lines flow very well with the simple artwork and characters. They even go far as copying characters from from digi charat, to fist of the northstar, to shinesman (you'll think its power rangers but its really a spoof off of Shinesman), really show the voice range and artistic range albeit a little simple.

Overall
This show does have its high points but its also with its downsides. If you're really into anime comedy, then this would be a good pickup, but even if you're not into the comedy genre it still would not be bad to pickup and watch since there is the possibility of you seeing one of your favorite "classic" anime or genre get spoofed. You'll see jokes coming from lolicon to androids, to poverty jokes, you'll see a little of everything here. It's definitely a different style of comedy and Nabeshin's comedy style transfers very well to his other work, Nerima Daikon Brothers. This anime is not for most people but you'll enjoy the ending

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 ferociously devoted Excel, who will do absolutely anything to serve Palazzo no matter how ridiculous or idiotic. This is a series where the main character is killed off multiple times in the first 5 minutes and is brought back to life by the "God of the plot". The Mangaka appears in the show, only to be himself killed off in mere seconds! Most episodes are devoted to making fun of various genres such as Harem anime, super sentai ,daikaiju, and others. The series ends with one of the most batshit insane climaxes of any series ever. EXPLOSIONS FIX EVERYTHING!!!

Art: 7/10

The animation is fluid and full of energy. Excel Saga looked amazing in 1999 and actually still looks pretty good today.

Sound: 4/10

I'm afraid I can't praise the soundtrack. The opening song is extremely annoying and so is most of the OST.

Enjoyment: 6/10

The series probably didn't need 26 episodes and it does get a bit tiresome after a while. I would recommend watching in small segments rather than binge watching this one. This is definitely not intended to be consumed in one sitting. That would be like eating 10 pounds of cotton candy.

Overall: 6/10

Excel Saga is certainly no masterpiece, but it was a unique and fun series. The parody is generally well done and the animation and voice acting is spectacular in both the English and Japanese dubs. I normally don't talk about the voice acting in my reviews unless it's really bad, but Excel Saga is a series that was actually made much better by exceptional voice acting talent. This series isn't as popular now and has been somewhat forgotten by the anime community. I bring it up because it played an important role in anime history. Excel Saga the anime and especially the manga in the mid 1990s helped launch the batshit insane, random genre of anime comedy. Without Excel Saga, it is entirely possible that FLCL, Panty and Stocking, Haruhi Suzumiya, and many other series young anime fans of today love wouldn't even exist! This was the foundation upon which uber random anime comedy was built.

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 our screens it did so with a punch so deadly it puts Goku to shame.

Story?....Erm....There is one but don't expect a soul crushing story or anything of the sorts.It's basically a blonde airhead(where have i seen this before?)who has just graduated from high school and as she dances and sings through the streets,she has a taste of the real world in the from of a truck.However,an unknown entity decided to bring her back to life(sounds like a female Jesus),because it's not yet her time to die....Note at this point that this is how the anime starts..From that point on she becomes the wildly annoying and totally useless tool of destruction of a sketchy guy called Lord Il Palazzo,who plans to conquer Earth.Her very first task is to punish those pesky rats that spread anarchy with their evil designs that demoralise the youths,the manga artists or more specifically,the manga creator of Excel Saga.And just like that you're into a world of insanity,blood and guts..My kind of place.

Quack Experimental Excel Saga as is the full name is proof that over there in the distant Japan mangakas have been heavily influenced by the Dutch artists and went heavy on the drugs.Fortunately that didn't end up with their ears or noses cut off but it shows in animes like this.It's violent,crude,primal,politically incorrect,and it's just the thing normal people like me were waiting for.People who are tired of the Dragon Ball or Neon Genesis copies and are in desperate need of something to bring light to their empty souls..The weird thing is that it does it in such a way that it doesn't need to resort toilet humor like South Park does.And as a rare treat the protagonists are the bad guys.

Starting with Excel who is not very bright.When it was raining sharp razors she was the only one to be holding an umbrella.This results in forcing Il Palazzo to use any weapon he has in his disposal on her just to shut her up.One has to wonder how she managed to get to graduation..And though she mighgt be annoying she isn't as annoying as you might think,she is a very well thought of character and brings back memories of some old friends in other animated series.What's more,she's a walking-breathing natural disaster.The situations that unfold when she sets out to do a mission beggar belief.And don't get me started with what happens when you add Hyatt to the mix.It's as explosive as drinking a whole pint of vodka with just a minor splash of juice..It's gonna make you vomit blood from every hole in your body..Much like Hyatt then.Last but not least Pedro,the migrant construction worker..You might thing he's there just to fill the time but trust me he does play a major role in the whole disaster..Speaking of disaster that last episode was banned from airing in TV so you know you're in for some surprise.

As for them soundtracks and VA..Dear mother of god!!!It's out of this world.Everything from the little things to the opening and ending songs are just fab.Mad props to Excel's VA who really did bring the character to life and gave her a very unique presence.I'm sure i've never heard such an outstanding performance,EVER.As for the opening song it has that 90's feel to it,oldschool stuff,kinda like Fresh Prince of Bell Air.And the ending song was Menchi singing or rather barking a ballad.I loved it all honestly.

Now i'll admit that ES is not without faults and sure enough if you watch it in one sitting it becomes incredibly tiresome but no matter what it is special and it definitely is memorable.I'll also admit that it isn't an anime that suits everyone's tastes,after all it is a comedy and comedy strikes differently among the masses.But if you are like me and you love black humour,slapstick comedy with a splash and dash of sickness then this is the one for ya.Hope you do give it a chance,it will amaze you.

Excel Saga is definitely not your normal parody anime, or at least from what I've watched of parodies, it's something unusual, and something quite clever.

STORY: There is in fact no linear plot in this anime, and I can admit that this was a turn off at the beginning of the anime. For a while, I didn't understand how this series was a parody, but just under half way through, I realized. I guess the reason why most people actually love this anime, is because of the way each episode is structured into a particular type of genre from visual/written texts (such as a musical, police ... drama, science fiction, etc.), and in some shape or form, pokes fun at it.

ART: It's oldish. So don't expect the nice clean designs you see in series created in today's time. However, other than the perhaps grainy appearance, you do on occasion come across detailed scenes (usually close ups of the characters) such as the opening. It's a shame that the quality of these character designs aren't throughout the whole series, because I probably would have given it a higher score. Another disappointing factor, was the animation. I mean okay, oldish anime /doesn't/ normally have the insane animation in series created today... BUT same with the design, there were some parts in the series well animated (again the opening in particular) but again, not through out the entire series.

SOUND: It's hard to write about the sound for a lot of anime, usually because I don't pay attention to it most of the time. I can't really write much about Exel Saga's, but I believe it was pretty average. On a side note, I'm pretty sure there was some music played for Pedro, that sounds like an actual old song? Actually earlier today, I'm pretty sure it was played on a disc in our house, but I have no idea who sings the song or what the song is called.

CHARACTERS: It's interesting to come across characters from completely unrelated series that look almost identical to each other, and on the rare occasion, behave almost in the same manner. I wonder if you've realized which two characters I'm talking about. Sonsaku from Ikki Tousen and Excel. Both are fang-tans, both pretty much have the same coloured hair, same bangs, same coloured eyes, and both have a loud personality about them. Anyway. Thought I'd just like the point that out since that's what I'm going to do from now on with other characters. Moving on... I will say they are all a different bunch of characters, all having some sort of bold personality (including Hyatt; dying over and over again along side her refined, shy personality, perhaps a little over the top like every other character?). Some may annoy you, some may not.

I'll say it now. I'm not someone who's into over-the-top 'humour'. I'm not someone who's into the parody genre. So watching this was painful, although it became less and less painful further on, as I got used to it. I guess I was dragged into watching this after watching the trailer on one of my anime DVDs. I'm thinking it was the art and animation that attracted me to it, and I was let down by the art/animation and story. Now that I think about it, I should probably be giving this anime a 5.5, only because of the cleverly thought up structure.