Excel Saga - The Weirdness Has Begun (2002)

Even for anime, weird silliness and silly weirdness; otaku only

(If you don't know what "otaku" means, this DVD is not for you.)

I get that most anime is weird by western standards, and Excel Saga is supposed to be weird even by anime standards. To some extent this worked for me; it was funny in a lot of places. (My favorite: "Oh, no, her life is beginning to flash before her eyes! This isn't good!" Or words to that effect; the first disk went back to Netflix weeks ago, and I never bothered with any more in the series.)

But most of the silliness wasn't all that funny, at least not to me. There's almost no plot, almost no characterization; or what there is of each is glacially slow. Maybe if I watched more of the series, I'd better enjoy the first disk. But even with the (highly recommended) "pop-up video" extras, there just wasn't enough humor to make this worth my while.

Really serious anime fans may love this. For the rest of us, not so much. August 20, 2006

lmao

The first time I watched this anime I laughed. VERY HARD. Then, I sat up and said, "wait...why am I watching this again?" I have no idea. There seems to be no point to the show, but its very funny.
My favorite part which I had to rewind and watch again about 10 times is the part where Menchi is trying to get out of the apartment while the whole city's flooded. The next door neighboe finnaly goes "WHAT THE H#!&!" And goes over, opens the door, and finds Menchi sitting there with the halleujah song going on. I can't explain it, you HAVE to see it to laugh. *Sigh* I'm laughing just thinking about it...
Btw: I had to buy this dvd twice cos the first time I let a friend *borrow* it and I have yet to see it returned...just goes to show how much you will want to keep this!
One question though...who is Lord IlPilazzo?!? February 12, 2006

The Monty Python of Anime

If Monty Python ever did anime, it would be something very similar to Excel Saga, which is to say that it would be hilariously insane and absurd. Excel Saga is certainly that, and I did laugh out loud several times in this first volume, especially in the episode parodying romantic comedies (three words: Stick It In). I also LOVE the opening song and can't get it out of my head! My problem with the show, and why I only give it three stars: it is WAY too self-referential at times. To parody something else is one thing. To parody yourself, many times, in the first episode, smacks of smug conceit. Maybe it's a Japanese thing, maybe they assume the viewers will have read the manga and get it, maybe it IS just conceit, but it certainly isn't very funny, at least not to me. They try too hard to be too clever and laugh too much at themselves as if they were saying, "Look at us! Aren't we just so funny and witty?" By the end of the volume they had toned that down a bit, and I enjoyed the second half of the volume better than the first half. I haven't seen the rest of the series, but I liked the first volume enough that, in a fit of spontaneity, I might well buy the whole series. Now I have to go home to my son and my sexy wife...NOOOO!!!! January 26, 2005

Excel Saga

Excel saga is a great anime if your a die-hard fan or Otaku as i like to call it. It makes many referances to other animes that are popular that mainly otaku will get. I believe this anime is excellent for anyone to watch but id first watch some other anime if your a n00b to get half the jokes.
This series made me crack up from beginning to end and i Highly recommend it as an addition to any otakus dvd collection. December 23, 2004

HOLY SH*T

Wow. My dad got this DVD in hopes of watching it. He did not last. I, however, was enthralled at the overall insanity that was going on during this hilarious parody anime. It is hilarious in the truest sense of the word. Excel is one of my inspirations to annoy friends over the internet, and she never fails to make me laugh. This is possibly the greatest anime that I have seen. July 23, 2004

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