Excel Saga (anime)/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


A list of characters from Rikdo Koshi's comedy/gag series Excel Saga. This page covers both the anime and manga versions, with characters and tropes noted accordingly.

ACROSS

Tropes shared by all ACROSS members:

  • Theme Naming: They're all (except for Menchi) named after hotel chains.

Excel

Voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi (JP); Jessica Calvello (EN, episodes 1-13), Larissa Wolcott (EN, episodes 14-26)

The title character, whose single-minded devotion to the ideals of ACROSS and Il Palazzo drive the plot.

Excel is in love with Il Palazzo to an obssesive degree, and gladly carries out any assignments he gives her. Unfortunately for Il Palazzo, Excel's love does not supercede her stupidity or hyperactivity. Excel will fail at any mission given to her, usually doing a lot of collateral damage. Same goes for all part time jobs Excel is hired for. Any success Excel has will be accidental.

Acts as The Leader to the rest of the ACROSS minions, despite being the least level-headed in the group, due to sheer enthusiasm.

While the anime implies Excel joined ACROSS after completing high school, in the manga Excel has an important past she is not aware of. A few characters that Excel has not met know her, and ACROSS and Kabapu's technology reacts unusually around her. Excel herself never divulges anything about her past.

Tropes exhibited by Excel include:
  • Adaptation Dye Job: Blonde in the manga, orange hair in the anime.
  • Afraid of Needles: The only clue to Excel's life before ACROSS is that she is unnerved by needles and does not know why.
  • Anti-Hero: Type I in the anime, Type V in the manga. In the anime Excel goes out her of her way to help people several times, while in the manga the only thing keeping her from being a villain is that she does not deliberately try to hurt anyone.
  • Anti-Villain: Type IV. She's barely a hero, but barely a villain either.
  • Ax Crazy: If given the opportunity for violence on missions.
  • The Chew Toy: Excel's suffering at the hands of her boss is almost always Played for Laughs.
  • Cute Little Fangs: Subverted; Excel is highly dangerous, but mostly to herself. And she only has one.
  • Dumb Blonde: Excel is blond in the manga, though she's not "ditzy" dumb as much as she is "dangerously unhinged" dumb.
  • Fiery Redhead: In the anime, where her hair's more orange than blonde.
  • Genki Girl: Excel takes "Genki" to previously unseen heights. Even modern Genki Girls are tame compared to her.

Il Palazzo: "Ahh, Excel. Wastefully cheerful as always, I see."

Hyatt

Voiced by Omi Minami (JP), Monica Rial (EN)

The second member to join ACROSS.

Hyatt has a tendency to die a lot, only to revive a few minutes later. In the anime she revives on her own, in the manga Excel has to work a bit to wake her up, though it is unknown if such work is necessary.

While she also believes in the glory of ACROSS, Hyatt does not follow it with the same zeal as Excel, letting Excel formulate plans which she will happily go along with. Hyatt is a lot more polite to others, in contrast to Excel.

Their neighbor Watanabe is in love with Hyatt, but only knows her as "Ms. Ayasugi". Hyatt is unaware of his infatuation.

Hyatt's backstory differs between the anime and the manga. In the manga Hyatt just walked into ACROSS and signed up; in the anime Hyatt is a moon princess with an unexplained connection to Nabeshin and Dr. Kabapu, that was captured by the Puchus but inadvertently escapes when Excel destroys their spaceship.

Tropes exhibited by Hyatt include:

Elgala

The third member of ACROSS, only seen in the manga. Elgala was hired in volume 8 and proved to be just as bad at her job as her seniors. While she is just as devoted to Il Palazzo as Excel and Hyatt, Elgala at least questions how Excel leads their missions, but is usually forced to go along with them. Elgala is very vain and materialistic, which constanlty puts her at odds with Excel's extreme penny pinching.

Loses favor with Il Palazzo after figuring out that the Excel running ILL Electronics is a robot duplicate, which Il Palazzo already knew, and is forced to live in a shack under a bridge.

Tropes exhibited by Elgala include:

Il Palazzo

Voiced by Takehito Koyasu (JP), Jason Douglas (EN)

The glorious and charismatic leader of ACROSS. Il Palazzo dreams of total global conquest, but has first set his sights on taking over Fukuoka, Japan, and building from there. Usually Il Palazzo gives out missions to Excel and Hyatt while he sits in his throne room pursuing other hobbies.

Il Palazzo shows some concern for Hyatt (though not enough to not send her out on mission), and indifference to Elgala. With Excel Il Palazzo is mildly annoyed to hostile, depending on how fed up he is with her failures.

In the manga Il Palazzo steps up ACROSS' plans for conquest by starting ILL Electronics and flooding the market with cheap but effective electronic devices, gaining him a lot of positive public opinion.

Has some connection with Dr. Kabapu that is hinted at the anime but explained in the manga.

Tropes exhibited by Il Palazzo include:

Menchi/Mince

Voiced by Satomi Koorogi (JP), Hilary Haag (EN)

Excel's emergency food supply. Menchi (or Mince in the manga) is a dog of some breed that was picked by Excel while was she was looking for something to eat. Excel relented, and now keeps Menchi around as a backup. Menchi spends most of the time either trying to escape from their apartment or being frightened by Excel and Hyatt, though she gets along a bit better with Elgala.

Tropes exhibited by Menchi include:

Neighbors

Tooru Watanabe

Voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu (JP), Jay Hickman (EN)

The first neighbor introduced and the only one who actually lives next door to Excel and Hyatt.

Watanabe is characterized by three things: his desire to live a normal, financially stable life among the increasing chaos that surrounds him, his infatuation with his neighbor Ms. Ayasugi (Hyatt, but he does not know her real name), and his dislike of his friends Iwata and Sumiyoshi. He went to work for Kabapu in the hopes of getting a civil servant job, not realizing that it would put him in direct opposition of the group Hyatt for.

Suffers a Freak-Out in the manga when after getting amnesia and living with Watanabe for a while, Hyatt leaves Watanabe when Il Palazzo restores her memory. Watanabe's normal complaining personality disappears, but he starts spending all his free time playing S&M video games and acting really creepy.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: At least Matsuya seems to believe that Dr. Kabapu did something unconventional to lift him from his depression, and that his creepy attitude is because of this. Kabapu refuses to either admit or deny the accusation.
  • Break the Cutie: Hyatt's Comedic Sociopathy combined with his friends antics slowly turn Watanabe into perverted wreck.
  • Covert Pervert: Watanabe suffers this in a huge way for Chihaya Ayasugi.
    • Then he just becomes a regular one after Il Palazzo cockblocks him in the manga.
  • The Dulcinea Effect: Immediately gets himself years into debt just because "Ms. Ayasugi" asks for help.
  • Hero Antagonist
  • Medium Awareness: Watanabe is fully aware of Sumiyoshi's Talking with Signs in the anime.
  • Only Sane Man: Was this in the anime for being the only one who questioned anything, not that it did him any good. Was this for a while in the manga, until he snapped when Il Palazzo took Hyatt away from him.
  • Straight Man: To Iwata and Sumiyoshi.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: Hyatt is last seen is his custody in the anime. This, combined with ACROSS' downfall, gives him a good shot of finally getting with her.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Post-freakout, though his evil actions are limited to buying S&M videogames and not being fazed at all by Kabapu.
    • He was also gleefully eager to arrange Il Palazzo's car to be rigged with an explosive.

Norikuni Iwata

Voiced by Showtaro Morikubo (JP), Mark Laskowski (EN)

Watanabe's "friend". Iwata is dumb as a brick and barrels into everything with enthusiasm and not a lot of forethought. Iwata is either oblivious or does not care that Watanabe hates him, and hangs out in his apartment regardless. He joined the Department of City Security because Watanabe did. As a member of Daitenzin Iwata is usually the first to run into a mission and mess everything up.

In the manga Iwata dies (abruptly and without warning from colon cancer) and has his mind put into an android body by Dr. Shioji. Being an android makes Iwata a lot less concerned with his safety and he often is destroyed, to Dr. Shioji's annoyance, since he is the one who has to rebuild Iwata. His robot body gives him lots of nifty gadgets like a built-in radio and night vision. He can also transer his consciousness to Ropponmatsu II, though he never does intentionally.

He will hit on any attractive lady in the area (except, oddly enough, the girls of ACROSS), but usually focuses his attention on Matsuya, whom he knew in college.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Daimaru Sumiyoshi

Watanabe's other friend and neighbor. Sumiyoshi is smart enough to not go running head first into trouble like Iwata, but not smart enough to avoid trouble altogether and quit working for Kabapu.

Sumiyoshi is from a different part of Japan, and as such speaks with an accent, which in the anime is rendered as subtitles, and in the manga is written in a different font and with an accent. His father and younger sister speak with the same accent.

Has a strange friendship with Dr. Shiouji, and is the only one that gets along with Ropponmatsu II.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • British Accents: The English manga translates his dialect as being Geordie, which is from Northern England.
  • Collector of the Strange: His apartment is filled with nothing but computers to house his collection of dating sims and other video games.
  • Gonk: The one time that Sumiyoshi is turned into a Bishonen in the anime, he is deeply disturbed by it and wants to transform back into Gonk form.
  • Hero Antagonist
  • The Idiot From Osaka: Though compared to Watanabe and Iwata, he's the smart one.
    • Actually, aside from his bizarre speech impediment, he's probably a subversion of the trope. He's from Osaka, but he's not really an idiot.
  • Kansai Regional Accent: Sumiyoshi speaks in subtitles in the anime. In the manga he uses the dialect of Okayama, which is much closer to where Fukuoka actually is. It may be a subtle form of Lampshade Hanging, as everyone else speaks Standard Japanese instead of the city's own dialect, Hakata-ben.
  • Only Sane Man: Was this around volume 18 of the manga, when Watanabe was suffering from his freak out and Matsuya had given up. Defers to Matsuya again once she starts trying to get everyone out of trouble.
  • Talking with Signs: anime version only; the manga translation by Viz Media gives him a very thick accent and a speech font different from everyone else's.
  • Ugly Guy's Cute Little Sister
  • The Voiceless: He communicates through subtitles.
    • In the manga his dialogue lacks voice bubbles, but it seems that he is speaking audibly.

Misaki Matsuya

Voiced by Yuka Imai (JP), Tiffany Grant (EN)

Arguably the most normal and reasonable person in the cast, Ms. Matsuya began to work for Kabapu around the same time as the others.

Initially she recognized the absurdity of her job, but did not complain. Instead she usually prepared for each mission assigned by Kabapu so that she either finished a mission unscathed or without having to do as much work as others.

When Il Palazzo and Kabapu's war intensified Matsuya tried to stay out of it or escape, but could not. Realizing how dangerous her life had become, Matsuya starts collaborating with Dr. Shiouji to figure out what is going on with Il Palazzo and Kabapu while doing whatever she can to make sure she and her team get involved as little as possible.

She does not appreciate Iwata constantly hitting on her, but has gotten used to it, and devotes considerable effort to coming up with ways to rebuke him.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Department of City Security

Dr. Kabapu

Voiced by Ryuzaburo Otomo (JP), Mike Kleinhenz (EN)

A shadowy government figure, Kabapu is very protective of Fukuoka, but goes about protecting it through bribes, blackmail, and assassinations. He hired Watanabe, Iwata, Sumiyoshi, and Matsuya as a problem solvers / Super Sentai group known as the Department of City Security, or Daitenzin.

He shares a history with Il Palazzo that is only hinted at, and for a long time in both the anime and the manga was only vaguely aware of his presence. When he finally realizes that Il Palazzo is the leader of ACROSS Kabapu starts using more extreme methods of eliminating ACROSS, which puts him in financial trouble.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Adaptation Dye Job: Blonde in the anime, green in the manga, though manga cover art that showed Kabapu's hair color was released so long after the anime that the anime creators did not know.
  • (Anti-?) Hero Antagonist
  • Badass Mustache: A really long one, which is actually fake in the anime but real in the manga.
  • Bad Boss: For the Civil Servants. Kabapu is not malicious towards his employees, but is unconcerned for their safety when he makes them work.
  • The Mentor: Oh, so subverted.
  • Hidden Eyes: Until it is revealed in the manga that he has Hellish Pupils. In the anime he just has regular eyes.
  • Leitmotif: Yappari Myouna Namaedato Omou
  • Not That Kind of Doctor: It is never said what kind of doctor he is, and he is never seen doing anything medical.
  • President Evil: More like Vaguely Defined Government Position Evil, but he had about as much power which is legitimized once he is elected mayor of Fukuoka.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Kabapu claims to do everything for the good of Fukuoka, but given that at the start of the series Fukuoka is suffering the same recession problems as the rest of Japan, and in the manga the city turns into a battleground that is at least half his fault, it is a weak excuse.

Ms. Momochi

Voiced by Yumiko Nakanishi (JP), Emily Carter-Essex (EN)

Kabapu's secretary. Little is known about Ms. Momochi, including her past, first name, or eye color. The only things known for certain are that she has worked for Kabapu since before the series started, and she is the one that's probably keeping Kabapu's schemes from totally backfiring.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Shiouji Household

Dr. Gojo Shiouji

Voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue (JP), Spike Spencer (EN)

A brilliant roboticist hired by Kabapu to build an android for the Department of City Security. Dr. Shiouji builds Ropponmatsu I, based on Kabapu's designs. When Ropponmatsu I fails to disarm a bomb Shiouji builds a new robot, Ropponmatsu II, based on his own preferences.

The manga goes into Dr. Shiouji's backstory more. Shiouji's father Tenmangu worked on robots with Kabapu too, before he disappeared, and a lot of Shiouji's work is based on his father's research. Shiouji wants to know what happened to his father which is why he works with Kabapu, though he is not interested in Kabapu's goal. He also collaborates with Matsuya to figure what is really going on with Il Palazzo and Kabapu.

Dr. Shiouji's laboratory is staffed by a collection of little girls, and he usually relaxes in a park and watches little girls play on the playground.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Always Second Best: To his father Tenmangu, and to his mother, below.
  • Lolicon: The series couldn't make it any more obvious with Dr. Shiouji if they tried. In fact, it comes back to bite him in the ass in episode 26 in the anime, when Cossette, a young girl he's brought to a hotel, reveals that she actually has the physical properties of a fully grown woman, in the areas where it matters to him most, resulting in him immediately leaving with her clinging to his leg.
    • The manga on the other hand goes on to explain as a child his father disappeared which caused a massive behavioral shift in his mother. She began smothering him with affection and becoming overly sexual around him. When he met his young cousin and future assistant/intern Umi, his distorted image of women was shattered and he was inspired by her purity and innocence. Now that she's eighteen in the present day, he adjusts his attention to other young girls as he seeks to recapture that same inspiring purity and innocence once again.
      • He doesn't really do anything other than watch, in the manga at least. It's pretty strongly implied that he made Ropponmatsu II to satisfy the more carnal sides of his fantasies.
  • Omnidisciplinary Scientist

Ropponmatsu I

Voiced by Satsuki Yukino (JP), Kelli Cousins (EN)

The first robot Dr. Shiouji built for Kabapu. Ropponmatsu I was built as a Do-Anything Robot, with skills like Super Strength, fighting abilities, and bomb disposal. She's very bad with the last one. Depending on the continuity, she was either rebuilt alongside Ropponmatsu II, or because they share the same power source, Ropponmatsu I can only be activated when Ropponmatsu II is deactivated.

In the manga, Il Palazzo kidnaps her and dresses her up to look like Excel. Il Palazzo sets her up as the vice president of ILL Electronics, with the rest of ACROSS unaware that she is a robot. After a fight with Daitenzin Ropponmatsu's programming gets scrambled and she becomes subservient to Excel while still dressed as Excel.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Ropponmatsu II (Nishiki)

Voiced by Satomi Koorogi (JP), Kira Vincent-Davis (EN)

Ropponmatsu I's replacement after she was blown up. Dr. Shiouji built her more to his liking, so instead of a tough full grown woman, Ropponmatsu II looks and acts like a ten year old girl. She has hyperactive personality that elicits annoyance from her co-workers particularly Iwata, though she gets along with Sumiyoshi. Ropponmatsu II can either work with Ropponmatsu I, or cannot because they have a single power source that they have to share, depending on the continuity.

In the manga, Dr. Shiouji builds a new Ropponmatsu II with a new power source after Il Palazzo kidnaps Ropponmatsu I and the power core and calls her Nishiki.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Umi Rengaya

Dr. Shiouji's friendly cousin and lab assistant. Umi is love with her cousin, but her almost dangerous levels of stupidity constantly lead her to destroy his lab equipment, earning his ire. The fact that she is fully grown and busty does not help her.

Umi took in Excel when she was suffering from amnesia. They quickly became best friends as Umi tried to help "Teriha" remember where she was from.

Only appears in the manga.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Cosplay Otaku Girl: Does this in part to get Shiouji's attention, and partly for fun. She tries to get Teriha into it too, but Teriha is not as interested.
  • Dojikko
  • The Igor
  • Kissing Cousins: One-sided. Umi is definitely in love with her cousin Shiouji. Shiouji thought she was attractive when they were kids, but unfortunately for her she is not only a Ditz, but is now a little too mature for his tastes.
  • Morality Pet: In that Shiouji is probably the nicest to her out of everyone he knows, even though she bothers him the most.
  • Unlucky Childhood Friend

Miwa Rengaya

Dr. Shiouji's mother, who is much more intelligent than her son. She showed up out of nowhere and moved into Shiouji's lab, then frustrated Shiouji's attempts to find out more about Kabapu and his father and started working with Kabapu. The "affection" she hoists upon her son is the reason he's a Lolicon.

Only appears in the manga.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Other Characters

Dr. Sekifumi Iwata

A parody of Dr. Black Jack. Dr. Iwata is a brilliant but irresponsible doctor whose father owns the hospital. He is kept in check by his assistant. He is Iwata's cousin, whom he hates for giving him a giant X-shaped scar across his face with a pair of scalpels when they were four.

Since Dr. Iwata works at the local hospital, he has had first hand experience with Hyatt's ability to die and resurrect.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Shiki Fukuya

Dr. Iwata's Beleaguered Assistant, who was put in charge of keeping an eye on Dr. Iwata by the hospital's administrator. Usually has to restrain or bludgeon Dr. Iwata so he will not do anything criminal or lecherous.

Like Dr. Iwata, Fukuya has seen Hyatt's ability to die and revive.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Anime-Exclusive Characters

The Great Will of the Macrocosm

Voiced by Yuko Mizutani (JP), Kelly Manison (EN)

The Reset Button given form. At first she was simply a gag, a way to bring characters who were killed back to life. Then she got embroiled in the C-Plot when she slept with Pedro, earning him the ire of "That Man". She is actually the other half of Pedro's Sexy Wife, and is kidnapped by "That Man" as part of his global domination plan.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Pedro

Voiced by Takashi Nagasako (JP), Rob Mungle (EN)

An immigrant worker who worked with Excel on a construction job. His story is the C-plot of the show. He was killed in a fire (caused by Excel) and spends most of the series as a ghost trying to get back to his Sexy Wife and his son Sandora.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Pedro's Sexy Wife

Voiced by Yuko Mizutani (JP), Kelly Manison (EN)

A Housewife. She sits around all day while her husband works overseas. She quickly moved on when she found out Pedro had died and married Gomez, who mistreats her and spends all her money. She is actually the other half of The Great Will of the Macrocosm.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Nabeshin

Voiced by Shinichi Watanabe (JP), Brett Weaver (EN)

The Badass director of the Excel Saga anime and alter ego of Shinichi Watanabe. He is usually seen doing some cool spy thing in the background, hanging out with the show writers, or arguing with Koshi Rikdo over the direction of the series.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

"That Man"

Voiced by ? (JP), Mike MacRae (EN)

A Yakuza thug who gets angry with Pedro after he sleeps with The Great Will of the Macrocosm and throws him into the ocean. Is actually the real leader of ACROSS and Il Palazzo's boss. He kidnaps The Great Will and uses the destruction of F City as part of a plan to take over the planet.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

The Puchus

The Puchus are an alien race of unknown origin, and are rarely seen in the daylight. They resemble plush toys, and look huggably cute... at first glance.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
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