List of Excel Saga characters

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This list contains the primary and notable secondary characters of Excel Saga, a Japanese manga and anime series.^[1]

[edit] Members of ACROSS

Excel is the hyperactive protagonist and title character, who approaches her work with abundant determination, but little foresight. Her mission is to further Across' city conquest, but her personal desire is to win Ilpalazzo's affection and praise. Despite being his most senior officer, she frequently finds herself out of the loop or passed over for promotion. Ilpalazzo, in contrast to Excel, is cold, reserved and calculating, but clearly has severe mental problems: he frequently suffers memory loss, hears voices, and sometimes manifests a different persona. He shows very little patience with Excel, frequently endangering her bodily well-being by dropping her down an oubliette (the principal running gag in Excel Saga) or otherwise punishing her (e.g. bazooka, MSG, etc). To accelerate his plans, Ilpalazzo soon hires a second agent, Hyatt, a demure and frail woman with a habit of suddenly dying and reviving in quick succession. Despite this limitation, she soon becomes Ilpalazzo's favorite, but Hyatt seems unaware of his favor and holds her senior in high regard. The two agents of Across keep a dog, named Menchi,^[2] as both a pet and "emergency food supply"—but although Excel and Hyatt often plan to “declare a state of emergency” and have Menchi as a meal, they never do so. In the manga, a third agent called Elgala joins Across. She proves to be a great source of frustration to Excel, mainly due to her insubordinate attitude, expensive tastes, and inability to keep her opinions to herself.

The ACROSS Six 

Referred to once by That Man episode twenty-four, the ACROSS Six were the ruling body of ACROSS. After the death of That Man, the surviving ACROSS Five in their only cameo appearance attempt to take revenge on Nabeshin but are quickly dispatched by him in episode twenty-six. They only appear in the anime.

Elgala (エルガーラ, Erugāra^?) 

Appearing only in the manga, Elgala is the third agent of ACROSS in seniority and Excel's rival for Ilpalazzo's affections. She is cursed with the inability to maintain an internal monologue, constantly (though not deliberately) speaking aloud her innermost thoughts and feelings. Since Elgala is a snob who thinks nearly everyone is below her, these thoughts are often of the disparaging variety and frequently irritate Excel. Elgala has refined, and expensive tastes, which does not suit the austerity demanded by ACROSS and Excel, leading to frequent conflict. Adding to tension with Excel is the secrecy surrounding both Elgala's missions for Ilpalazzo. Pseudonym: Kasumi Munakata.

Across: Ilpalazzo (center), Hyatt (left), and Excel (right).

Excel (エクセル, Ekuseru^?)

The fast-talking, wise-cracking heroine, who was initially the sole minion of ACROSS, joining immediately after graduating from high school, dying, and being resurrected several times. Excel approaches her work with an excess of determination and enthusiasm, but an utter dearth of foresight and understanding. She is in quick succession impossibly lucky and impossibly unlucky, but she never manages to complete a mission without help, and even her successes are usually attained by happenstance. She has a tendency to speak extremely quickly, and in the anime, interject English words into her dialog. She displays a schoolgirl crush towards Ilpalazzo that borders on fanatic obsession, even going as far as to converse with a picture of him while home alone. For an extended period of time in later volumes of the manga, Excel suffers from memory loss, and lives with the Shiouji family under the assumed name, Teriha Shiouji, while a robot duplicate takes her place in the ACROSS ranks. Other pseudonyms: Excel Excel, Hanako Dosukoi, Slammin' Flower Child, Pseudonym Undercover, Sue Donym (a pun on the term pseudonym).

Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Jessica Calvello and Larissa Wolcott (English)

Hyatt (ハイアット, Haiatto^?)

Excel's frail junior officer, with a strange penchant for dropping dead and suddenly springing back to life in quick succession. In the original manga, Hyatt joins across by simply answering an advert placed by IlPalazzo; the anime, meanwhile, she is a mysterious princess from space with a connection to the Puuchuus and Space Butler. Her curious medical condition is never explained, although later volumes of the manga hint that Il Palazzo has implanted something in her body that is causing it. In both the anime and the manga, she is noticeably Il Palazzo's favorite officer, usually receiving lighter punishment and higher promotions than Excel. Pseudonyms: Chihaya Ayasugi, Convoy Butterfly.

Voiced by: Omi Minami (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

Ilpalazzo (イルパラッゾ, Iruparazzo^?, "Il Palazzo" in the North American manga release, it's Italian for "The Palace", originally the name of a Japanese hotel in Fukuoka)

The leader of ACROSS, Lord Ilpalazzo often prefaces his orders and speeches by proclaiming, "The world is corrupt!" He has little patience for Excel, often assigning complex operations to Hyatt. While presented as a mostly dark and serious character in the original manga, the anime lightens the tone with the recurring gag that, despite all his scheming, Ilpalazzo really has nothing to do while Excel and Hyatt are out on missions: he is often seen pursuing surprisingly ordinary hobbies like learning to play the guitar and arranging domino blocks. These foibles notwithstanding, Ilpalazzo is no ordinary human being, as testify his yellow, cat-like eyes and seemingly supernatural powers exhibited in episode twenty-five; the manga would later reveal him to be a survivor of the ancient lost civilization of Solaria. Discrepancies between the two media aside, both manga and anime make it clear that Lord Ilpalazzo suffers from severe psychological disorders, most notably multiple personality disorder.

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Jason Douglas (English)

Key 

The anime-only bishonen, Visual Kei rockstar messenger sent by ACROSS Headquarters with special instructions for Ilpalazzo. His beauty, musical skill, and disdainful delivery of Headquarters' message (as well as the message itself) cause Ilpalazzo no end of anger and tension.

Menchi (メンチ, Menchi^?, "Mince" in the North American manga release) 

Although the manga and anime differ in regards to her origins, both agree that Excel captures Menchi with an intent to eat her, sooner or later. Despite numerous threats, Excel comes to care for her after a fashion. Hyatt, though, more intently views Menchi as a ration. In the manga, Menchi gains an apparent ally in Elgâla, who nevertheless views her as an emergency food supply. Several anime and manga plots, notably episodes ten and nineteen, revolve to some extent around Menchi, her past, and her quest to escape Excel. Her breed, though not stated in the anime or manga, appears to be a small Shiba Inu, a baby Akita Inu, or a Hokkaido.

Voiced by: Satomi Koorogi (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

That Man (あの人, Ano Hito^?)

The most powerful leader of ACROSS, That Man is Pedro's and Nabeshin's archnemesis, who masquerades as a friend and seduces both Pedro's sexy wife and the Great Will.^[3] That Man is part of the ACROSS Six, the governing body of ACROSS, and longs to use "the power of the Great Will and the devilishness of the woman" to take over the universe.

Voiced by: Mike MacRae (English)

[edit] Department of City Security

Paralleling Ilpalazzo's Across is Kabapu's Department of City Security. Kabapu himself occupies a position of inscrutable power in the city, and is able to bend its political establishment to his will. Despite his power, he is an object of ridicule among most of his subordinates due to his appearance, mannerisms, and seeming disregard for lives and laws. Unfazed by this, he informs the six members of the Department that they are to assume the role of the Daitenzin, a sentai fighting force. One Daitenzin is Tooru Watanabe, who pins his hopes for a romantic relationship with Hyatt on his position in the civil service but grows despondent as the nature of his employment becomes clear. Another is Daimaru Sumiyoshi, who is a voice of reason in the Department and is represented as communicating through free-floating text.^[4] The third, Norikuni Iwata, is generally disliked for his boorishness but tolerated by his co-workers. Misaki Matsuya, the fourth, is an attractive but ruthless young woman who provides much of the group's leadership. The final Daitenzin are two android bomb-disposal experts called Ropponmatsu Unit 1 and Ropponmatsu Unit 2. Other associates of the Department are Kabapu's assistant Ms. Momochi, and the lolita complex-stricken Gojo Shioji, designer of the Ropponmatsus.

Norikuni Iwata (岩田紀國, Iwata Norikuni^?) 

Brash, self-centered, and noisily infatuated with Matsuya and Ropponmatsu Unit 1, Iwata is generally disliked but tolerated by his neighbors and co-workers. His tendency to make inappropriate statements towards women and his rivalry with Ropponmatsu Unit 2 often lead to his being physically assaulted. In volume eight of the manga, Iwata suddenly dies of colon cancer, but is promptly resurrected as a cyborg, with his brain placed into an android replica of his normal body, as created by Shioji.

Voiced by: Shōtarō Morikubo (Japanese), Mark Laskowski (English)

Kabapu (蒲腐, Kabapu^?)

A large man with a very strange hairstyle and a gigantic removable mustache, Kabapu occupies a position of extreme and shadowy power which is never fully explained, but municipal leaders defer to his wishes, and he has no qualms about silencing dissent by violence. This zeal is a result of his genuine desire to protect the City from all dangers. His trump card is his newly founded Department of City Security, the civilian front for his Municipal Force Daitenzin, into which Watanabe, Iwata, Sumiyoshi, Misaki, and Ropponmatsu are recruited. In later volumes of the manga, Kabapu reveals himself as a survivor of an ancient city called "Solaria", similar to Atlantis, which had brought about its own downfall. He proclaims that his mission is to destroy any remaining Solarian technology so humanity can't misuse it. Both the anime and the manga suggest that he and Ilpalazzo are old acquaintances.

Voiced by: Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (Japanese), Mike Kleinhenz (English)

Misaki Matsuya (松屋美咲, Matsuya Misaki^?) 

The attractive and intelligent recruit to the Department of City Security, Matsuya is pragmatic and fiercely independent. She is also talented and vicious at repelling Iwata's frequent leers and advances. The manga reveals that she and Iwata were college classmates and that, to her embarrassment, she bears him some genuine affection. She grows closer to Iwata as the series progresses, striking him far less frequently than normal. The only time she seems to feel the need to do so is when Iwata is being idiotic even by his standards, such as trying to track down Excel by telling a young woman that he's looking for "Naked women". She is also one of the few people in the series that has any sense at all.

Voiced by: Yuka Imai (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English)

Ropponmatsu, Units 1 and 2 (六本松1式・2式, Ropponmatsu Ichishiki・Nishiki^?)

Designed to be a general-purpose, if beautiful, tool for Kabapu, Ropponmatsu (Unit 1) excels in bomb-disposal. After failing in her first mission, she is given an additional form (Unit 2), that of a perky, young cat-girl. In the original manga, only one Ropponmatsu unit is active at any one time; the reason for this is later revealed to be that there is only one central "core" that is switched between the two bodies. Kabapu attests that the core contains the soul of the princess of the lost civilization of Solaria, and he has had the Ropponmatsu body created to house it as part of his plan to destroy all remaining traces of Solaria's technology. Conversely, the anime (produced before this revelation occurred in the manga), has the Ropponmatsus appearing as two distinct entities who frequently cooperate on important tasks. Although they have a tendency to be destroyed on their missions, Shiouhi keeps a lot of spares, which play a large role in the penultimate episode of the series). The vast difference between the units leads to some tension between Kabapu and Shioji: both incarnations of Ropponmatsu have a tendency to fail in the course of their duty, due either to extreme mass (Unit 1) or lack of appropriate functionality (Unit 2).

Ropponmatsu Unit 1 - Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese), Kelli Cousins (English)

Ropponmatsu Unit 2 - Voiced by: Satomi Kōrogi (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

Gojo Shioji (四王子五条, Shiōji Gojō^?)

Shiouji is the brilliant creator of the Ropponmatsus and of Kabapu's "mecha." Excel Saga, the anime, constantly suggests that he is a pedophile, but the manga later expands on this to reveal a much more complex back story. Gojo's father, Tenmangu Shiouji, was lauded as one of the world's most foremost scientists, but vanished when Gojo was young. His mother, Miwa Rengaya, suffered a severe behavioral change after Tenmangu disappeared, becoming overtly sexual and showering affection on Gojo, imprinting on him a distorted perception of women. This perception was shattered when Gojo met his young cousin, Umi Rengaya, and was inspired by her purity and innocence. Unfortunately, Umi - who now works at Gojo's laboratory assistant and intern - is now eighteen years old, and lacking in the innocence of her youth, so Gojo seeks has turned his attention to other young girls in the hopes of recapturing that spirit of purity and inspiration.

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Spike Spencer (English)

(L-R), The luckless Watanabe, obnoxious Iwata, and the silent but sensible Sumiyoshi

Daimaru Sumiyoshi (住吉大丸, Sumiyoshi Daimaru^?) 

Sumiyoshi is a voice of reason and understanding in the Department, although he is often the butt of jokes. His most notable quirk is his dialogue, which in the original manga is rendered as text that is unconstrained by bubbles or captions, and simply floats by his head, in comparison to the normal speech balloons used by all the other characters. The anime rendered this unusual trait by making the character mute, with his dialogue appearing as written text that hovers beside him. He communicates with an Okayama accent in the manga and in the Kansai dialect in the anime. These are respectively rendered as the Geordie dialect of England and American southern accent in the English translations of the manga and anime. The manga showcases Sumiyoshi's hobby and greatest feat: documenting all dating simulation games on his complex PC system. The anime, showing his fondness for Ropponmatsu 2, hints at his interest. The manga also features the rest of his family. His 13-year-old sister, Kanal, also speaks in floating text, but is adorable and looks nothing like Daimaru. His mother and father also appear, his father appearing normal but with an accent, and his mother looking very much like Daimaru but speaking normally. He also has an ambiguous relationship with Ropponmatsu 2, spending a great deal of time with her, and being much more affectionate to her than he is to the older Ropponmatsu 1. He is also a friend of Shiouji's, the two bonding over their love of dating game image files (As Sumiyoshi calls them, his "Graphic images")

Toru Watanabe (渡辺通, Tōru Watanabe^?) 

An out-of-work Japanese twenty-something, Watanabe lives next door to Excel and Hyatt, and close to Norikuni Iwata and Daimaru Sumiyoshi, men whose company he at first detests. Watanabe is infatuated with Hyatt, who seems unaware of his advances. In order to impress her, he claims to be a civil servant and undertakes a position at the Department of City Security to redeem his lie. Much to his consternation, Iwata and Sumiyoshi are hired by the Department at the same time as he. Watanabe is extremely irritable and often reacts to situations with over-the-top emotions: e.g., in the manga allows his feelings for Hyatt to repeatedly compromise his career. He pretty much rues his roommate Iwata's existence. While he starts off as a reasonably normal guy, his appearance and personality change drastically in the manga after his plans to marry Chihaya (Hyatt) are ruined by Il Pallazo taking her back. ^[5] He ends up being very withdrawn, spiteful, and cynical; and takes up playing S&M video games.

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japanese), Jay Hickman (English)

[edit] Others

[edit] Other characters

In addition to the main cast, Excel Saga features a wide array of secondary characters, and among the most important are the anime's director Nabeshin and the Great Will of the Macrocosm. These two have the power to alter or "reset" the storyline, and Excel and others often appeal for them to do so. Other cast additions in the anime include Pedro and his son Sandora, who both suffer cruel turns of fate and eventually become Nabeshin's students. Their objective is to defeat That Man, who desires to become a god by seducing the Great Will and Pedro's "Sexy Wife." Another prominent force introduced by the anime are the Puchuus, a race of insidiously cute aliens competing with Across for world conquest. Dr. Sekifumi Iwata (who the manga reveals is a cousin of the Daitenzin Norikuni Iwata) and his associate, Nurse Shiki Fukuya, provide some comedic interludes in the anime but make more substantial appearances in the manga. Finally, Rikdo spends several chapters of the manga introducing and developing other members of the Iwata, Sumiyoshi and Shioji families. Particularly notable is Shioji's mother Miwa Rengaya, whom Kabapu views as key to finding Shioji's mysteriously vanished father, Tenmangu Shioji.

Nurse Shiki Fukuya 

This competent nurse spends most of her time trying to prevent or punish Dr. Iwata's malpractices and misogynies. The manga reveals that she was assigned this role by the Iwata family to guard it against embarrassments caused by Dr. Iwata. She appears along with Dr. Iwata in his cameos in the anime.

The Great Will of the Macrocosm (大宇宙の大いなる意思, Daiuchū no Ōinaru Ishi^?) 

The Great Will of the Macrocosm, appears in the form of galaxy with arms (and lips, when necessary), and has the power to reset or alter the storyline. In later episodes she is torn between her love for Pedro and the power over her held by That Man. Episode nineteen reveals that she and Pedro's wife are actually the same being.

Voiced by: Yuko Mizutani (Japanese), Kelly Manison (English)

Hiyoko Iwata 

A distant relative of Sekifumi and Norikuni Iwata, Hiyoko has a short attention span and often wanders away from her bodyguards. She appears only in the manga.

Dr. Sekifumi Iwata 

Uniformly depicted as a horrible, lecherous doctor, Dr. Iwata owes his prominence in the medical profession mostly to family influence. His most distinct physical feature is the X-shaped scar across his entire face, which was given to him by a four-year old Norikuni Iwata, his cousin. His likeness and character are parodies of Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack. Although several chapters of the manga revolve around him or his hospital, he only has cameo appearances in the anime.

That Man (center) prepares to attack the Afro-warriors (top to bottom: Nabeshin, Pedro, and Sandora), as the Great Will and Pedro's "Sexy Wife" look on in terror.

Nabeshin (ナベシン, Nabeshin^?)

Further information: Nabeshin

Also known as Afro-man and the Director, Nabeshin is dressed in pastel colors and wears a giant afro. Like the Great Will, he is a walking deus ex machina, and appeals are often made to him in that capacity, but apart from cameos in the main storyline he keeps himself to his own subplot with Pedro and That Man.

Voiced by: Shinichi Watanabe (Japanese), Brett Weaver (English)

Pedro (ペドロ, Pedoro^?) 

Pedro is a South American immigrant living in F City. Having died while working on a construction project, he wanders the earth as a spirit, trying to return to his "sexy wife," who has shacked up with Gomez, Pedro's ostensible friend and co-worker, who is really That Man in disguise. Nabeshin later explains that Pedro's ultimate purpose is become an "Afro-Warrior" under his tutelage, and to fight That Man for the fate of the world.

Voiced by: Takashi Nagasako (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English)

The Puchuus (プチュウ, Puchū^?) 

Aliens from outer space who invade Earth in the second and eighteenth episodes, with other frequent appearances. Physically very weak, and shaped like teddy-bears, Puchuus rely on their cuteness to lull potential victims before attack—only Excel and Misaki are depicted as being immune to their cuteness. Once defeated, they are shown to have a face similar to Golgo 13, although special Puchuus have unique faces. When their main fleet, led by the Puchuu overlord, arrives in Earth orbit in episode twenty-two, it is repelled by an alliance of Puchuu rebels led by Excel. Debris from the decisive space battle falls to Earth and utterly annihilates F City.

Voiced by: Omi Minami (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

Rikdo Koshi (六道神士, Rikudō Kōshi^?)

Further information: Rikdo Koshi

The author of the Excel Saga manga has only one appearance in the story proper of the anime - namely, when he is killed in the first episode by Excel under orders from Lord Ilpalazzo. He does, however, appear at the beginning of every episode, voluntarily—usually—giving his approval to the episode's ostensible genre. Also, as a parody of the struggle manga artists often find themselves in with anime adaptations of their work, Nabeshin and Rikudo come to blows, especially towards the anime's end.^[6]

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi (Japanese), Paul Sidello (English)

Cosette Sara 

First encountered in episode eight, Sara is a cute, pink-haired, midget assassin, who disguises herself as an eight-year-old girl to facilitate her work. Taken with Hyatt, she views Excel with derision. Sara was orphaned earlier, and became an assassin to survive. The Great Will takes pity on her and resets her mother at the end of the episode. However, in episode twenty-six, she becomes a special member of ACROSS, having learned that she could not so easily forget her bloody past. In this episode, it is also confirmed that she is an (extremely well-endowed - "I'm a G-cup!", she joyously yells as her previously strapped-down breasts burst explosively free of their confines) adult midget, and not a child.^[7]

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (Japanese), Mandy Clark (English)

[edit] Pedro and Nabeshin's comrades

Sandora 

Pedro's son, Sandora at first welcomes Gomez as his new father, but after the latter's faults become apparent, the boy leaves for America and starts selling his drawings of anime characters. His hope to become a "Japanimator" comes to naught as the pictures are being sold to the Mafia. This discovery costs him his life, and he becomes a ghost and "Afro-Warrior" like his father and helps fight That Man.

Space Butler The 13th 

A man who has some past connection to Nabeshin and Hyatt, and who comes to serve the Puchuus, although he defies them to save Hyatt. Perishing in the second episode, his spirit returns in episode twenty-five to help Nabeshin, Pedro and Sandora defeat That Man. He's a spoof of the 'Garrison' character from Daitarn 3. (Garrison was an Alfred-like butler and handyman for Aran Banjo, pilot of the Giant Robot Daitarn 3 and suave 70ish man of mystery).

Tetsuko 

Nabeshin's long-lost love, who was trapped in a jungle prison for twenty-five years, his/her face concealed by an iron mask. Tetsuko is an androgynous character who appears to be female but has a male voice and body. Therefore, there are many different ideas of what Tetsuko's gender may be but most men assume he is female and women assume he is male. Although killed by an army officer in episode 3, he/she, like Space Butler and others, returns in spirit form in episode 25 to help defeat That Man. His/her death scene in episode three is a spoof of Julia's death from Cowboy Bebop - both characters have long blond hair, die in their lover's arms, die from a bullet wound shown in the same dramatic, slow-motion fashion, and mutter inaudible words as they die. His character design is an obvious homage to Maetel of Galaxy Express 999.

Antonio 

Ostensibly a cook, Antonio is a former accomplice of Nabeshin. He is a hardened but well-mannered war veteran who comes to manage a Ski Lodge (in both adaptations) and a Hotel (in the Manga only), both of which are inadvertently destroyed when Excel and Hyatt find work, the latter accident leaves Elgala unemployed. He bears no grudge for either event, though. Antonio treats Menchi well, as she reminds him of his past experiences.

[edit] Notes and references