Netflix Instant Queue Fridays: Excel Saga
Excel Saga may well be the dumbest thing I have ever watched. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not exactly a bad thing. I mean, there’s stuff that’s “dumb” in the way that it actually makes you feel like you’re losing brain cells just from sitting in front of it. And then there’s the “dumb” that just makes you sit there slack-jawed through the entire thing, wondering just what the Hell you watched after it’s over. Excel Saga easily finds itself sitting in the latter group. I have never seen anything that elicits so many “What?”s, or “Why?”s from me in any given episode. It is truly, truly dumb. And maybe more than a bit mad.
The premise is genius: Make an anime series that parodies every worn out, pile of shit stereotype in Japanese animation. From the nonstop schoolgirl dramas, sci fi nonsense, tired sports dramas, and even terrible American animation. Nothing is sacred to Excel Saga, and it goes out of it’s way to make you understand that. If even to a fault. Excel Saga does not ever stop. Ever. It is a nine year-old kid hopped on on a pound of pure sugar for pretty much it’s entire run time for every single episode. It’s just..it’s pure madness:
Each episode plays out with the two main characters (Excel and Hyatt) being briefed by some evil overlord intent on taking over the world, and the means that Excel and Hyatt will have to go through to accomplish that. Honestly, none of this matters, as it is just a front for setting up each episode’s batshit insane plots. I wish I could sit here and describe everything that goes on in an individual episode, but I’m afraid I would be unable to not stop gritting my teeth together for upwards of a week if I tried. This isn’t even mentioning the several sub plots that run throughout the series, including an ongoing thing about eating their pet dog (This gets an entire episode at one point), and a super weird thing involving a Mexican guy named Pedro that was killed and is forever tormented by his still alive wife and child. I’m already starting to grit my teeth, so I need to stop here.
So should you watch Excel saga? Sure! I won’t judge if you just can’t handle Excel’s CONSTANT nonsense, or just the absolute insanity of it all. But underneath all that, there is an excellent parody of just about everything anime has ever done. It’s all very slick, and there’s never an episode where some random thing didn’t cause a burst of laughter. It’s only 27 or so episodes, and each one runs fast and furious. So do yourself a favor and force yourself to sit through an episode. Any episode. It doesn’t matter. Just try it. Your jaw muscles will thank you later.
