Customer Reviews

Excel Saga - The Imperfect Collection

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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. 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. 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, 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". 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!

I am so mad Excel Saga only recently became a box-set!! I had to buy all the DVDS separately, making a HUGE dent in my wallet. The anime Excel Saga is absolutely hilarious and nonsensical! So if you're only into more mature and serious animes, you definately should NOT get this!!
About the anime, when you first watch it, don't worry if you're confused or don't understand what Excel or some of the characters are saying, your ears will get adjusted to the way they talk. Oh, and here's a little note about why Excel says the crazy things she says: The original Japanese version had Excel rhyme whatever she said, but when translated, the rhyming was lost and only the nonsensical part was left. I recommend that, when you finish watching a DVD, you should watch it again with the VID notes on in order to comprehend all the jokes. Also, you may want to watch the anime with subtitles on, you'll catch things you could not hear fast enough before.
This is a great price for a great anime---only $78 for 6 DVDS... I wish I never bought the Excel Saga DVDs and purchased the box set instead!

Excel Saga is a crazy, random anime based on the managa written by Koshi Rikudo. It includes numerous anime parodies, and cultural references. And makes fun of everything, even itself. There's a different genre to every episode (Sports, sci-fi, poorly translated action movie, etc.). There are also hilarious characters that make great contrubutions to the show's comedy, such as Ilpallazo: a dictator who often does things that are out of character. Wantanabe, Iwata, and Tsumiyoshi: three roomates that are always fighting. And of course, Excel: the idiot who can't seem to do anything right. (If you like this, also consider Azumanga Daioh)

Suffice to say that *Excel Saga* is one of the funniest anime series I've seen. Even though I don't get half of the obscure references, and I don't get any of Excel-kun's puns (I don't speak Japanese), this series is a laugh riot. The fact that you can get such a great spoof anime in an attractive boxed set makes this a steal even for what Amazon is currently asking.

However, it's ADV's presentation that's on trial here: It's okay. The subtitles are a bit stiff. If you like the English dub, the voice for Excel changes halfway through the series: the first voice is awful - like a yipping dog's. The second is better, but neither is quite up to the *real* voice of Excel. And don't get me started on the dubbed Ilpalazzo! If you want to get a deeper understanding of the references made throughout the series, use the ADV notes feature: they're quite good, but so numerous that they often take up the entire screen.

The single most annoying feature of the first three or four disks is the layout of the DVD menus: they're complicated, unorthodox unintuitive and at times damned annoying.

All in all, though, ADV did a decent job with this set. It's definitely worth the money.

Hail Il Palazzo!

The first time I had the pleasure of watching Excel Saga, I was completely blown away by HOW FUNNY this series was!
To say the truth, it has to be one of the funniest things out there, which is quite surprising, as I'm sure Koshi Rikdo (the author) was not expecting this kind of success from such an extreme parody as Excel Saga.

The characters are amazing, and you will instantly detect similarities to some familiar faces in other series, like Love Hina , Fist of the North Star and Dragon Ball Z. The contributions of the amazing Mitsuishi Kotono (oh Misato...) and Minami Omi, as Excel and Hyatt respectively, greatly add to this, even though I believe Excel was "pushing it a bit too far" at some points, and quite frankly I felt like putting a bullet through my/her head! But well, that's what Excel Saga is all about, taking it a step TOO far.

SO far that even the directors have managed to insert themselves into the series, just take a look at some of the characters like Nabeshin, who is ACTUALLY: Wata[nabe Shin]ichi! (Who, by the way, looks EXACTLY like Nabeshin!)

The only thing I have left to say is: If you're looking for a good laugh and enjoy extreme comedy/parody Anime, you're in for the ride of your life! Excel Saga is guaranteed fun for most of the series' 26 episodes and if you can bare with Excel's constant and irritating babbling without shooting yourself, you will CERTAINLY laugh like never before!

If you're a new anime fan, you'll want to turn on the "AD Vidnotes" feature of the disks. Even if you're a "veteran" fan, you'll want to watch it at least once with them on because it points out little sight gags, and explains a lot of the jokes.

It's a series worthy of the title "Imperfect". It makes fun of lots of anime, real life, and itself.

Extra Saga is the funniest and craziest anime, even more so than South Park. Everytime you watch the show, you can discover some funny stuff that you missed before.

The Imperfect Collection is the perfect DVD collection of Excel Saga. It contains all 6 volumes in keepcases with original artwork covers, housed within a chipboard collector's box. The only things missing from the original releases are the bonus goodies that came with each volume.

This is one of those shows where multiple viewings comes in handy, because the gags come at such a frenetic pace that it's easy to miss them the first time around, not to mention the vast number of gags which are based on cultural or fandom references. It definitely helps if you've done your homework, that is, if you have bothered yourself to know something about certain classic anime shows, computer games, and Japanese culture in general. In-jokes abound, and readers of the manga will have a definite leg-up on those who are going into it fresh, a fact acknowledged even by the series' title character, the blithely hyperactive Excel. Even if you are thoroughly familiar with the manga, watch the anime anyhow, because the animators stuffed more material and gags into every spare frame they could, until the result threatens to burst your TV screen and spill out all over the room. Now THAT'S entertainment!

Even without such knowledge, Excel Saga is still highly entertaining, although some of the gags are really suited for more mature audiences. If you enjoy gag anime (examples that leap to mind include "Dragon Half", "Otaku no Video", "Super Deformed Double Feature", "The Ultimate Teacher", and "Elf Princess Rane") then you will undoubtedly laugh yourself into a near fit watching "Excel Saga".

I like spoofs and gag films, and I was excited that there existed an anime equivalent. The main problem is that being an American, I have to have most of the jokes and puns "explained" to me with English voice actors and ADV's ad vid notes (pop up balloons that explain what is going on like VH1's Pop up videos). That pretty much kills 99% of Excel's language gags and twist on words, because they suffer in the translation and are no fun when spelled out literally. The other main problem is that Excel's English voice actor, Jennifer Calvello's voice is so screechingly annoying, you will want to mute your TV and watch the subtitles. It is just that bad and almost makes things unwatchable. She damaged her vocal cords (probably from screaming too much as Excel) and is thus replaced half way through the series by another actress who attempts to sound just like her. Add in a couple of other annoying voices (Pedro mainly) and I almost gave up after the first two episodes. But if you stick it out to the end, I think most viewers will find something to laugh at. I found the Puchuus to be funny. Menchi's scene with the kids picking on him was funny. I also liked Kabapu's character especially when he first enlisted the aid of Gojo Shioji (who has a harmless Lolita complex), the Daitenzin team as a parody of the Power Rangers, and so on. However, the gags about their dog Menchi being their emergency food supply was tiresome and unfunny to me because I love animals, especially dogs and even the implied consumption of a fictional dog is disgusting to me. You have to be patient with this one, since most of the sight gags and all of the language gags are lost on American ears, you just have to pick the little bits of palatable humor out from the chaff. But it is worth it.

I am a big fan of parodies and dark humor, so I was really hoping that this would be good. But the first time around, I hated it. The non-stop babbling squeak-fest that is Excel's dialogue got on my nerves and was at times, almost intolerable. On top of that, laughs were scarce (except for a few moments about keeping a dog alive as a back-up food supply and a villian names "That Man"!). Sometime After seeing it all the way through, I discovered the existence of ADV Vid Notes on the DVDs and presto! Everything suddenly made sense and the funniness exemplified.

The thing with Excel Saga is that almost all of the humor/parodies in it, can only be picked up with an innate understanding of Japanese history/culture or with these Vid Notes turned on. Trying to laugh without either of these is like driving in the dark with no lights. I cannot stress the importance of this feature enough. The Vid Notes are fascinating, educational and do a good job of clearing up everything so that no joke or parody does un-noticed.

This show mostly focuses on the plotless misadventures of the annoying, blabbermouth Excel and Hyatt, the much quieter girl who basically just dies over and over. But there are side stories concerning a man named Pedro who is trying to win his wife's love back, and Excel's apartment neighbors who become civil servants. There are several crappy episodes, though. I find it very hard to enjoy the two Menchi Adventure episodes, all clips that have anything to do with the civil servants (the Power Ranger costumes they wear are the only thing funny about them) and the two recap episodes. This series is plotless, yet there are recap episodes... sure, one of the characters makes a joke about the stupidity of doing this but that don't change the fact that those episodes suck.

Basically, this is really only worth getting if you can buy the DVDs with the Vid Notes feature (Which this collection DOES have) and you have an incredible tolerance for floods of rapid-fire squeaky dialogue and bad filler.