Excel Saga (1999)
Excel Saga
1999 / TV-MAHyperactive Excel does anything and everything to try to please her lord, Il Palazzo, who wants to take over the planet. Excel’s misadventures takes her and her partner, the ever-dying Hyatt, all over the world, meeting several strange people as they go. Everything is bizarre and goofy, as any kind of anime or entertainment genre gets mocked and spoofed.
Seasons & Episode
The secret ideological organisation of Across has but one goal in mind- world domination. To that end, Across leader Lord Ilpallazzo sends his overenthusiastic (if somewhat incompetent) agent Excel Excel to get the ball rolling by working towards the takeover of F City, F Prefecture. Excel’s first mission is to rid the world of the evils of manga artists and animators, starting with series creator Koshi Rikdo. Will Excel be able to complete her mission and hold down a part-time without getting killed or causing chaos for all around her? It looks doubtful…
Having been captured by guerrillas after accidentally ending up in a war zone, Excel finds herself trapped in the worst torture of all- being part of a B movie action flick! Meanwhile, Ilpallazzo sends Across’ newest agent Hyatt to find the missing Excel, but given her tendency to drop dead every few minutes, the search could take longer than anticipated…
To find out just how corrupt F City’s officials are, Excel and Hyatt are sent to infiltrate City Hall, where they soon find themselves embroiled in a sea of deceitful, underhanded and downright crazy goings-on! But with the help of some Resident Evil-style hints scrawled on the bathroom wall, the duo just might be able to unravel the events going on at City Hall, not to mention add their own brand of chaos to the mix…
When Ilpalazzo sends Excel and Hyatt on a mission to gather more resources for Across, the duo find themselves journeying out to the mountains. However, whether it’s panning for gold or hunting for meat, finding resources in the middle of a survival drama setting promises to be far from an easy task for our intrepid heroines! And elsewhere, Watanabe, Iwata and Sumiyoshi face trials of their own as they attend a bizarre training seminar and meet up with a new colleague—the beautiful and dangerous Misaki Matsuya.
When Kabapu sends Watanabe and his colleagues to investigate the sewers surrounding the Across base, Ilpalazzo dispatches Excel and Hyatt to deal with the intruders. However, even as the duo familiarise themselves with the Across security system, they discover a far more sinister breed of intruders lurking in the sewers- an army of Puchuus led by the nefarious Puchuu Queen! Will Excel and the others be able to stand against this overwhelming cute force of evil?
It’s an all-girl fan service fest as Excel and Hyatt take off to the swimming pool, accompanied by local girl Cosette. But even as they laze in the sun and enjoy all the clichés of a summer episode, it appears that Cosette may have a deadlier mission in mind than simply taking a quick dip in the pool. Could such a cute little girl really be a sinister assassin? On a show like this, anything seems likely…
Having decided that his employees need some additional training, Kabapu sends Watanabe and the others to train under Purin, a detective who can turn from a tough-as-nails old-timer into a cute girl quite literally at the drop of a hat! And whilst they tag along for Purin’s latest case, Excel has some problem solving of her own to do when Hyatt is taken hostage by a pair of burglars.
It had to happen eventually. The producers got behind schedule—there’s way no way enough material for a whole new show could be produced in time. So what plan than to polish off some old clips, do some fancy editing, and make up a review episode? Yes, it’s Excel Saga’s turn for a clip show, framed by a seasonal New Year-Year’s End Hidden Talent Content, as presented by Excel and Hyatt.
Annoyed that Ropponmatsu has bought it after only one episode, the merchandising team demands that she be put back in the show immediately. In the meantime, Iwata tries to put up with Ropponmatsu 2, an annoyingly cute little-girl version of the original Ropponmatsu, and Excel and Hyatt try their last mission over again, this time with a robot of their own!
After getting demolished again in the last episode, new copies of Ropponmatsu 1 and 2 are delivered to Watanabe’s apartment. But by mistake, Excel and Hyatt accidentally activate the new models, which immediately become fixated with them, in more ways than one! But will this double dose of shoujo-ai end in tragedy… or just dark comedy?
Desperate for more material, the writers of "Excel Saga" take a page or two from Koshi Rikdou’s old "masked heroes" parody Daitenjin, and have our hapless heroes in the Safety Assurance Agency (Watanabe, Iwata, Sumiyoshi, Matsuya, and both Ropponmatsus) made into the Municipal Force Daitenjin, against their will no less. In order to get out of the rather uncomfortable jumpsuits, the team goes about finding and dealing with all the terrible crimes (or not-so-terrible ones) they can find.
Menchi makes another break while Excel and Hyatt are out of town on a mission, and ends up on a boat to America. There, she meets Ann Anzai, a young lady who must travel the world in 80 hours before she can collect her inheritance from her grandfather, and accompanies the girl on her adventure. Can the two of them make it in time, and can Menchi defend her new friend from a mysterious assassin out to get both of them?
Having charted the misadventures of Pedro, as he struggled for a season and a half to return home to his son and his sexy wife, the writers of Excel Saga have Excel and Hyatt sitting around in a bar and recapping Pedro’s escapades. Yep, it’s another clip show… but with a twist, as new footage is revealed showing the return of Nabeshin, and the kidnapping of the Great Will of the Macrocosm and Pedro’s wife by the evil That Man!
We find Excel wandering the wasteland that once was "F" City, where she becomes entangled in a conflict between a settlement of survivors and a band of maraudering raiders. After fending off the thugs with her "ACROSS Martial Arts" (which involves beating the opponent in the right places ’til they turn into a Digi Charat character), Excel finally finds her beloved Ilpalazzo… only for him to strike her down callously. Without the Great Will to ressurect her, can the mortally wounded Excel survive? (She’d better, the series isn’t over yet!)
Fed up with the insanity, Koshi Rikdo finally insists that the animation and writing crew finish the freaking series already. So, the Safety Assurance Agency locks horns with ACROSS, Excel tracks down Ilpalazzo and beats some sense into him, Watanabe finally realizes the truth about Hyatt, and the series finally comes to an end… or does it?
Hyperactive Excel does anything and everything to try to please her lord, Il Palazzo, who wants to take over the planet. Excel’s misadventures takes her and her partner, the ever-dying Hyatt, all over the world, meeting several strange people as they go. Everything is bizarre and goofy, as any kind of anime or entertainment genre gets mocked and spoofed.