The Ultimate Showdown – Excel Saga, Manga vs Anime

Hail Ilpalazzo!

As you may well have picked up if you read my “Top 5 Underrated” post a week or two ago, I’m a big fan of Excel Saga. In fact, that’s an understatement. While the Excel Saga anime was aired in 1999, a considerable amount of time ago, I only discovered this gem recently but I have at last purchased every single volume of manga. Contemplating on the subject while I wait for my beloved Koshi Rikdo to release the volume, I suddenly came up with a very difficult question to answer.

A battle of epic proportions... kind of.

Which is better?

The anime covers a lot less ground than the manga as it was made while only a few volumes were released, but instead contains a few additions by the director, Shinichi Watanabe and the other crew dedicated to bringing Excel Saga to the TV screen. So which one appealed to me more? Let’s take a look at the areas in which they could excel (see what I did there?).

Plot

The Excel Saga anime uses a mostly episodic plotline until close to the end of the series, with the plot of three or four episodes linked together. It does have the running theme of ACROSS trying to conquer the city and Kabapu with his civil servants trying to defend it, though this is mostly shown through different ‘mini-plots’. ACROSS tends to be foiled in their plans or at least don’t accomplish their overall goal – though whether the civil servants actually have a hand in this is debateable as honestly they are all as comically useless as each other.

Actually surprisingly different to this, the manga has a much deeper plot where one chapter (usually) influences the others significantly. Bouncing back and forth, L vs Light style, ACROSS and the civil servants seem equally matched in this written account – although they aren’t nearly as useless as the anime would have you think. Or at least, not all of them. It seems a lot more like Ilpalazzo squares off against Kabapu’s most able employees, as the servants of ACROSS and the less… intelligent of the civil servants actually aren’t hugely helpful. It’s quite amusing to watch Iwata fail hideously while Matsuya looks on in horror.

And so yes, you may be able to tell that I definitely prefer the manga in this regard. While the anime was a lot more light hearted and cared a lot less about the final outcome, the manga puts a lot more emphasis on the city actually switching hands (at least after a certain point). So, if you are in the mood for something that doesn’t take itself too seriously yet still has a coherent story you care about (and very little breaking of the fourth wall) I would have to say the manga surely wins out.

Score one for the manga.

Humor

Noooo! Not another Pedro scene. This picture is just awesome by the way.

A pretty big question here – which one was actually funnier? The anime has a clever mixture of both obvious slapstick kind of humor and a more subtle underlying references kind of thing for the real otaku. Even fairly old material gets paid tribute to, with some really old fathers of manga and anime such as Lupin III clawing their way in. This really makes it amusing for pretty much anyone who can bear to watch past the (hugely inferior to the rest of the series) first episode. Admittedly some parts of it are less funny, such as the forced and endlessly repeated scenes with Pedro that really do little other than take up screen time, but still the majority of episodes will definitely have something for you.

The manga on the other hand takes a much more subtle approach in most respects, with a few still obvious jokes sneaked in amongst a mountain of obscure references and cultural humour. This is really best represented by the character Umi, who in the majority of scenes she appears in is cosplaying a character from someone else. This seems to occur if anyone even leaves the room, despite returning a couple of minutes later she has changed – yet nobody ever mentions it.

Before passing any judgement I’d like to thank both the Oubliette of the manga, and whoever sat down to write the optional captions for the anime. Both of these are excellent tools for someone such as me who didn’t know that much about Japan before and certainly helped open my eyes. Wait. No. No, it can’t be.

I WAS EDUCATED BY EXCEL SAGA?!

Well, blow me away I never realised. That’s just how unbelievably awesome Excel Saga is. But anyway, I seem to be getting off topic, so… which one is funnier? I would say the anime. While funnier may be fairly poor wording, the anime is certainly easier to laugh at as it takes less brain power. While I compliment the author on being witty and clever, when it comes to coming in after a hard day you will certainly find it easier to laugh at the anime.

Point to the anime.

Characters

So, which of the two has the more enjoyable, funnier, or really the characters you have the most interest in? The anime characters have a couple of unique characters that never make a proper appearance in the manga – the first that come to mind are the director himself, That Man, Pedro and The Great Will of the Macrocosm. Saying that, I must admit I didn’t find many of these added much to the show, and the majority (excluding the director) weren’t really that funny after their first couple of appearances.

However, despite that, the anime did have its upsides. Mainly, something that that manga can never really have – voice actors. Despite what anyone may say, I personally thought the voice actors were excellent for Excel Saga, even dubbed. Especially dubbed in fact. Being someone who doesn’t live in Japan or speak the language, it’s far easier to grasp how stereotypical or eccentric some characters are by listening to them, rather than reading subtitles. As such, you can kind of figure out that’s my problem with the manga – it’s hard for the author to get across (ha, I said ACROSS) how the characters talk, which does make up a lot of personality.

The three ACROSS girls, including Elgaga

Having said that, the manga should not be tarnished by just that negative comment. The characters are in fact, excellent. It may be slightly unfair for me to say they are better developed as the manga has far more time, but they do seem that way from the off. The manga has unique characters just as the anime does, the first couple springing to mind are Elgaga, a third subordinate of ACROSS serving under Ilpalazzo, and Shiouji’s cousin Umi. Despite how much I wanted to hate Elgaga (having seen the anime first, and her not being part of it) yet I found that I really couldn’t. She felt just as much at home in the manga as any of the other characters within a single volume, and while I didn’t like her as much as Excel, I was more than willing to read about her serving our future ruler – Lord Ilpalazzo.

So, who gets the point this time? Honestly despite the voice actors I lean towards the manga. The unique characters are genuinely more likeable and far more natural in the show, Lord Ilpalazzo is practically a God instead of a moron, and they just get a lot more time for character fleshing out. In the anime they just don’t seem so unique – and I can’t think of a better example that Sumiyoshi. As he speaks through floating text, the first time I watched this (without subs) I had no idea what he was saying. After turning subs on, I rewatched the series yet had exactly the same experience – what does this mean? Sumiyoshi adds basically nothing, other than the joke of him speaking through floating text. Slightly disappointing there.

Plus, I never thought I would say this, but the manga actually makes a pedophile a likeable character. Yes, for those who haven’t watched it, Excel Saga actually has a pedophile in it – Shiouji, as named before. Where in the anime he was truly creepy and slightly worrying, in the manga he somehow comes across as clever, patient and somehow enjoyable. After the bizarre family he’s forced to endure, it’s not really a wonder he turned out a bit weird himself – so as long as he sticks to just watching kids at play in the park I won’t report him. For now…

Point to the manga.

Atmosphere

Don't blink, or you might miss Toshio's second of screen time.

So with the final point, I move the reader’s attention to the atmosphere – how easily are you drawn in? What makes you lose yourself the easiest, and stop paying attention to real life so much? Well, the anime achieves this through a couple of means. Each episode (excluding one or two) has a similar opening, involving the original author giving permission for the crazy antics of the episode ahead. This is a fairly amusing way to make a clever pun, insert a joke or two and also create interest on what lies ahead, in less than a minute of introduction.

Of course the anime also has what the manga cannot in the same way as the voice actors – music. The magical touch of Toshio Masuda is the driving force behind the Excel Saga soundtrack, a man who would later go on to compose all of the music for Naruto – an anime which while I’m not a fan of, has a gargantuan following. All of the scenes seem to have exactly the right music at exactly the right volume – and I have to say, the scene where Excel gets shot almost moved me to tears in a way that Elfen Lied somehow failed. The music there was perfect. Of course, as a final point, there is also the opening song which was written by the director himself. Fantastic.

The manga actually creates interest for each chapter in a similar way, with most beginning with a page or two introducing a theme, idea or a simple joke to get the reader involved.  This is usually followed by a clever (or not-so-clever joke in the title) which will make sense after reading it. Of course, with a bit more of a detailed plot and more developed characters, it can be hoped that the reader is interested already.

So as you can probably tell, I have to give this one to the anime. It’s a lot easier to just sit down and watch anytime you feel like it – with or without friends – than the manga, which does require a certain amount of interest. While in some regards that can be seen as a strength, for creating immediate interest it’s a little less effective.

Point goes to the anime.

Conclusion: 2 – 2

Yeah, if you’ve been keeping count, you’ll realise it’s a tie. So you completely wasted your time reading this, and I wasted mine writing it, as now we are no closer to figuring out which one is better.

Crap.

At least my Lord approves of this! *Swoon*

But wait, what am I saying? This post has actually just confirmed what I thought all along – that both are equally as awesome. So in reality this ended up as a massive fanboy splurge of love, for why Excel Saga is great in all forms. Sure, they both have their strengths and weaknesses, but that really just means they are great for different reasons. I really only have a preference depending on my mood.

Whereas the anime can be seen anytime, anywhere in (almost) any order, the manga is a bit more of a long term investment. If you are in the manga for the long haul it’s definitely worth it (so sucks to be you, as it’s not online past a certain volume!).

Either way, if you haven’t tried both of these yet, I don’t think I can ever talk to you again. Which means I just alienated every single one of my friends – bugger.

Oh well, what can you do. I’m off to conquer the city. Hm, I wonder if I had permission from Koshi Rikdo for this post?