Excel Saga

Sailorasteroid · Post by **Sailorasteroid** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 5:17 pm

Reading the Puni Puni Poemi thread I realized that I didn't see an Excel Saga thread here. Since I saw it, it's rapidly jumped to the upper echelons of my Preferred Anime list. I think it's an important anime because so often watching other shows I've said, "Gosh, the people trying to conquer the world are so much cooler than the people trying to save it. They should make a show that focuses on *them.*" And that's when I pop in my ExSa DVD.

I also think that the anime showed that a tremendous amount of work went into its production. They managed to keep the basic storyline of the manga, add in exciting new characters like Pedro and Ishi-san, do all the self-referential stuff with Nabeshin and Koshi Rikdo and the animators, make most of the episodes direct parodies of anime genres, and stick in a whole bunch of references and puns. That's a lot of baggage for one show to carry but ExSa does it beautifully. The only bad moves IMO were making Hyatt an alien princess(she's just not) and cutting out the scar-faced doctor from the manga.

Umino · Post by **Umino** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:09 pm

Sailorasteroid wrote:cutting out the scar-faced doctor from the manga.

..He's in the anime. I'm pretty sure he appears twice, episode 13 (?) and the last episode.

Post by **Tiff** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:25 am

I love Excel Saga greatly. In fact, I just got done showing my friend the first DVD last night. She loved it, too. It's hilarious, and it's not just idiotic humor..it's smart humor.

*<3's Pedro* NOOOOOOOO.

Ayane · Post by **Ayane** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:37 pm

I think I'm too softhearted for Excel Saga. It's always ruined for me with how poor Mince is always treated like food when she just needs love.

I just can't enjoy it.

SailorSpace · Post by **SailorSpace** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:25 pm

I've heard my friends at school during lunchtime talking about Excel. Haven't seen it though. Does anybody have any video clips they'd like to share with me? Pleeeeeaaase?

Aya Reiko · Post by **Aya Reiko** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:06 am

Great series, especially with Kotono in the lead.

Too bad the series didn't go long enough so Elgala would join the cast. Then again, there weren't many episodes based on the manga anyway...

Post by **Tiff** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 4:52 pm

Ayane wrote:I think I'm too softhearted for Excel Saga. It's always ruined for me with how poor Mince is always treated like food when she just needs love. I just can't enjoy it.

there's a whole episode dedicated JUST to Menchi...and it's a really sweet episode. It's pure comedy, they don'ta ctually eat her. Excel's pretty damn nice to her, if you think about it..she always carries her around, and she doesn't actually hurt Menchi. Chasing her around with a knife and fork in hand doesn't really constitute animal abuse. *shrugs*

Sailorasteroid · Post by **Sailorasteroid** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 5:33 pm

Two Menchi eps if I remember, the one with Ulf and crew, and the one wiith the Rich girl voiced by Hisakawa Aya. And they were two of the most emotional episodes of the series.

Thinking about it, the whole series is kind of like The Addams Family. The ACROSS folk talk about death, conquest, eating dogs, etc. all the time only they never do any of it and make their way through life just like regular people.

Ayane · Post by **Ayane** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 6:19 pm

Tiff wrote:
Ayane wrote:I think I'm too softhearted for Excel Saga. It's always ruined for me with how poor Mince is always treated like food when she just needs love. I just can't enjoy it.
there's a whole episode dedicated JUST to Menchi...and it's a really sweet episode. It's pure comedy, they don'ta ctually eat her. Excel's pretty damn nice to her, if you think about it..she always carries her around, and she doesn't actually hurt Menchi. Chasing her around with a knife and fork in hand doesn't really constitute animal abuse. *shrugs*

Nah, I know they never actually eat her. I guess I just feel sorry for her because she seems so terrified whenever Excel's around. I mainly remember the episode with the big flood(?) where Menchi got carried away, and she was seeing rainbows and singing and all happy...then she was swept up by Excel and her world came crashing down again. Poor little pup...

But I'm not saying that it's a BAD series per se, just that I can't watch it.

Rainbow · Post by **Rainbow** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 7:01 pm

That was the same reason I didn't like it much. I love a dog (Diana) who, if she were all-white and a little smaller, would look quite like Menchi. And actually it wasn't the series jokes about Menchi themselves (which I understand are probably making fun of cute mascot characters, imagine Usagi threatening to eat Luna!) but the ending theme where Menchi sounds so mournful (especially when I first played it on my computer, on which most ADV releases get choppy and so it sounded like Menchi's voice was cracking from sadness)! The other thing I didn't like was the stuff with Pedro, because my parents (especially my dad) have done work with Hispanic workers (especially helping with labor unions) and I didn't like the "abusing the minority worker" thing, at least, that's how my American-biased sensibilities took it. I tried to tell myself that it was probably the Japanese making fun of gaijin, but even that didn't work. I only saw the first 5 episodes, though.

I did, on the other hand, like the beginning where Excel kept having to be resurrected by the Great Will.

Poemi, on the other hand, doesn't sound like it has too many things that would scare me; I've been reading reviews of hentai (not actually watching it, though) so I'd know some of the things it might be parodying in that realm, and certainly the magical girl jokes are something I would get. I've also researched a LOT on PPP, whereas when I got Excel Saga, I had only read a few reviews and then got shocked by the two things that turned me off from it. (it just didn't register in my mind that there were going to be jokes about eating the dog, despite it calling the dog an "emergency food-supply") Ironically, the sex jokes don't sound that scary to me, it sounds no worse than Monty Python's Meaning of Life, which I have seen (and would probably enjoy more if it were animated and had more cute girl characters on it).

And I was heartened by some reviewers who said they liked PPP but not ES, which is probably going to be the case for me. I'm pretty excited about seeing PPP, I've got the DVD coming in the mail for me (as of this post) and whereas with ES I don't remember being as excited about it. But I would've liked it probably if it didn't have those two jokes in it.

Post by **Tiff** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:39 pm

...

Wow.

o_O; how on earth can you take such an obviously unserious show so...seriously?

peachvampiress · Post by **peachvampiress** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:44 pm

I have a few questions about Excel Saga. I may buy the boxset this summer, but I wanted to know three things:

1. I haven't seen a lot of anime titles, so will I get all of the references? I heard that they have notes on the DVD that explain them, is it true?

2. I heard that there are some clip show episodes. Are they funny, or are they just a cop out (I don't know why this bothers me, but it does 0____o)

3. Is the boxset worth $120 (what it'll cost me to get it).

Rainbow · Post by **Rainbow** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:55 pm

Tiff: Because I just did. I take a lot of things seriously that are meant to be funny, and sometimes vice-versa. And sometimes it's random, though usually if I understand the joke ahead of time (like the hentai parodies in PPP) I'm more likely to take it as the joke it's intended to be. It's my knee-jerk reaction to take things like "eating dogs" seriously (although it was mostly the mournful ending song that did it, because it sounded like one of my own dogs doing a whimper-bark). I'm not sure what quite disturbed me about Pedro, but I tend to not like humor where the underdog is the victim. (although there are exceptions, such as some Azumanga skits). I'm actually rather surprised at myself for being disturbed by Excel Saga when I've always liked things such as Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain (which is what the concept of Excel Saga reminds me of). I'm not mad at you, by the way. I wonder if I went back and watched it now that I get the jokes, that it wouldn't be as disturbing (I might get more now, at least). Although that might be hard since I gave it away to a friend, but I'm sure I could find some way.

peachvampiress: Your first question is one I can answer, and it's that if you haven't watched a lot, you probably won't get the jokes. I know because I learned that the hard way. If I went back and watched it, I might enjoy it more now since I understand the jokes (or at least I've watched a lot more anime). And I don't remember it coming with liner notes separate from the DVD, though there might have been explantions on the DVD itself. Although the box set might be different than the single one I watched.

Sailorasteroid · Post by **Sailorasteroid** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:00 pm

peachvampiress wrote:1. I haven't seen a lot of anime titles, so will I get all of the references? I heard that they have notes on the DVD that explain them, is it true?

They do have notes, it's kind of like Pop-up Video on VH1 used to be. They explain most things, not everything. It would help to know the series to get the jokes, but you can always get them later once you have seen the series. It's actually a good way to get some ideas for new anime to watch--I'm keen to see Fist of the North Star after seeing the ES parody.

2. I heard that there are some clip show episodes. Are they funny, or are they just a cop out (I don't know why this bothers me, but it does 0____o)

There are two I think--maybe 3, I can't remember. Parts are funny and parts are clips. One was themed as a Japanese New Year's Special, and if you know that then it's funny. If it helps, think of it this way: if it were a 24-episode series and the clip shows didn't exist, would that be better?

3. Is the boxset worth $120 (what it'll cost me to get it).

Hmm. . . . . . seems a little steep. . . Amazon has it for only $103.99, and free shipping. I don't know what the Canadian taxes are like--do you still have the GST and does it apply online?

peachvampiress · Post by **peachvampiress** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:21 pm

Sailorasteroid

They do have notes, it's kind of like Pop-up Video on VH1 used to be. They explain most things, not everything. It would help to know the series to get the jokes, but you can always get them later once you have seen the series. It's actually a good way to get some ideas for new anime to watch--I'm keen to see Fist of the North Star after seeing the ES parody.

I'm assuming that this is a feature you switch on, and not just something that pops up on the screen whether you want it to or not right?

Hmm. . . . . . seems a little steep. . . Amazon has it for only $103.99, and free shipping. I don't know what the Canadian taxes are like--do you still have the GST and does it apply online?

We have GST and PST. I don't know if it applies online, but it doesn't matter since I can't order offline. If I could then I'd probably have no money left to buy the boxset ^__^; Thanks for the answers.

Sailorasteroid · Post by **Sailorasteroid** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:26 pm

peachvampiress wrote:Sailorasteroid
They do have notes, it's kind of like Pop-up Video on VH1 used to be. They explain most things, not everything. It would help to know the series to get the jokes, but you can always get them later once you have seen the series. It's actually a good way to get some ideas for new anime to watch--I'm keen to see Fist of the North Star after seeing the ES parody.
I'm assuming that this is a feature you switch on, and not just something that pops up on the screen whether you want it to or not right?

Yeah, sorry. It's part of the subtitle feature, you can have no subs, song & sign subs only, dialogue subs, Notes, or subs and Notes.

Rainbow · Post by **Rainbow** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:29 pm

Ooops.

I might've actually gotten more of the jokes (and thus thought things were funnier) if I had realized those were in there the first time I watched it. Maybe if I watch it again, I'll watch it with the notes.

peachvampiress · Post by **peachvampiress** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:32 pm

you can have no subs, song & sign subs only, dialogue subs, Notes, or subs and Notes.

...wow. So many features 0_0. And it includes the dub to doesn't it?

The Excel Saga section of tvtome explains a lot of cultural references so I don't think I'll be too lost ^___^ I think I'm going to buy this.

peachvampiress · Post by **peachvampiress** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:05 pm

Well, I went and bought the Excel Saga boxset for $130 on June 21st and finished watching it about two weeks ago, and I really have mixed feelings about it. The first few DVDs weren't really that good and it took me forever to get through them. I had to force myself sometimes to watch them because I wanted to see all the episodes before I made a final judgement. But during the third DVD I was thinking about selling the box to a friend of mine.

Eventually I got to the fourth DVD and that's when my opinion changed. Specifically it was when Roppanmatsu 2 arrived. She's easily my favorite character because she's so cute and funny. As I got to the last two DVDs I got to like the show even more. The episode with the singer Key has to be my favorite. The whole thing with him playing the guitar behind the curtain nearly killed me, as did Illplazo (my second fav) being jealous of him.

The ending I loved.[spoiler] The whole thing with Excel and Illplazo was touching. And I love how, at the end, they didn't do some cliched ending where they confess their feelings for each other and kiss. I thought it was cute how he made her fall down the hole again and Excel looked and saw him falling with her. It was just so...T_T[/spoiler]

One thing that really irritated me was the Pedro plot. It just felt so unneeded. The subplot with Excel's neighbours had its moments, but the three entire minutes dedicated to Pedro and crammed into each episode just felt out of place. Although the NOOOOOOOOO!!! thing was funny.

But, I think the reason I don't like the show as much as I probably should is because of those ADV notes that pop up. At times they would cover the entire screen and got very irritating. And when they'd repeat things over and over and freaking over I just wanted to scream. If I have to see "So and so is speaking with a Kansai accent. This is like an American southern accent" once more something will die. >_< I got it the first time. That and some of the references I didn't get. You can explain it to me all you want, but if I've never seen the anime they're paradying, I'm not going to find it funny.

But, I think that if I go through the series again without the notes, I'll like it more. I still have the special features to check out too ^^;

So to summarize, didn't like it at first, enjoyed it at the end, think I'll love it the second time round, but I will admit that I don't think it was worth the $130 >_<

Rainbow · Post by **Rainbow** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 6:00 am

I've been reading the manga lately (I've got up to the 5th one) and I actually really like it so far. Things that made me like it better than the anime:
-Pedro's not in it. His storyline really diisturbed me when I saw it. Probably because I have no idea what he's supposed to be a parody of.
-Sumiyoshi's accent got translated with a Geordie dialect and because of that and also because I like his personality he's one of my favorite characters.
-I've gotten to the Ropponmatsu part. Which I think is funny because [spoiler] when the boys first meet the original one, they like her, but then they meet the second version and they think she's scary.[/spoiler]

Edit: Okay, now I have changed my mind about the Excel Saga anime. I just got the boxset today and now I found that I actually like it this time around. I just think I needed to know what I was getting into more. That and I didn't watch the ending theme, because that was what disturbed me about the Menchi thing before. Maybe it was just one I needed to wait and watch more anime (and Poemi, which I think really helped my enjoyment of it) before I watched Excel Saga.

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