Il Palazzo
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Il Palazzo (イルパラッツォ Iruparattso?) is the codename of a fictional character in the Excel Saga anime, and the manga upon which it is based. Italian for "the Palace," "Il Palazzo" is the name of a large hotel in Tokyo, as noted by Excel in the preview for the anime's episode seven. The name is transliterated as Ilpalazzo in ADV's DVD subtitles.
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[edit] Personality
Although his roles in the anime and manga are much the same - serving as the suave, calculating leader who sends Excel and her co-workers on missions - Il Palazzo is portrayed quite differently in the two versions. In the anime, he is prone to losing his temper and adopting hobbies incongruous to his character, whereas he is an impenetrable, unflappable character in the manga, perpetually shrouded in mystery. Nevertheless, in both settings, Il Palazzo makes no secret of his self-importance, sitting upon a throne and wearing ornate armour and a cloak and often causes Excel to drop down the pit for even trivial faults.
[edit] Appearence and Other traits
Il Palazzo is a tall man with long white hair and glasses. He bears a number of similarities in appearance and manner to Magic Knight Rayearth's antagonist, Zagato. His crown and clothing closely resemble Zagato's, as well as his lair and mysterious demeanor. In the anime he is voiced by Takehito Koyasu in Japanese, and by Jason Douglas in English.
[edit] History
Lord Il Palazzo, as he is formally known by his underlings, is the leader of ACROSS - the Organization for the Promotion of the Institutionalization of the [Supreme Ideological] Ideal [on Earth] - a secret ideological organisation dedicated to world conquest. Il Palazzo believes that the world has become corrupt, and seeks to conquer it to save the ignorant masses from themselves. In this task, he has the dubious assistance of Excel and Hyatt.
Il Palazzo is a long-time rival of Kabapu, with whom he eventually comes to blows during the attempted conquest of F City, F Prefecture (the pseudonym given in the anime to Fukuoka, Fukuoka). Before this, however, Kabapu forms the Department of City Security. The source of their quarrel is unspecified, but (presumably) relates to differences in how they view the nature of the world: In volume twelve of the manga, upon hearing ACROSS' slogan - "The world is corrupt!" - Kabapu reacts hastily and decisively, saying the world is "confused, not corrupt." From the thirteenth volume of the manga, it is possible to infer that Il Palazzo was a member of the ancient city of Solaria, as Kabapu claims to be, since in the manga they both possess golden, cat-like eyes. Beyond this speculation, nothing is known of his past.
In volume 15, only out in Japan currently, Kabapu and Ilpalazzo meet at the end of the volume at a company called ILL Electronics, who, as far as it appears, is headed by Ilpalazzo. In volume 15 Ilpalazzo rescues Hyatt from a love hotel and Excel and Elgala from a mad priest. In doing so he demonstrates his abilities to warp, fly and teleport. Ilpalazzo also has the power to produce one sided fake 10,000 Yen notes which he does to pay a bill when he and Hyatt hide in a Ramen bar from Kabapus secret service. It seems currently that he is quite a wealthy man in a powerful post of authority as Kabapu seems quite threatened by him.
As far as can be discerned from the manga, Il Palazzo and his troops comprise the entirety of ACROSS, and this is how things appear in most of the anime. However, in episode two Il Palazzo calls Hyatt "reinforcements from headquarters," but the matter is dropped until episode twenty-one, when Key delivers headquarters' orders to Il Palazzo. In episode twenty-four, Il Palazzo's telephone conversation with him reveals That Man to be his superior, and That Man soon mentions being part of a body called the ACROSS Six. From this one can infer that Il Palazzo is the head of the Fukuoka or Japan division of ACROSS.
[edit] Mental Disorder
Spurred by Key's disdainful delivery of headquarters' disdainful message to speed up the takeover of the city, Il Palazzo seizes the first opportunity - inadvertently provided by Excel - to conquer Fukuoka. However, when the conquest succeeds, it becomes apparent that Il Palazzo suffers from a severe mental disorder, which he displays characteristics similar to someone with schizophrenia, with his alter ego or some other maliciuos presence embodied in his shadow, urges him on to conquer more. He eventually shows that he has become a slave to conquest and this "alter ego". This illness is apparently resolved after his confrontation with Excel in episode twenty-five, when Excel realizes the evil influence and defeats it. There is no real foreshadowing of Il Palazzao's condition throughout the show, with the concept materializing only in the final episode - one might theorize, however, that the personality quirks he is given for the purposes of humor may hint at a mental instablity, including his wanton disregard of life in general and Excel's in particular; the foolish errands he tasks Excel and Hyatt - even seeking out his "large-breasted" schoolmate, who didn't exist; his inane hobbies (including dating-simulations, dominos, and playing the guitar), and his desire to be a visual rock star. Finally, it is apparent that something within him snaps after hearing Key's message.
The manga's treatment of his illness is quite different, in that it hints towards Il Palazzo's condition in its second volume, when he starts to hear voices when he is alone. Even as early as volume one, chapter one, he experiences blackouts, forgetting previously given orders, promotions, and briefings, inter alia. His absentmindedness proves marginally problematic even in his hiring of Hyatt in vol.1, ch.3. In later chapters of the manga, these blackouts, inconsistencies and voices seem to manifest themselves in a second personality, replete with an entirely renovated throne room. Unlike the anime's despotic and sadistic second personality, the manga's seems to be much like Il Palazzo as we know him, but only in his military-style uniform that he wears underneath armor. Furthermore, this personality appears to be more confident, giving the agents of ACROSS clear and direct orders, such as revealing ACROSS's intention of conquest to the public. Il Palazzo continues to switch back and forth, at least between costumes, as the story progresses. In later volumes, he even appears in public, replete with suit and tie.
[edit] Powers
In episodes twenty-four and -five, Il Palazzo battles Kabapu's Daitenzin, and displays an assortment of powers, including super-human strength (he squeezes off the heads of the two Ropponmatsu One and Two with his hands), enhanced reflexes (he grabs a missile out of the air), and what is either force-projection or telekinesis (he hurls characters around with waves of his hands). Il Palazzo had not displayed these powers previously, nor has he done so in the manga, so it is unclear if they are natural to his body, or his armour is inducing them in some way. Il Palazzo displays no unusual physical characteristics, save his eyes: yellow, and slitted, like a cat's, a trait shared between the anime and manga.
[edit] Quotations
- "Secrecy is the art of hiding unbeknownst information from people." Vol. 1, Ch. 1.
- "Refrain from self-indulgent reflection within headquarters." Vol. 3, Ch. 2.
| Excel Saga |
|---|
| Major Characters: Excel | Hyatt | Ilpalazzo | Kabapu | Nabeshin | Shiouji | That Man |
| Information: Characters | Media |
| Related: Municipal Force Daitenzin | Puni Puni Poemy | Rikdo Koshi |
