Excel Saga

{{Main|List of Excel Saga characters{{!}}List of Excel Saga characters}}

Believing the World to be corrupt, the secret organization Across plans to conquer the world. The first step in the plan for world domination is to begin by focusing on one city in order to minimize setbacks. Across consists of the leader of the organization, Il Palazzo, and his young adult officers: the enthusiastic and energetically devoted Excel and the soft-spoken Hyatt, who is prone to fainting and losing lots of blood at a time. Excel and Hyatt live in an apartment building in the city, along with their pet dog Menchi, who they have deemed their emergency food supply. Excel and Hyatt are later joined by a snobbish but equally clueless rival officer of Across named Elgala.

Living in the neighboring apartment are three guys: Iwata, Sumiyoshi and Watanabe, who along with apartment neighbor and co-worker Matsuya, work for the Department of City Security. The Department's leader, Dr. Kabapu, also has a grandiose plan on stopping Across; he has the City Security workers dress in Super Sentai-like uniforms and sends them on different missions. Supporting Kabapu is an inventor Gojo Shiouji who likes little girls, and his gynoid Ropponmatsu, who later is deployed as two models.

The series follows the daily interactions among the two groups. Il Palazzo would send the girls on their missions but the results are usually a failure with some explosive or catastrophic damage to the city. Kabapu would send the City Security workers on some equally ridiculous assignment which would also go wrong. Eventually Il Palazzo and Kabapu become aware of each other's manipulations and escalate their plans. Excel finds herself being replaced by an impersonator who heads the ILL Corporation. Massive amounts of money is spent on elections and politics. Eventually the members of Across begin making appeals directly to the City's citizens before Il Palazzo publicly declares the existence of Across and its intentions to the public. Hyatt is captured and Excel and Elgala are later held in an immigrant detention center before being rescued by Il Palazzo, who begins the new phase of his plans.

The anime adaptation introduces some original characters: immigrant worker turned wandering spirit Pedro; alien mascot-like creatures called Puchuu; and The Great Will of the Macrocosm, the last of whom occasionally resets the storyline. The anime director Shinichi Watanabe cameos as an afro-wearing guy named Nabeshin, and a caricature of the manga artist also makes appearances.

The series was created by Rikdo Koshi and based on a dojinshi he had previously created while in high school named {{nihongo|Municipal Force Daitenzin|市立戦隊ダイテンジン|Shiritsu Sentai Daitenjin}}. Excel Saga was created as an evolution of Daitenzin in order to develop the character of Excel, as well as to laugh off the vision of a depressed and pessimistic view of the world.{{cite news|title=Interview with Rikdo Koshi|work=Excel Saga DVD Volume 5|publisher=ADV Films}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/anime-expo-press-panel-koushi-rikudo_article_86057.html|title=Anime Expo - Press Panel with Koushi Rikudo|first=Andrew|last=Tei|date=July 4, 2003|work=Mania.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211083045/http://www.mania.com/anime-expo-press-panel-koushi-rikudo_article_86057.html|archive-date=2013-12-11|url-status=dead}} Excel Saga is set in Fukuoka City and the names of characters and organisations are derived from local locations and buildings.{{cite book|title=Excel Saga vol.2|last=Koshi|first=Rikdo|author-link=Rikdo Koshi|year=2003|publisher=Viz media|isbn=1-56931-989-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/excelsaga020000riku/page/202 202]|url=https://archive.org/details/excelsaga020000riku/page/202}}

Victor Entertainment contacted Shōnen Gahōsha about adapting Excel Saga into an anime, and the two companies approached Rikdo. Shinichi Watanabe was chosen as director. Watanabe added his own alter ego, Nabeshin, and expanded several elements. He says that the Great Will in the manga was "conveyed just as words", and he himself developed its appearance, eventually settling on the "swirling, talking cosmos". He also increased Pedro's role in the story from a single frame in the manga. Watanabe says he was pleased with that aspect of his work, noting that "Pedro's situation was considered unsuitable for broadcast in Japan".{{cite journal|author=Unattributed|date=November 2002|title=Interview with Excel Saga director Shinichi Watanabe|journal=Newtype USA|volume=1|issue=1|pages=84–8}} The anime production staff was given the freedom to do anything they wanted as long as they kept the theme of the series intact, and Rikdo requested they created a separate timeline; this departure from the original work was acknowledged in-story, with each episode opening with a caricature of Rikdo giving "Nabeshin" permission to diverge from the source material, hence the anime's "Quack Experimental" tagline. Rikdo would later become influenced by the anime series due to its quick broadcast in comparison to the monthly schedule of the manga. The anime makes frequent use of parody and in-jokes as comedic devices, with each episode having a genre-based theme. This extends to the animation, with several characters designed in the style of other works, such as those by Leiji Matsumoto.{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=293|access-date=December 8, 2009|date=June 17, 2002|title=Review - Excel Saga DVD 1|last=Crandol|first=Mike|work=Anime News Network|archive-date=April 21, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050421184620/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=293|url-status=live}} Kotono Mitsuishi was chosen to play the role of Excel, and Watanabe was impressed with Mitsuishi's rapid delivery of her lines, saying that "she really pushed herself to the limit and beyond". He also says, "at times she was too fast, and there was plenty of time left to match the lip-synch". In such cases, either he would add new material or Mitsuishi would ad-lib. At first Rikdo felt stunned and uncomfortable at hearing Excel speak, but he called the casting "amazing" and was pleased to hear his favourite voice actors read lines from his work.

{{See also|List of Excel Saga chapters{{!}}List of Excel Saga chapters}}

The series began serialization in 1996 in Shōnen Gahōsha's Seinen manga magazine Young King OURs and finished in August 2011.{{cite web|last=Yue|first=Xueying|title=Excel Saga Manga Approaches Its Finale After 15 Years|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-03/excel-saga-manga-approaches-its-finale-after-15-years|website=Anime News Network|access-date=April 7, 2022|date=July 4, 2011|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125010551/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-03/excel-saga-manga-approaches-its-finale-after-15-years|url-status=live}} The 183 individual chapters were collected in 27 {{Transliteration|ja|tankōbon}} volumes by Shōnen Gahōsha from April 23, 1997, to October 29, 2011.{{cite book|script-title=ja:エクセル・サーガ 1 (ヤングキングコミックス) (コミック)|id={{ASIN|478591565X|country=jp}}}}{{cite book|title=エクセル・サーガ 27 (ヤングキングコミックス) (コミック)|id={{ASIN|4785937254|country=jp}}}} A 60-page one-shot was published in Young King OURs on December 28, 2021, to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary.{{cite web|last=Pineda|first=Rafael|title=Excel Saga Manga Gets 25th Anniversary 1-Shot Chapter|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-12-06/excel-saga-manga-gets-25th-anniversary-1-shot-chapter/.180311|website=Anime News Network|access-date=December 24, 2023|date=December 6, 2021|archive-date=November 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105030240/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-12-06/excel-saga-manga-gets-25th-anniversary-1-shot-chapter/.180311|url-status=live}}

Viz Media licensed Excel Saga for an English release in North America and the first volume was released on August 13, 2003.{{cite web|url=http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/2003/06_august.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030709183219/http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/2003/06_august.php|title=Viz LLC 2003 Press Releases|archive-date=July 9, 2003 }} Initially the series was published on an approximately bimonthly schedule, however the series had caught up with the Japanese release and the publishing schedule for volume 12 onwards was changed as a result.{{cite book|title=Excel Saga|volume=11|page=213|author=Carl Gustav horn|date=15 March 2005|publisher=Viz Media|isbn=1-59116-722-1}} Volume 27 was released on January 14, 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-14/north-american-anime-manga-releases-january-12-18|title=North American Anime Manga Releases January 12–18|date=August 5, 2023|access-date=January 16, 2014|archive-date=January 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115202619/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-14/north-american-anime-manga-releases-january-12-18|url-status=live}} The Viz edition includes a section called Oubliette, which consists of a sound effects guide and production and cultural notes. The series is also licensed for regional language releases in France by Kabuto and in Italy by Dynit.{{cite web|url=http://www.seebd.fr/serie.php?id=Kabuto-7|title=Excel Saga|publisher=Kabuto|language=fr|access-date=June 11, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227112201/http://www.seebd.fr/serie.php?id=Kabuto-7|archive-date=December 27, 2008 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.dynit.it/scheda.asp?mn=3&ctl=2&iddsc=38&x=37&y=10|title=Excel Saga|publisher=Dynit|language=it|access-date=June 11, 2008|archive-date=July 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717041428/http://www.dynit.it/scheda.asp?mn=3&ctl=2&iddsc=38&x=37&y=10|url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of Excel Saga episodes{{!}}List of Excel Saga episodes}}

File:Shinichi Watanabe.JPG

An anime adaption was produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Shinichi Watanabe. Twenty five episodes were broadcast on TV Tokyo between October 7, 1999, and March 30, 2000.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvdrama-db.com/simple_result.htm?key=%E3%82%A8%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BB%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AC&x=0&y=0|title=｢エクセル・サーガ｣でのドラマデータベース検索結果|publisher=Tvdrama-db.com|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303194633/http://www.tvdrama-db.com/simple_result.htm?key=%E3%82%A8%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BB%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AC&x=0&y=0|url-status=live}} At the publisher's request, the anime series follows a different storyline from the manga, however Rikdo was pleased with the adaptation.{{cite video|people=Shinichi Watanabe|title=Excel Saga Volume 3 - Interview with Shinichi Watanabe|medium=DVD|publisher=ADV Films}} Victor Entertainment produced the music of the series, which was composed and arranged by Toshio Masuda and directed by Keiichi Nozaki. Director Shinichi Watanabe wrote the lyrics for the opening and closing themes,. The opening theme which were performed by Yumiko Kobayashi and Mikako Takahashi who were credited as The Excel♥Girls . The lyrics for the opening theme {{nihongo|Love (Loyalty)|｢愛(忠誠心)｣|Ai (Chūseishin)}} were written "on the train, five minutes before the deadline". The closing theme was {{nihongo|Menchi's Bolero of Sorrow|｢メンチの哀愁のボレロ｣|Menchi no Aishū no Borero}} The two themes were released together as a CD single on November 3, 1999.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GYZ3/|title=愛(忠誠心) [Single]|publisher=Amazon.co.jp|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=July 21, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721064704/http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GYZ3/|url-status=live}}

A twenty-sixth episode, Going Too Far, was deliberately created to be too violent and obscene for broadcast in Japan and was instead included as a DVD bonus. Watanabe commented that it "felt good to go past the limits of a TV series", although he thinks it "is not something that you should do too often". In Japan the series was released on 12 DVDs between March 1, 2000, and January 24, 2001.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GVEH/|title=へっぽこ実験アニメーション エクセル・サーガ その1 [DVD]|date=March 2000|publisher=Amazon.co.jp|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604234012/http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GVEH/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005HT1I/|title=へっぽこ実験アニメーション エクセル・サーガ への12 [DVD]|date=24 January 2001|publisher=Amazon.co.jp|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604234020/http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005HT1I/|url-status=live}}

The series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by ADV Films and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. The English adaptation initially starred Jessica Calvello, with Larissa Wolcott taking over the role after episode thirteen after Calvello had damaged her voice during production.{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2002/nan-desu-kan-6|title=Nan Desu Kan 6|work=Anime News Network|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=July 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726015911/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2002/nan-desu-kan-6|url-status=live}} In North America, ADV released the series on six DVDs between June 11, 2002, and April 8, 2003.{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/excel-saga-vol-1_article_74199.html|title=Excel Saga Vol. #1|publisher=Mania.com|access-date=December 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412104352/http://www.mania.com/excel-saga-vol-1_article_74199.html|archive-date=2015-04-12|url-status=dead|first=Chris|last=Beveridge|date=May 27, 2002 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/excel-saga-vol-6_article_74530.html|title=Excel Saga Vol. #6|work=Mania.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412104305/http://www.mania.com/excel-saga-vol-6_article_74530.html|archive-date=2015-04-12|url-status=dead|date=April 12, 2003|first=Chris|last=Beveridge}} A complete collection of the series was released on July 6, 2004, as Excel Saga - The Imperfect collection and re-released in different packaging on August 1, 2006, as Excel Saga - Complete Collection.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00029NMHC/|title=Excel Saga - The Imperfect Collection|website=Amazon|date=July 6, 2004 |access-date=December 29, 2008}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FWHVOG/|title=Excel Saga -Complete Collection|website=Amazon|date=August 2006 |access-date=December 29, 2008}} In the UK, the series was first released between May 19, 2003, and March 15, 2004.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000065AYD/|title=Excel Saga - Vol. 1 - Episodes 1-5|date=June 11, 2002 |publisher=Amazon.co.uk|access-date=December 29, 2008}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/excel-saga-vol-6_article_76125.html|title=Excel Saga Vol. #6 (Uk)|publisher=Mania.com|access-date=December 29, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214025331/http://www.mania.com/excel-saga-vol-6_article_76125.html|archive-date=February 14, 2009}} A complete box set was later released as Excel Saga - Complete Box Set on July 2, 2007.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000QRI4CS/|title=Excel Saga - Complete Box Set|date=July 2, 2007|publisher=Amazon.co.uk|access-date=December 29, 2008}} The UK license for the series expired in January 2008.{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-22/adv-films-uk-switches-from-us-run-office-to-uk-partner|title=ADV Films UK Switches from US-Run Office to UK Partner|work=Anime News Network|access-date=January 2, 2010|archive-date=December 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225235604/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-22/adv-films-uk-switches-from-us-run-office-to-uk-partner|url-status=live}} The series was broadcast on UK TV channel Rapture TV from January 2, 2007.{{cite press release|url=http://www.mania.com/excel-hyatt-crash-rapture-tv-january-2007_article_85172.html|title= Excel & Hyatt Crash Rapture Tv in January 2007!|author=ADV Films|location = London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412104009/http://www.mania.com/excel-hyatt-crash-rapture-tv-january-2007_article_85172.html|archive-date=2015-04-12|url-status = dead|access-date=December 28, 2009|date = December 18, 2006 }}

On October 30, 2010, Excel Saga was re-licensed in North America by Funimation, who re-released the complete series to DVD on May 17, 2011.{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-11-03/funimation-adds-excel-saga-noir-bubblegum-crisis|title=Funimation Adds Excel Saga, Noir, Bubblegum Crisis|work=Anime News Network|date=November 3, 2010|access-date=November 3, 2010|archive-date=November 5, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105022153/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-11-03/funimation-adds-excel-saga-noir-bubblegum-crisis|url-status=live}}

Several albums were released featuring music from the anime. ({{nihongo|Excel Saga - Original Soundtrack Experiment 1|エクセル・サーガ ― 大いなるサウンドトラック実験1}}) was released on January 1, 2000.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GXS0/|title=エクセル・サーガ ― 大いなるサウンドトラック実験 1|publisher=Amazon.co.jp|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604234041/http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GXS0/|url-status=live}} The album was later released in North America on August 9, 2005.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009OL7SQ/|title=Excel Saga, Vol. 1 [SOUNDTRACK]|website=Amazon|access-date=January 2, 2010}} This was followed in Japan by ({{nihongo|Excel Saga - Original Soundtrack Experiment 2|エクセル・サーガ ― 大いなるサウンドトラック実験2 おまけ 寸止め海峡}}) on March 23, 2000.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GXS2/|title=エクセル・サーガ ― 大いなるサウンドトラック実験 2・おまけ 寸止め海峡 [Soundtrack]|publisher=Amazon.co.jp|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604234109/http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005GXS2/|url-status=live}} A North American release followed on November 1, 2005.

Since its August 2003 release in North America, the manga has been among the 50 top-selling graphic novels on three occasions.{{cite web|url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/3875.html|title=Top 50 Graphic Novels Actual--October 2003|publisher=ICv2.com|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=June 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611025503/http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/3875.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/4106.html|title=Top 50 Graphic Novels Actual--December 2003|publisher=ICv2.com|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=June 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611025813/http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/4106.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/4432.html|title=Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--February 2004|publisher=ICv2.com|access-date=December 28, 2009|archive-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515122637/http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/4432.html|url-status=live}}

The English-language reviews of the Excel Saga anime were broadly positive and enthusiastic. Mike Crandol of Anime News Network puts it in the same class as Airplane!, National Lampoon, Tex Avery, and Monty Python, adding that the "combination of character-based humor, outrageous slapstick farce, and a plot that is engaging if only for how weird it is make for a thoroughly enjoyable comedic experience". A contrary opinion is expressed by Joel Pearce from DVD Verdict, who says the series is "occasionally clever and funny," but that "much of it is gratingly obnoxious".{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/excelsagacoll.php|title=Review - Excel Saga: Imperfect Collection|last=Pearce|first=Joel|date=September 9, 2004|access-date=June 20, 2006|publisher=DVD Verdict|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010132501/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/excelsagacoll.php|archive-date=October 10, 2006 }} Many reviewers express displeasure with middle and later episodes, saying they were "more of the same," that they had stale humor, that they were tiresome, or even painfully unfunny.{{cite web|url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=4445|title=Excel Saga #5: Secrets and Lies (2000)|last=Cunningham|first=Joel|publisher=Digitally Obsessed|date=February 24, 2003|access-date=June 3, 2006|archive-date=February 9, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209155158/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=4445|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=390|access-date=June 1, 2006|date=January 14, 2001|title=Review - Excel Saga DVD 4|last=Crandol|first=Mike|work=Anime News Network|archive-date=December 22, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041222002253/http://animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=390|url-status=live}} Episodes fourteen through sixteen, starring the Ropponmatsus, bear the brunt of this criticism, but several reviewers consider episode seventeen, Animation USA, to be one of the best.{{cite web|url= http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/2003/02/reviews/02/|date= February 2003|last= Arnold|first= Adam|publisher= Animefringe|title= Animefringe Reviews: Excel Saga Vol.4: Doing Whatever It Takes|access-date= June 12, 2006|archive-date= May 6, 2006|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060506115633/http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/2003/02/reviews/02/|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=4124|title=Excel Saga #4: Doing Whatever It Takes (2000)|last=Cunningham|first=Joel|publisher=Digitally Obsessed|date=January 13, 2001|access-date=June 12, 2006|archive-date=October 9, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009195836/http://digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=4124|url-status=live}}

Reviewers also agree that the series suffers from too much filler in its later episodes, with Crandol describing the show as spinning its wheels.{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=442|access-date=June 1, 2006|date=March 10, 2003|title=Review - Excel Saga DVD 5|last=Crandol|first=Mike|work=Anime News Network|archive-date=April 22, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050422022425/http://animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=442|url-status=live}} Yegulalp reserves his harshest words for the unaired Going Too Far, calling it "pure, idiotic, wretched excess." He goes on to say that the episode has "the feeling of trying to deliberately enrage the audience by resorting to the only tactics left: genuinely offensive subject matter." Joel Cunningham at Digitally Obsessed disagrees, saying that the episode succeeds just in time, "with one of the series' funnier sight gags".{{cite web|url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=4714|title=Excel Saga #6: Going Way Too Far (2000)|publisher=Digitally Obsessed|date=April 8, 2003|last=Cunningham|first=Joel|access-date=June 3, 2006|archive-date=February 9, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209155337/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=4714|url-status=live}}

The series generally receives high marks for technical aspects. Cunningham feels the animation is flat-out gorgeous, but Crandol considers it merely above average. In the latter's opinion, its quality wanes as the series progresses and increasingly relies on super-deforming the characters for comedic effect.{{cite web|url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=3856|title=Excel Saga #1: The Weirdness Begins (1999)|publisher=Digitally Obsessed|date=January 14, 2001|last=Cunningham|first=Joel|access-date=June 6, 2003|archive-date=July 15, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030715154950/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=3856|url-status=live}} ADV's release earned praise for the quality of the video transfer and the DVD extras (particularly the Vid-Notes). Reviewers especially appreciated the English voice acting: Crandol calls it brilliant, and several note that Calvello and Wolcott were each able to capture Mitsuishi's Excel. Pearce, in contrast, found the English cast to be pretty bad and its Excel to be "dental drill shrill".

Akadot's reviewer of the manga writes that "some of the strange events go on a little too long and do not have the impact that they do animated," but that Rikdo's Excel Saga is "graced with fantastic visuals and a hilarious story," and that the English edition is "a masterpiece of the translator's skill."{{cite web|url = http://www.akadot.com/article.php?a=129|title = Excel Saga|publisher = Akadot|date=September 16, 2003|access-date = June 3, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040404172828/http://www.akadot.com/article.php?a=129|archive-date=April 4, 2004}} Barb Lien-Cooper from Comic World News concurs that the manga cannot keep pace with the anime, but she finds Excel herself to be wittier in the manga and that the manga's plots make more sense than the anime's.{{cite web|url=http://www.comicworldnews.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?column=reviews&page=84|last=Lien-Cooper|first=Barb|title=Excel Saga Volume 3|publisher=Comic World News|access-date=June 29, 2003|archive-date=November 11, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041111001302/http://www.comicworldnews.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?column=reviews&page=84|url-status=live}} A reviewer of the French edition also praises Rikdo's work, noting that it is an "...easy read without problems of clarity".Full quotation {{in lang|fr}}: "En ce qui concerne la mise en page, celle-ci est particulièrement dynamique avec un enchaînement impressionnant de cases les unes sur les autres et qui laissent, malgré le nombre, une lecture facile et sans problèm de clarté." {{cite web|url=http://www.scifi-universe.com/critiques_staff.asp?media_id=9535&muz_id=35|title=Critique de Excel Saga|publisher=SciFi-Universe|access-date=June 8, 2006|archive-date=January 1, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101210906/http://www.scifi-universe.com/critiques_staff.asp?media_id=9535&muz_id=35|url-status=live}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [https://www.viz.com/excel-saga Official manga website] of Viz Media
• [http://www.madman.com.au/actions/series.do?videogramId=35&method=home Official anime website] of Madman Entertainment
• {{Anime News Network|manga|33}}

{{Excel Saga}}

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