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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Series, Bare-Bones Presentation, August 2, 2006
This review is from: Excel Saga - Complete Collection (DVD)
Excel Saga has been described by some as the "Family Guy of Anime." While this covers the fact that it's definitely wacky and random, this is a poor framing for a series as original as this. Sure, the humor comes at you from multiple directions at once, is often "inappropriate" and is at times non-sensicle, but the comparison is a stretch.
You can find great reviews of the series itself on the page for the "Imperfect Collection," the previous box set release. What I mainly want to address here is that this thin-pack collection may not be the best way for first-timers to experience this series. Any time a series is brought over from Japan and translated for us westerners, many things get lost in translation. In the case of Excel Saga, many of the jokes and references fall victim to the dreaded "Lost-In-Translation" syndrome. ADV was able to help us with that problem by including the "ADV Notes" feature on previous releases of the series, which explained many of the jokes and references that often are lost on non-japanese audiences. That feature is conspicuously absent from this thin-pack release. While not an essential feature, it's extremely helpful for first-time viewers and those of us not nearly as immersed in the otaku lifestyle as some. Veterans, feel free to save a few bucks, but newcomers would be better off with the "Imperfect Collection."
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The single funniest series I have ever seen!, August 6, 2006
This review is from: Excel Saga - Complete Collection (DVD)
Words cannot express my gratitude to ADV films for bringing us such a great series! This is simply anime at its coolest, funniest, and most insane. Every episode is legendary and you simply must own them all. The story revolves around an insane girl ("First name, Excel, last name, Excel, or just Excel for short") and her constantly-on-the-verge-of-death partner in crime, the impossibly meek Hyatt, as they seek to help the megolomaniacal (and often bored) Lord Illpilazzo take over the city. He sees the world as corrupt and plans to take it all over, but taking over the world is as he says, "for imbeciles who can only grasp the most general of concepts" so he's settling for just one city for now. So he basically just sends his girls on bizarre missions hither and thither to create general mischief. This story line (or lack thereof) is so hilarious it could carry the sereis unaided, but wait there's more! Such as Excel's next-door neighbors who fight loudly amongst each other at all hours over such things as money, food, and porn magazines. They all join a public service job under another insane character who attempts to make them into a crime-fighting group reminiscent of the Power Rangers. Then there's Pedro, who is killed in an Excel-related accident in the first episode and now wanders the earth as a ghost and undergoes torture after torture throughout the entire series while we all laugh at his expense. His catch phrase: "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!". And, of course, there's Nabeshin, the director's afro-sporting alter-ego "whose sense of self-promotion seeks to straddle the world" as he bursts unannounced into every storyline for no apparent reason other than the fact that he can because he's the director. In fact, the whole staff is in on the joke and the writers, original manga author, and even the singers of the theme song all get in on the action. This may all sound insane and confusing as is, but trust me, I've barely scratched the surface. Anime satire, parody, and truly disturbing comedy is the name of the game in this show which I can only describe as Japan's answer to shows like "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy"...but on crack, PCP, and acid. No genre is left untouched; American and Japanese pop culture alike are targetted for ridicule. Not to mention the too many movies and animes to list that are singled out and parodied including Power Rangers, Jaws,Fist of the North Star,Aliens and whatever your favorite anime or movie is, all are brutalized equally. If any of this perks your interest, you really must buy this set. I can't imagine any anime fan with a sense of humor and a cynical outlook on life not enjoying this series. The episodes can be (nay, MUST BE) watched again and again, in Japanese and English, and you will still catch some new joke every time you watch them. In fact, to get every single joke and reference you'll almost certainly have to go through some scenes frame-by-frame (it's a labor of love). Alright, I'll let you go now so you can buy the damn boxed set already!
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Obscene Humor, June 17, 2006
This review is from: Excel Saga - Complete Collection (DVD)
Excel Saga is probably the definition of a guilty pleasure. Think about it: during this series, you'll laugh at violent deaths, eating a puppy, a sickly young girl who can't seem to sing one song without coughing, and a creepy adult man who enjoys surrounding himself with little girls. Yet it's able to pull this off in its own way, by never once allowing any kind of seriousness to creep into the series whatsoever.
That, however, is also what hurts this series. The chaos may just be too chaotic. The fictional writers within Excel Saga are constantly suffering from a lack of ideas of where to take the series. I think this may have been true in real life as well. Excel Saga seemed too contrived at times. Not only that, but there wasn't even close to a continuing story to carry it from episode to episode. After about half the series, I got bored with it, until maybe the last four or five.
Luckily, the characters of Excel Saga were there to back up the humor and keep it going. Of course, there is Excel, the main character, who works for Lord Ilpalazzo, a mysterious, over-lord-like figure who resides under F City. Also along for the ride is the sickly alien princess Hyatt, Pedro the whiny romantic, the government workers of F City, an afro sporting secret agent, some adorable-yet-ugly aliens, and, of course, the neighbors of Excel and Hyatt. All of these character play a key role in bringing about the laughs. Every episode of Excel Saga, while it usually revolves around Excel herself and the organization of Across, also follows one or more of these characters in their own personal quests.
In the end, what I came away with after watching the entirety of the series was that Excel Saga was indeed a funny anime, and definitely the best of its kind. But the thing is, there aren't very many of its kind, so that's not a good comparison. Basically, I'd say to play it by tastes; if you like Adult Swim, then chances are you'll enjoy Excel Saga.
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