Excel Saga (film)

Excel Saga (エクセル♥サーガ) is a 2003 American adult animated surreal comedy film directed by and. It is Smith's second anime film he directed, the first being Cream Lemon in his directorial debut.

Based on by, the film follows the attempts of Across, a "secret ideological organization", to conquer the city of Fukuoka as a first step towards world domination. The title character, Excel, is a key member of the group who is working towards completing this goal, while the city is being defended by a shadowy government agency led by Dr. Kabapu.

Excel Saga premiered in on May 21, 2003, and was released theatrically in the United States by  under  on June 1.

Plot
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.

Il Palazzo desires to exterminate the world's manga artists, ordering Excel to start with, but she is thwarted by the intervention of the Great Will of the Macrocosm and her own conscience. After chatting with Pedro, the immigrant worker, and chasing down dinner, Excel makes a second attempt on Rikudō's life.

In the fashion of sci-fi movies, reinforcements from ACROSS Headquarters turn out to be an invasion by the incredibly cute but deceptively tyrannic Puchuu Imperium, and Excel stages a brave, if somewhat misguided, raid on their Mothership. Meanwhile, Nabeshin is also aboard in order to help an old friend escape the clutches of the Puchuus. At the end, the aerial alien invasion force is destroyed, Excel is being held as a prisoner of war, and Il Palazzo admits Hyatt to ACROSS' ranks.

In the fashion of an action B-movie, Excel is trapped in the jungle after the Puchuu mothership was destroyed. Hyatt is dispatched to find her, meeting her neighbor Watanabe on the way. Excel's captors are some very manly and gruesome troops (with a soft-spot for dogs), but Nabeshin has some unfinished business with them and with Excel's fellow prisoner who is revealed to be Maetel from.

A spoof of the romantic comedy genre of anime, Watanabe sets his sights on Hyatt, his thoughts paralleling the choices offered in a dating simulation game – but fate and Il Palazzo are playing games with him (rather literally). Meanwhile, Excel is searching for Hyatt, but both are caught up in more explosive trouble due to Nabeshin and the Gold Syndicate's new bomb type.

In a parody of dramas about social problems, Excel and Hyatt infiltrate City Hall to gather dirt on the corrupt politicians. In the course of their investigations, they encounter Dr. Kapabu, who controls F City's leaders and has no qualms about removing obstacles with violence. Kabapu creates the Department of City Security in order to defend the city from future threats (with embezzled funds), and hires Watanabe, who pins his romantic hopes on a government job, as well as Iwata and Sumiyoshi, who just wanted to tag along with Watanabe. ACROSS scores a victory of sorts, with the help of green drink-induced zombies and bathroom scribbles.

In a parody of the survival movie genre, ACROSS plans to set up a laser cannon in the mountains in order to terrify F City into submission and at the mercy of the idealist organization – however, due to her usual stupidity and the sub-zero arctic environment, things don't go as Il Palazzo has planned. Meanwhile, Watanabe, Iwata and Sumiyoshi are sent on a training exercise in the same mountains, and meet their new co-worker, the sexy but fierce Misaki Matsuya, who becomes Iwata's new fetish.

In a parody of monster horror movies, the Puchuu shock troops have penetrated F City's sewers, and Kabapu's new Department of City Security is closing in on ACROSS' HQ. Excel and Hyatt try to deal with the two-front situation at arm's length, but hands-on action is required – including an Alien Queen who breeds more Puchuus as reinforcements.

In a bout of pure fanservice, the girls chill out at the pool. Everyone is in their best poolside attire – except Excel, who gets stuck with a decidedly un-stylish high school swimsuit. Things get even worse for Excel when she gorges herself into a bloated, immobile state on free food provided by their new friend, Cosette – who is not quite as innocent as she appears.

In a parody of the sports anime genre, Excel and Hyatt infiltrate a bowling alley in order to understand Japan's youth through (what Excel mistakenly thinks is) their most popular sport. Things become far too exciting when a bowling-fanatic terrorist organization hijacks the alley and the late-night, low-rated TV show Bowling Girls.

In a homage to animal shows, Menchi has escaped, having had enough of her role as ACROSS' emergency rations. She soon joins a pack of helpful strays, who undertake the quest to return Menchi to her former owner. Little does she know the storm of betrayal and vengeance approaching her and her new friends.

In order to learn more about the education system, Excel and Hyatt infiltrate Excel's alma mater, Inunabe High School – the school in which Excel has graduated from, which means Excel herself, with Hyatt, is paying a return visit. The ACROSS duo quickly whip their class of thugs and degenerates into shape. They next have to save the school baseball team, and to do so Excel tries to recruit the team's legendary dropout, Bean Boy.

It's Christmas Eve in F City, F District, and Kabapu orders the Department of City Security to shadow a cute, but possessed detective, named Purin (プリン, lit. "Pudding"), who's out for revenge on her father's killers. At the same time, Hyatt is taken hostage by some extremely incompetent bank-robbers.

A recap of the series to present, in the form of a Japanese New Year's television special, in which Hyatt and Excel compete to determine the New Years Winner. The contest is judged by Excel Saga celebrities, and Il Palazzo endeavors to provide some entertainment, but is exceptionally frustrated by the world's ongoing corruption – and interference by the Excel Girls. In a desperate effort to raise ratings, the animators give the Department of City Security a new member: Ropponmatsu Unit 1, a beautiful, bionic robotic bomb-shell of a bomb-disposal expert, who becomes Iwata's new fetish. The timing is auspicious, since the agents of ACROSS are planning to deliver a bomb to City Hall. While they fail in their task, City Security loses Ropponmatsu in the encounter.

Ropponmatsu returns, but Iwata is furious to discover that the new Ropponmatsu, Unit 2, is in the shape of a young, annoying and mentally irritating cat-girl. Following in her predecessor Unit's footsteps, Ropponmatsu Unit 2 engages Ilpalazzo's newest bomb-delivery system, a mobile bomb, the T-10000 – in reality Excel disguised as a large panda bear to avoid attention and suspicion. Things look bad for little Unit 2, but fortunately Ropponmatsu Unit 1 returns in the nick of time.

Due to a fatal programming error made by Gojo, the two Ropponmatsus fall in love with the ACROSS girls, leading to a robotic crime spree, a para-military showdown, and an indecent assault by Unit 2 on Excel. Meanwhile, in a parody of Americanized anime, Excel and Hyatt are sent by Il Palazzzo to reconnoiter in the United States, but Excel's poor English starts them on the wrong foot with the locals in the Land of the Free. Fortunately, they are rescued by none other than Pedro's son, Sandora, who has run away from home. Later, Excel must marshal the combined powers of American and Japanese animation to confront and conquer the ever growing army of the New York Mafia.

The Department of City Security is outfitted with the latest in Sentai suit technology to contain and eliminate every threat to the city even more effectively. They now are able to blow up anything with this new technology, and promptly do so – thus resulting in things gone out of hand all around the city, unless they find a way to remove the Daitarn suits.

A week later, Menchi makes a trip around the world with a young industry heiress, who, when she isn't plugging Alps Electric, is being hunted by an evil and bloodthirsty assassin, who has a score to settle with Menchi, too. Meanwhile, Hyatt and her senior are sent by Il Palazzo on a world-spanning mission to find special objects that would ensure the final victory of ACROSS over all else once and for all.

In a parody of the musical genre, ACROSS Headquarters dispatches instructions to Ilpalazzo, carried by Key, a stereotype of Japanese rock stars. He insists on delivering his message via song, even though his heart won't let him perform. Key stays with the girls, sending Excel's libido into an uncontrollable frenzy. A phallic guitar, Excel's visions of yaoi action, and Key's delivery of the instructions all conspire to snap Ilpalazzo directly into action.

The Puchuu Empire is back (again), in full force, and led by their Overlord to once and for all erase the Earth of all life as a payback for the destruction of one of their Motherships and the Tunnel Incident. In a fully armed, firepower-packed parody of Mobile Suit Gundam and the works of Leiji Matsumoto (complete with Puchuu versions of Captain Harlock and Char Aznable), Excel leads Rebel Puchuu forces, led by the Puchuu Rebel captain, in a desperate defense of Earth, resulting in the scenic – and outrageously insane – Puchuu Civil War that, in the end, results in the annihilation of F City, F Prefecture, the colony debris reducing the once tall and prosperous city ACROSS sought to conquer into a wreckaged graveyard of its past glory and life.

In a parody of , F City hasn't been the same since the Puchuu Civil War have reduced most of the city into nothing more than ruins. Citizens, fearing the resulting destruction and the coming times, live in scattered villages, and gangs roam the deserted wastelands, pillaging and conquering all before them. There is one person standing for justice, and that person is Excel. After dispatching with the gang leader (with a powerful, anthropomorphic attack), Excel continues her search for her Lord, Ilpalazzo, but tragedy ensues.

The Department of City Security has survived the Fall of F City, and Excel is recovering under their care, but she can't remember anything at all – she is obviously suffering from amnesia from her last ill-fated meeting with Ilpalazzo. She watches the Daitenzin head to their final confrontation with ACROSS, and sets out on her own mission: to regain all of her memories and take ultimate revenge.

Rikudō gives permission to end the film. Pedro and Nabeshin battle That Man for the fates of the Great Will, Pedro's wife, and the whole Universe. Back in the ruins of F City, the Daitenzin storm Il Palazzo's "Mobile Fortress", while Excel wanders through it, searching to make herself whole once more. Watanabe gets the courage to confess his love to Hyatt, who has a different confession to make. The Daitenzin snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and Excel and Il Palazzo have their climactic reunion.

Voice cast

 * as Excel
 * as Il Palazzo
 * as Hyatt
 * as Dr. Kabapu
 * as Toru Watanabe
 * as Norikuni Iwata
 * as Misaki Matsuya
 * and as the Ropponmatsus
 * as Gojo Shiouji
 * as Menchi
 * as himself
 * Kelly Manison as the Great Will of the Macrocosm
 * as Nabeshin
 * as Pedro
 * as Puchuu
 * as Sara Cosette
 * and as Excel Kobayashi and Mikako Hyatt
 * as That Man
 * as Purin