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

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 constantly speaks aloud her innermost thoughts, often irritating Excel or Ilpalazzo. 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 exremely quickly, and in the anime, interject English words into her dialog. Pseudonyms: Excel Excel, Hanako Dosukoi, Slammin' Flower Child, Pseudonym Undercover, Sue Donym (a pun on the term pseudonym) and Teriha Shiouji (Manga)

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

Hyatt (ハイアット, Haiatto^?)

Further information: Hyatt

Excel's junior officer, with a penchant for dying and reviving in quick succession. Hyatt is first shown in the anime in suspended animation on a Puchuu space ship, who makes her way to Ilpalazzo by accident. In contrast, the manga presents her as being hired by Ilpalazzo after answering an advertisement. Little is known of her origin, although in the anime she is referred to as a princess by both the Puchuus and Space Butler, and she is somehow linked with the Puchuu overlord who invades Earth in episode eighteen. The manga suggests that she is simply Japanese and reveals that she is a firearms expert. In both the anime and the manga, she is noticeably Ilpalazzo'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 the Italian speaking of "The Palace", originally the name of a Japanese hotel)

Further information: Ilpalazzo

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. A recurring gag during the anime is 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 notwithstanding, Ilpalazzo is no ordinary human being, as testify his yellow, cat-eyes and seemingly supernatural powers exhibited in episode twenty-five. However, in both the anime and the manga, it is clear that Lord Ilpalazzo suffers from severe psychological disorders, most notably multiple personality disorder.

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

Key 

The 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^?)

Further information: That Man

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 wife and the Great Will.^[2] 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

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, with his brain given an android replica body by Shioji. There are many theories about his relationship with Watanabe due to the strange attachment he has toward he fellow roommate. Watanabe on the other hand, hates Iwata's guts.

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

Kabapu (蒲腐, Kabapu^?)

Further information: Kabapu

A large man with a very strange hairstyle and a gigantic removable moustache, 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)

Foreground, left to right: Misaki Matsuya and Ropponmatsu Units 1 and 2.

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 progesses, 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^?)

Further information: Ropponmatsu, Units 1 and 2

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 anime, the Ropponmatsus appear as two distinct robots who frequently cooperate on important tasks, but in the manga, there is only the single Ropponmatsu core switched between the two bodies. In the manga, 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). In the anime, both Ropponmatsu Units 1 and 2 are often destroyed while trying to complete their missions, but Shiouji has enough spares to keep them in action. After Unit 1&2 were replaced (1 for the second- 2 for the first time) they were equipped with a imprinting mechanism making Unit 1 fall for Hyatt and Unit 2 for Excel. After troubling them to the point of nearly killing them and Unit 2 raping Excel, they sacrificed themself to rescue the ACROSS Officers.

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^?)

Further information: Gojyou Shiouji

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 suggests he is infatuated with the long-ago memory and ideal of his younger cousin, Umi Rengaya. In the manga, his family seems to be an important factor in the plot. His 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. In contrast, his cousin, Umi, now eighteen-years old, is his laboratory intern and proves to be a significant annoyance to him.

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 aspect is that he communicates by text floating through the air, as opposed to other characters' bubbled text in the manga and actual speech in the anime. 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, it soon becomes clear he's not the sanest individual, as his obsession with Hyatt grows and he starts playing strange S&M video games when she is taken from him by Il Palazzo

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

[edit] Residents of the City

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 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 and their voices in English makes them sound like Saddam Hussein, 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.^[3]

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 fee of their confines) adult midget, and not a child.^[4]

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

[edit] Pedro and Nabeshin's comrades

Sandro 

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 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, like Space Butler and others, returns in spirit form in episode 25 to help defeat That Man. His death scene in episode three is a spoof of Julia's death from Cowboy Bebop - both characters have long blonde 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