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Excel Saga #1
Excel Saga
Seeking global domination, would-be dictator Il Palazzo forms a secret society based deep beneath the streets of Fukuoka, Japan called ACROSS, and his first member is Excel, a teenaged girl smitten with him.
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
November 24, 2016
At an anime convention one year, I went to a panel on Politics in Anime. The last presentation was on Excel Saga, and as soon as the slide came on the screen someone in the audience shouted "Nice try!" And while the anime is a satire on anime tropes and doesn't have much politics in it, the manga is different. The panelist mentioned it was about urban renewal in Fukuoka--I'm sorry, "F City, F Prefecture"--and that the characters were named after hotels. Then I lived in Japan, went to Fukuoka to see a sumo tournament, and stayed in the Fukuoka Hyatt and have a picture of my wife standing by the sign of the Il Palazzo, so maybe there's something to that panel after all.
And checking Google Maps shows that both of those are next to the Hakata Excel Hotel and the ACROS Fukuoka Foundation, which is a theatre. I'll probably have more to say about that in future volumes, then.
The first volume of the manga doesn't really bring in any of the satire of bureaucracy or the private vs the public interest, though, since it introduces the characters. Codename EXCEL, the overly-enthusiastic heroine who works for ACROSS but needs to take a series of odd jobs because theworld-conqueringcity-conquering budget only applies to city-conquering and not to room or board. Codename HYATT, the subdued and death-prone assistant who follows Excel's lead even though she's not really sure what the point of ACROSS is or what their plans are. And Il Palazzo, the leader who keeps coming up with poorly-explained plans for his poorly-explained goals, dumps Excel into the water using a trapdoor, and plots alone in his underground fortress that he seemingly never leaves. I've had at least one boss like that.
That said, the first volume of the manga isn't really that interesting to me. If I had first come to this without seeing the anime or attending that panel I probably wouldn't be looking forward to reading further, since it's a lot of zany misadventures without any seemingly greater purpose. Most of these involve the various jobs that Excel does to get pocket money, the lack of pocket money due to her inability to keep those jobs, and her neighbors being annoyed with the noise she makes. I had forgotten that Sumiyoshi's Okayama dialect is converted into a Scottish accent, which is annoying at best. And now I wish I was trying to read the Japanese, because I suspect there are a lot of jokes in the original that I'd understand and I find the attempts to localize them to stand out conspicuously.
Like the dog's name. Here's it's Mince, in the original it's メンチ. Since I was first introduced to him as Menchi and since I know what menchi is, every time I read "Mince" it takes me out of the story. I can forgive it a bit for being an early-00s localization, but that doesn't change my reaction.
My memories are from the later volumes where things get interesting. As an introduction, this is only okay.
Next Review: Volume Two.
And checking Google Maps shows that both of those are next to the Hakata Excel Hotel and the ACROS Fukuoka Foundation, which is a theatre. I'll probably have more to say about that in future volumes, then.
The first volume of the manga doesn't really bring in any of the satire of bureaucracy or the private vs the public interest, though, since it introduces the characters. Codename EXCEL, the overly-enthusiastic heroine who works for ACROSS but needs to take a series of odd jobs because the
That said, the first volume of the manga isn't really that interesting to me. If I had first come to this without seeing the anime or attending that panel I probably wouldn't be looking forward to reading further, since it's a lot of zany misadventures without any seemingly greater purpose. Most of these involve the various jobs that Excel does to get pocket money, the lack of pocket money due to her inability to keep those jobs, and her neighbors being annoyed with the noise she makes. I had forgotten that Sumiyoshi's Okayama dialect is converted into a Scottish accent, which is annoying at best. And now I wish I was trying to read the Japanese, because I suspect there are a lot of jokes in the original that I'd understand and I find the attempts to localize them to stand out conspicuously.
Like the dog's name. Here's it's Mince, in the original it's メンチ. Since I was first introduced to him as Menchi and since I know what menchi is, every time I read "Mince" it takes me out of the story. I can forgive it a bit for being an early-00s localization, but that doesn't change my reaction.
My memories are from the later volumes where things get interesting. As an introduction, this is only okay.
Next Review: Volume Two.
October 20, 2019
The first in what would become a long manga series, Rikudo's experimental work is an interesting beast - the wackiness of a gag manga but the excellent technical drawing skill of a normal/battle manga (Rikudo does both the writing and art so it's a true representation of his (twisted) vision).
I partially have ruined the surprise of the early books due to watching the anime adaption first (the anime isn't a literal scene for scene adaptation but in starting off it's at least very close), it will be interesting to see if the manga and anime diverge the further I read into it.
Special note should be made for the efforts the English translates have gone to - they have rigorously explained the manga concept of sound effects (not just literal sounds, but also symbols to explain someone's mood or the atmosphere of a peace), and then in a scene by scene index at the back written translation notes on what each use was, even with English appromixation of the onomatopoeic sound.
There's also translator notes on where they deliberately had to change a piece of word play or dialogue to make sense to Western sensibilities. These were well written had had a light personality of their own.
I hope both of these features continue with the books (it's clear the books were released serially based on reader feedback) as it made it stand out above other manga I have read.
I partially have ruined the surprise of the early books due to watching the anime adaption first (the anime isn't a literal scene for scene adaptation but in starting off it's at least very close), it will be interesting to see if the manga and anime diverge the further I read into it.
Special note should be made for the efforts the English translates have gone to - they have rigorously explained the manga concept of sound effects (not just literal sounds, but also symbols to explain someone's mood or the atmosphere of a peace), and then in a scene by scene index at the back written translation notes on what each use was, even with English appromixation of the onomatopoeic sound.
There's also translator notes on where they deliberately had to change a piece of word play or dialogue to make sense to Western sensibilities. These were well written had had a light personality of their own.
I hope both of these features continue with the books (it's clear the books were released serially based on reader feedback) as it made it stand out above other manga I have read.
May 19, 2021
Having never watched the anime series and still a pretty big newbie of manga, this was a good introduction to the series. Yes there were some tropes, but what good story doesn’t have them? This one at least tries to make fun of them. I have some students (and progressively more every year) that enjoy manga like Naruto and My Hero Academia so I felt it was in my best interest to see what all the fuss was about. Not a children level book but being my introduction into Manga, it wasn’t too shabby. Will definitely dive into Vol 2.
April 23, 2019
2.5 stars.
November 13, 2015
Lo he confirmado: AMO este manga, y SUFRO mucho porque no esta completo (en español).
Excel Saga es como todo lo que yo siempre quise encontrar en una historia sobre una organización que intenta dominar el mundo. Uno de mis sueños hecho realidad ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ *lluvia de corazones para expresar mi amor infinito y eterno*
Para los que no lo saben la historia habla de ACROSS: La Organización por la Promoción de los [Supremos e Ideológicos] Ideales [sobre la Tierra]; compuesta por eh... dos personas, Excel y el gran y maravillosísimo líder Lord Il Palazzo, luego llega Hyatt y unos tomos más adelante Elgala; pero de momento la historia se centra en Excel y Hyatt, ambas vivirán situaciones divertidas y absurdas relacionadas con ACROSS o con sus escasos recursos económicos; por otro lado tenemos a Watanabe, Iwata y Sumiyoshi los cuales viven en el mismo edificio que Excel, los malentendidos entre Iwata y Watanabe también dan lugar a varias escenas cómicas, de momento ninguno de los tres es muy importante pero con el transcurso de los tomos adquieren más relevancia.
Excel es una protagonista genial, de mis favoritas, muy carismática y enérgica, me hace mucha gracia porque se le nota a kilómetros que esta enamorada del lunático de Lord Il Palazzo, pero ¿quien no va a estarlo?, esa manera que tiene de lanzar a los empleados (bueno, solo a Excel) al foso sin duda enamora (?).
Este manga me marco mucho xD, es que realmente es difícil olvidar tantas cosas:
- Lord Il Palazzo sentado en su trono y tú preguntándote como un tipo aparentemente inteligente como él piensa dominar el mundo con agentes tan inútiles.
- ¡Excel, la mejor agente de ACROSS!, o al menos la más entusiasta, es inolvidable como la tiran al foso en cada ocasión y como la degradan de cargo a la más mínima oportunidad.
- ¡La perrita Menchi!, sirve de mascota y también es la comida para estados de emergencia. Tranquilos, nunca se la comen... creo.
- Hyatt muriendo y reviviendo a cada rato. Sus vómitos de sangre son épicos.
- Las escenas del próximo capítulo al final del tomo, que eran completamente falsas y nunca ocurrían xD.
Con todo lo absurdo hay que dejar claro que el manga es mucho más serio que el anime, la historia se vuelve compleja a media que avanza y los planes de dominación mundial de Il Palazzo (esos que tú creías que NUNCA iban a funcionar) comienzan a dar resultado.
PD: Que nadie me venga a decir que el dibujo es maloustedes seguro son fans de One Piece que es horroroso , para que se enteren la calidad del dibujo también mejora, así que no tienen excusa para no leerlo u_u
Excel Saga es como todo lo que yo siempre quise encontrar en una historia sobre una organización que intenta dominar el mundo. Uno de mis sueños hecho realidad ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ ♥ ❤ ❤ *lluvia de corazones para expresar mi amor infinito y eterno*
Para los que no lo saben la historia habla de ACROSS: La Organización por la Promoción de los [Supremos e Ideológicos] Ideales [sobre la Tierra]; compuesta por eh... dos personas, Excel y el gran y maravillosísimo líder Lord Il Palazzo, luego llega Hyatt y unos tomos más adelante Elgala; pero de momento la historia se centra en Excel y Hyatt, ambas vivirán situaciones divertidas y absurdas relacionadas con ACROSS o con sus escasos recursos económicos; por otro lado tenemos a Watanabe, Iwata y Sumiyoshi los cuales viven en el mismo edificio que Excel, los malentendidos entre Iwata y Watanabe también dan lugar a varias escenas cómicas, de momento ninguno de los tres es muy importante pero con el transcurso de los tomos adquieren más relevancia.
Excel es una protagonista genial, de mis favoritas, muy carismática y enérgica, me hace mucha gracia porque se le nota a kilómetros que esta enamorada del lunático de Lord Il Palazzo, pero ¿quien no va a estarlo?, esa manera que tiene de lanzar a los empleados (bueno, solo a Excel) al foso sin duda enamora (?).
Este manga me marco mucho xD, es que realmente es difícil olvidar tantas cosas:
- Lord Il Palazzo sentado en su trono y tú preguntándote como un tipo aparentemente inteligente como él piensa dominar el mundo con agentes tan inútiles.
- ¡Excel, la mejor agente de ACROSS!, o al menos la más entusiasta, es inolvidable como la tiran al foso en cada ocasión y como la degradan de cargo a la más mínima oportunidad.
- ¡La perrita Menchi!, sirve de mascota y también es la comida para estados de emergencia. Tranquilos, nunca se la comen... creo.
- Hyatt muriendo y reviviendo a cada rato. Sus vómitos de sangre son épicos.
- Las escenas del próximo capítulo al final del tomo, que eran completamente falsas y nunca ocurrían xD.
Con todo lo absurdo hay que dejar claro que el manga es mucho más serio que el anime, la historia se vuelve compleja a media que avanza y los planes de dominación mundial de Il Palazzo (esos que tú creías que NUNCA iban a funcionar) comienzan a dar resultado.
PD: Que nadie me venga a decir que el dibujo es malo
January 31, 2018
Are you on the fence about reading this series? Maybe you watched the anime and it wasn't your cup of tea? Or you heard the anime's reputation and you're iffy? Fear not. In my opinion (as someone who loved the anime but understands why people might not), the manga is so much better.
Think about what you know of the anime. Now, take the cute aliens, the 4th-wall-breaking director and author feuds, the immigrant family, the reality-resetting sentient Will of the Macrocasm, the child assassin, and throw that all in the trash. Crank the sheer chaos down a notch, and turn up the Japanese-ness by the same amount. Add in another ACROSS agent (she's a big part of the series!). Whisk in an undercurrent of mysterious, "there's something deeper going on" feeling. That's the Excel Saga manga.
It's much less the chaotic parody series than its anime counterpart. You still have many of the plots from the episodes, but they're all centered in an ongoing (although slow-burning) plot. And while the anime was a short 26 episodes, the manga is a whopping 27 volumes. There's so much going on!
The English translation is also very, very good. Jokes and references have been carefully researched and localized when necessary. Each volume has a a section in the back where the more obscure or difficult ones are explained. My only complaint is that the accent they used for Sumiyoshi's text is nearly unreadable. Fortunately, he isn't the most talkative character.
TL;DR: Expect more of the manga than the anime. I'm only halfway through, but I've been impressed so far.
Think about what you know of the anime. Now, take the cute aliens, the 4th-wall-breaking director and author feuds, the immigrant family, the reality-resetting sentient Will of the Macrocasm, the child assassin, and throw that all in the trash. Crank the sheer chaos down a notch, and turn up the Japanese-ness by the same amount. Add in another ACROSS agent (she's a big part of the series!). Whisk in an undercurrent of mysterious, "there's something deeper going on" feeling. That's the Excel Saga manga.
It's much less the chaotic parody series than its anime counterpart. You still have many of the plots from the episodes, but they're all centered in an ongoing (although slow-burning) plot. And while the anime was a short 26 episodes, the manga is a whopping 27 volumes. There's so much going on!
The English translation is also very, very good. Jokes and references have been carefully researched and localized when necessary. Each volume has a a section in the back where the more obscure or difficult ones are explained. My only complaint is that the accent they used for Sumiyoshi's text is nearly unreadable. Fortunately, he isn't the most talkative character.
TL;DR: Expect more of the manga than the anime. I'm only halfway through, but I've been impressed so far.
July 2, 2023
This book is ridiculous. Actually, the whole series is ridiculous (the MOST ridiculous part being it drags out so long that it never actually finished, because I guess Koshi was more interested in keeping a job).
The start is pretty fun, though. I wouldn't call it groundbreaking or anything, largely slapstick comedy about taking over the world, along the lines of Sgt. Frog or Pinky and The Brain.
I'd say recommended for anyone who wants a good laugh at the trope about evil organisations, but the books are harder to find these days, and also, there's no satisfying end. So, your mileage may vary.
The start is pretty fun, though. I wouldn't call it groundbreaking or anything, largely slapstick comedy about taking over the world, along the lines of Sgt. Frog or Pinky and The Brain.
I'd say recommended for anyone who wants a good laugh at the trope about evil organisations, but the books are harder to find these days, and also, there's no satisfying end. So, your mileage may vary.
July 9, 2023
I always saw ads for this series back in the mid-2000s, so I figured I would give it a go and see what it's about. Turns out: not much! Kind of feels like anime invader zim, with a ragtag group of would-be world conquerors beginning their conquest in a small prefecture in Japan, but always failing to do so. It's very dumb and episodic, and a lot of the panels are hard to parse because of the crude art, but honestly all it's faults just endear me to it even more. It has the feeling of a fanmade zine, which makes sense because apparently this was born from a doujinshi the author made in high school.
Side note: I love that with the kansai character, instead of doing the standard brooklyn accent, they opted for like, Northern British? Really makes me long for a world where we got British Joey/Osaka.
Side note: I love that with the kansai character, instead of doing the standard brooklyn accent, they opted for like, Northern British? Really makes me long for a world where we got British Joey/Osaka.
July 5, 2018
Don't judge a book by its cover, this is true with the Excel Saga series, I was not a picky reader back then I read almost every manga I could find at the local library and came across this series many years ago when I was a student, even back then I didn't like the cover of the series, CG drawings of random girls and a weird guy, not very aesthetic, but once I started reading the manga, I was addicted to it and was lucky to have finished the series because my local library purchased all the volumes. The plot was random but very meaningful, its not a superficial comedy as it initially appeared to me, the side characters like clicked with me more than the main ones.
March 17, 2019
Kinda like a soda that has gone flat, a good quick gag here and there, but mostly just bland. This is an exception to the general rule of, "the book is better", as it seems the anime cut out the filler. Was very disappointed given the fame of the tv series.
January 18, 2018
3.5 stars, forgot about this series, love this! Very funny!
January 15, 2020
Love this series and how it's one disaster after another, but it's hilarious. Poor little oblivious Excel just doesn't learn.
August 23, 2021
Funny at first but it gets old fast
November 27, 2023
Very different from the anime series but still just as hilarious.
January 14, 2025
Not sure what I read exactly but it was hilarious. As koshi rikdo says in the authors note "I don't think the humor will translate but Americans will appreciate how much of a hard worker excel is"
September 2, 2021
This was quite funny! The plot was a bit hard to comprehend, maybe. Or rather, it was a bit messy and episodic. Plus I was afraid to miss something, so on every page, I had to also look if there were any notes at the back. Overall though, I'm looking forward to reading the next volumes.
June 16, 2015
This is NOTHING like the anime, and I love it to pieces for that. Go with the anime if you want mind-numbingly dumb absurdist humor.
If you want something that's smart, funny, and immersive, read this comic instead, and steer clear of the animated version. The difference is like night and day (or I suppose like The Big Lebowski and Dude, Where's My Car?). The comic even features a main character, El Gala, who is so pivotal to the cast dynamic it still amazes me that they excluded her from the anime entirely. Koshi Rikdo also goes out of his way to avoid and even lampoon all the usual annoying anime tropes: instead of a typical "onsen hot spring episode" (which the cast couldn't possibly afford on their meager wages), he gives us a "public pool" episode. The only characters who are stereotypes are stereotypes for the sake of lampooning anime culture; the vast majority of the characters are unique and complex, and transform over the course of the series (sometimes physically as well as mentally). Give it a read if you're looking for something atypical from manga culture: you won't be disappointed.
If you want something that's smart, funny, and immersive, read this comic instead, and steer clear of the animated version. The difference is like night and day (or I suppose like The Big Lebowski and Dude, Where's My Car?). The comic even features a main character, El Gala, who is so pivotal to the cast dynamic it still amazes me that they excluded her from the anime entirely. Koshi Rikdo also goes out of his way to avoid and even lampoon all the usual annoying anime tropes: instead of a typical "onsen hot spring episode" (which the cast couldn't possibly afford on their meager wages), he gives us a "public pool" episode. The only characters who are stereotypes are stereotypes for the sake of lampooning anime culture; the vast majority of the characters are unique and complex, and transform over the course of the series (sometimes physically as well as mentally). Give it a read if you're looking for something atypical from manga culture: you won't be disappointed.
December 16, 2016
Quirky fun! The first book follows the initial Anime without the extra cast cut. Its funny, quirky and all out weird!
This is your sunday morning comics, feature length and on crack! Its a parody of slice of life genres with a subplot of financig world domination on 47 cents.
If I didn't watch the manga before this I may not have picked this up. Excell Saga will remain one of my favourite fansubs.
I won't go out of my way to read this (with all the other things I am following) but it is a huge pick me up and stress releaver. I find I relate to Excell's troubles more now that I'm an adult than 15 years ago as a teen.
This is your sunday morning comics, feature length and on crack! Its a parody of slice of life genres with a subplot of financig world domination on 47 cents.
If I didn't watch the manga before this I may not have picked this up. Excell Saga will remain one of my favourite fansubs.
I won't go out of my way to read this (with all the other things I am following) but it is a huge pick me up and stress releaver. I find I relate to Excell's troubles more now that I'm an adult than 15 years ago as a teen.
February 27, 2014
Good, manic fun! Lord Il Palazzo is out to conquer the world ... starting with the city of Fukuoka. His only minions are Excel and Hyatt, neither of whom are quite up to the task. I suppose, for American audiences, the nearest pop cultural equivalent would be Pinky and the Brain. Needless to say, things get crazy! There's a section of translation notes at the back explaining some of the harder-to-translate Japanese puns in the original.
December 23, 2007
Date read is a guess. This manga is not quite as funny as the anime version, but it's still fun. Two inept and frequently poor agents of a vast (okay, not really) conspiracy try to help cause chaos in the world. Filled with running gags and absolutely insane plots, this is a silly little companion to the anime that I'd recommend for anyone who's a fan of the series.
April 15, 2012
Nowhere near as good as the anime, but different. Would recommend this to people who have seen the anime, but I think if you haven't you should skip this until you do.
You really need to read this in her voice if you are going to get half of the humor out of it.
Really neat to see where the anime came from.
You really need to read this in her voice if you are going to get half of the humor out of it.
Really neat to see where the anime came from.
July 31, 2014
Very kooky humor. Slap-stick. Another reviewer properly called it manic fun.
Excel is an agent of a ruler who wants to take over the world. Sounds serious, right? Wrong. Excel and company goof up everything.
Recommended from my old school manga husband, who owns all the volumes thus far. So glad I married another nerd, lol.
Excel is an agent of a ruler who wants to take over the world. Sounds serious, right? Wrong. Excel and company goof up everything.
Recommended from my old school manga husband, who owns all the volumes thus far. So glad I married another nerd, lol.
August 14, 2008
Hilarious. The characters are amazing... I can't decide on a favorite. I also love the reference to the Charge of the Light Brigade. :D
This is a great, creative manga, and I checked the first book out from the library, but if it stays amazing, I might have to buy it all.
This is a great, creative manga, and I checked the first book out from the library, but if it stays amazing, I might have to buy it all.
June 26, 2010
I'm a big fan of the anime, so I naturally thought the books would capture the same insane magic. Sadly, no... Unless you read a lot of other mangas, the books are sadly lacking and bereft of the headache-inducing comedy that made the show great.
February 27, 2018
this series is dumb and goofy, but I love it. Excel is a hyperactive idiot who works for Lord Ilpalazzo, who is trying to take over the city. Her partner is Hyatt, an alien lady who has poor health, leaks blood from her mouth, and faints from anemia all the time.
August 21, 2008
Disappointment. First few volumes are very mediocre. The story is supposed to get better in later volumes but I won't probably continue reading this series.
June 18, 2009
gotta love how this show is. and even the books!
not alot out there at its time that came out so funny like this one.
not alot out there at its time that came out so funny like this one.
Read
August 20, 2009Excel Saga, Volume 1 by Rikdo Koshi (2003)
Read
January 21, 2013Confusing. Gave up. No character I related to.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews