STORY: The plot is Excels Saga biggest strenght and also , it's major flaw. The story is convoluted, filled with flashbacks and mysteries that don't get much of an explanation, or get explained so later in the story that you won't even remember what plot point is referring to, so to get your own answers you should read this manga at the very least 2 times, which can be tiresome due to the huge amount of subtle dialogue and jokes. You might finish the manga without understanding anything that happened. Leaving aside some of the negative aspects, this is a comedy manga at first glance and an action-mystery one when you look deeper. The plot starts simple enough, focusing on comedy, but will get more subtle and intriguing, catching your whole attention and interest in the process. BE AWARE though, Excel Saga shares ONE MAJOR plot point with another work by Rikudou Koshi, named "Holy Brownie". As of the date of this review, Holy Brownie has not been translated.
ART: An absolute master piece of the mid nineties, Rikudou Koshi's art is excellent when it comes to detail, character design, anatomy and expressions. Backgrounds are good enough as a suplement to the characters. If you know Rikudou Koshi, you might know that he used to work on hentai doujins, so he definitely puts all the focus and detail on the female cast of characters,while males get drawn in a more comedic or simpler form. Also, talking about the comedy, Excel Saga is great when it comes to slapstick comedy and comedic character expressions. The manga ended on 2011, so you can easily see how much Rikudou's art improved.
CHARACTER: The characters are second to none. Filled to the brim with personality, you really care about the characters and their conflicts while you're reading. Most characters have a spot in the light, so no one get's forgotten by the author. The characters, while not realistic due to the fantastic and comedic aspects of the plot, are really well written, with a lot of subtleties that makes them more and more interesting while the plot goes on. The character interactions are also really well done, probably the best positive in this category, with complex,subtle emotions and reactions between them.
ENJOYMENT: It's hard to say how enjoyable Excel Saga is. Taking into account the LARGE amount of dialogue,obscure jokes, and with how complex and confusing the plot gets. The plot can be frustrating when it doesn't explain what happened or what X dialogue actually ment, due to the subtleties of the characters, so I often found myself thinking for a little while on my head, recapitulating all the major plot points and forming a timeline in my mind. If you like a deep plot that it's buried between comedy and fan service, you will enjoy this one, but we aware that it won't be an easy read.
OVERALL: A great manga, totally deserving of a 10 on my opinion. Great (albeit confusing) plot, great characters, great comedy, great art. I don't regret putting time into reading this really underrated manga. There's definitely more to Excel Saga than what is in simple view. Rikudou Koshi's best work to date. VIZMEDIA translation is excellent.
