By Rikdo Koshi. Released in Japan by Shonen Gahosha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young King OURS. Released in North America by Viz.

After 2 volumes that could cost you a bundle if you never got them when they came out, here’s Vol. 9, a return to sensible prices. This one’s still in print, and thus on Amazon for only $9.95. And it’s just as packed with plot as Volume 8 was. Rikdo has now finished introducing his cast (with 2 big exceptions), and can get on with proving that Excel Saga is more than just a series of part-time jobs and Hail Il Palazzos.

We start off with one of those AU chapters that puts the characters in another venue, this one being a parody of Japanese detective shows. Unfortunately, much of the humor actually relies on knowing those shows, so it’s not quite as funny as it could be for North American audiences. I did recognize Sukeban Deka and the Matrix in the mix there. Best out of context line: “I bet he’ll kill *again*!”

Back in the real plot, Excel and company have now arrived at their new apartment. Since this one was given to them by Kabapu’s organization (you may recall the old one burning down in 8 due to Iwata/Ropponmatsu being an idiot), it’s bigger than the old apartment, and furnished. To Elgala, this is simply normal, and she cheerily goes off to watch TV and take a hot soaking bath. To Excel, used to living in utter penury, this luxury is hideously untrustworthy, and she quickly puts Elgala in her place.

The most interesting part of the chapter comes after Excel, due to penury putting holes in her pockets, accidentally loses the keys to the apartment. Luckily, they were spotted almost immediately… by Ropponmatsu II, who manages to return them while looking utterly creepy doing so. Incidentally, this is one of the few times Carl Horn will need to correct a translation. Volume 9 has Ropponmatsu, on handing the keys back to Excel (whom she clearly recognizes in some way), “Be careful with those.” In Volume 17, though, there’s a flashback to this exact scene, and owing to future plot points (which I shall not reveal here), Ropponmatsu now says “Don’t lose it.” This is why translation can be hard – one cannot read the mangaka’s mind.

Meanwhile, Elgala goes off on another super sekrit mission on her own (we briefly see her skulking around Kabapu’s building), so we’re back to just Excel and Hyatt. And actually, it’s just Excel, as Hyatt collapses in a pool of blood in front of Lord Il Palazzo. She’s done this before, but for once he actually seems to notice (again, we note Il Palazzo does not always seem to have the same set of memories from one day to the next) and takes Hyatt to the medical bay. This leaves Excel on her own, just like the start of the series… except she, like the reader, is now used to actual interaction. But too stubborn to admit she’s lonely.

This leads to the most intriguing part of the manga, as we see Il Palazzo examining Hyatt, who is floating naked in a tank of fluid, in the time-honored sci-fi way. Il Palazzo notes that she had something implanted in her, and it’s clearly failing. This would certainly explain the constant coughing up blood and dying. Yet he notes that not only was the implant from the finest genetic materials, but it’s implied that he implanted the same thing into Excel… who is clearly *not* coughing up blood and dying. In fact, if anything Excel’s strength and endurance verge on superhuman. What made it work with Excel and not with Hyatt? Well, we don’t find that out yet. Il Palazzo ‘fixes’ Hyatt, and we’re back to normal. (Mostly as by the very next page she’s back to coughing up blood and collapsing…)

There then follow two filler-ey chapters, both amusing. One deals with the rest of Kabapu’s team wondering what kind of robot Iwata will be like when he returns. Super-strength? A brain in a jar? A 300-foot Mecha? The other involves Menchi, who got bonked on the head and lost her memory a while back, having it suddenly return and realize oh yeah, she’s trapped in an apartment with people who want to eat her as food. Her escape is actually far more successful than usual (she avoids Misaki, who we know will merely return the dog to Excel), but unfortunately can’t get past a returning Elgala.

Meanwhile, Il Palazzo seems to have decided that ACROSS has done enough research, and they are now ready to reveal themselves to the world. This involves Excel and Hyatt, wearing sunglasses to hide their identities (the joke being that they actually seem to do so… even Misaki doesn’t recognize them) going out into the middle of City Hall Plaza and talking up the glories of Il Palazzo. At first the only effect this seems to have is getting a bunch of cosplay-loving otaku to watch them… but Kabapu, watching from his penthouse office, is blown away. He seems to regain some memories of his own, involving Il Palazzo (it’s now clear the two were colleagues in the past), and heads off to a secret base.

And now the big finale, as who should drop in to stop Excel and Hyatt’s plans but a sentai warrior! This is Iwata, of course, in his new cyborg body (which looks pretty much like him, for those who wondered if he would be a brain in a jar). He’s got laser guns, he’s got super strength, he’s… just as stupid, so things don’t go well. In fact, the audience is starting to see him as a villain. While this goes on, Kabapu explains to the other 3 City Security members… all now magically in sentai outfits… that their job will be to PROTECT THIS CITY!

Those who know Excel Saga’s pedigree have been waiting for this. The original doujinshi he based Excel Saga on was called Shiritsu Sentai Daitenzin, and featured Iwata & company, in somewhat proto form, battling the evil organization, i.e. Il Palazzo and Excel. The doujinshi starred the so-called Municipal Force, and was a parody of Power Rangers-esque shows beloved in Japan. And now we get to finally see them here. But not quite fully in action yet. Iwata starts blowing things up, and Excel and Hyatt run away. They did get the crowd to chant “Hail, Il Palazzo”, though. So 60 points out of 100.

I was pleased at how much I enjoyed this plot-tastic Excel Saga. It’s still amazingly silly, of course. Hopefully 10 will have more Elgala, though… this volume was sorely lacing in Elgala.

By Rikdo Koshi. Released in Japan by Shonen Gahosha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young King OURS. Released in North America by Viz.

This is the big one. This is the one that, when people talk of out of print manga, should be right up there in the top 10. According to Amazon as I type this, new copies of Excel Saga 8 are selling for $150.00. Old used copies are selling for $112.00. In a way, then, this review is even more of a “preaching to the converted” style than before, as if you don’t have this volume, chances are you aren’t getting it anytime soon.

This is a shame, as it’s one of the most important volumes of the series, introducing a new major character (well, fully introducing), and setting up a major plot point with the death of another major character.

After a nice opening chapter detailing a typical day in the life of Excel and Hyatt from Hyatt’s somewhat dazed perspective, things start to get rolling. Excel and Hyatt head off to ACROSS the next day, but Excel seems to feel as if someone is stalking her, though she can’t actually find the person. Grabbing Hyatt and running, she finally makes it to the secret base, only to find the dreaded third hire is finally there, as Il Palazzo had promised! The princess-curl maid from the prior volume, Mu-Chan, is now in full ACROSS uniform, and her code name is Elgala.

When I was younger (and still today), I was a huge fan of the 60s TV show Get Smart. About halfway through the run, they introduced a dimbulb agent known as Larabee. His job was to be stupider than Max, so that whenever there was a joke that was felt to be so stupid even Max would not take the bait, Larabee was there. Moreover, this let Max occasionally function as the straight man, sending exasperated looks Larabee’s way after yet another misunderstanding. This is to a large degree the function that Elgala serves in Excel Saga, though she’s not precisely stupid per se. But then neither is Excel. With Elgala in the cast, however, not only does Excel get to snark a lot more (snarking at Hyatt never really accomplished much), but she’s more sympathetic as she now has to put up with, well, Elgala.

Their first conversation is so typical of their interaction that I just have to quote it here. Elgala’s “thoughts” are in italics.

Excel: Oh yeah, her! Now I remember!
Hyatt: You were so sure about her being the third hire, don’t you remember, senior?
Excel: I can’t be bothered to remember the faces of the petit-bourgeois!
Elgala: I apologize for my earlier conduct! I, Elgala, regret that I stalked you!
Excel: Ah hah! It was you!
Elgala: I… I got lost and… I saw you walking in front of me, so… I decided to follow you back…
Excel: Uh huh…
Elgala: Then you began RUNNING all of a sudden! I became desperate, fearing that I, Elgala, would die if I lost you. I actually thought you were *very mean* to run away from me without asking who I was. I, Elgala, became deeply annoyed by your actions.
Excel: Why didn’t you just *tell* me who you were?
Elgala: Did you… did you just read my innermost thoughts?!
Excel: You were speaking aloud…
Elgala: I MUSTN’T SPEAK MY INNERMOST THOUGHTS ALOUD!
Excel: And again…
Elgala: If I say what I’m really thinking, she could get the wrong impression from me!
Excel: Technically, wouldn’t that be the right impression?
Elgala: I’ll be bullied! I, Elgala, will be bullied by this mean-looking senior!
Excel: Look, would it be easier for you if I just stuck cotton in my ears?

With her internal monologues externalized, her first person annoying way of speaking, and her free-spending tendencies, Elgala makes an immediate impression right out of the gate. She also gets to serve as a newbie for several ‘old’ gags made fresh, such as Hyatt’s coughing up blood and falling over dead, something Excel barely notices anymore.

The other major plot point in this volume is Iwata’s death. Technically, I suppose that’s a spoiler, but as his brain is put into a robot body almost immediately, it’s not much of one. This is set up very well by Rikdo, as at first we think it to be a gag chapter. Iwata’s told he has colon cancer, then it turns out the report was written by his brother, the insane doctor, and also features 97 other fatal diagnoses. Then, 5 pages later… ikt turns out the cancer was actually legitimate. (Misaki, in case you’re wondering, is mostly stoic. Iwata’s back before she can really get into a grief mode, I think.

Shiouji will be building a robot body for Iwata (against his will), but for now Iwata’s in Ropponmatsu I’s body, as Ropponmatsu II is active. This, of course, leads to Iwata fondling himself, and losing his balance and accidentally burning down his apartment building (which is, of course, also Excel and Hyatt’s). It’s not quite as top notch as simply listening to anything Excel and Elgala say (somehow Rikdo can make the line “You were almost savaged by hounds and mastiffs” hysterical), but it’s good stuff, and Iwata the robot is one of the major plot points moving forward.

Simply put, this volume of Excel Saga is a paradigm shift, expanding and altering the cast and allowing a fresh new take on ACROSS trying to take over the world. (There is also the obligatory scene of Il Palazzo, in the darkness, talking to himself and muttering about memories still lost.) It’s a must-read… except it’s very hard to get a hold of these days. Recommended anyway.

By Rikdo Koshi. Released in Japan by Shonen Gahosha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young King OURS. Released in North America by Viz.

(Quick note: This volume and the next are the hardest volumes of Excel Saga to find these days – they’re out of print, and used copies don’t come cheap. I checked prices for Vol. 7 earlier, and it’s selling for about $35. Just FYI. This is why people buy stuff when it comes out.)

This volume of Excel Saga has a bit of a transition feel to it. You sense that Rikdo knows where he wants to end up – he’s been foreshadowing a new member of ACROSS for a while now – but is not quite clear on how to get there. As a result, the end of the volume has what amounts to a false start.

But hey, at least we get the Manager introduced. The Manager is clearly meant to be a straight-up parody of Emeraldas from the Harlock series, and now that she’s arrived the Owner, who we last saw handing Excel machine guns and rambling about the war, is also free to become more like Harlock, complete with eyepatch. Still bald, though. The two chapters here don’t quite work as well as they should, possibly as he has too many things going on at once – the Manager/Owner and their Harlock parody; Excel and Hyatt being insane as always; and Excel’s trying to figure out who the third member of ACROSS that Il Palazzo sent them to fetch is. Most likely it’s the Maid with Princess Curls, but she barely acknowledges them. In the end, Menchi ends up accidentally burning everything to the ground anyway.

The best part of that chapter is seeing Il Palazzo, back at base, staring at cardboard cutouts of Excel and Hyatt, and dropping the Excel cutout into the pit. Poor Il Palazzo -so lonely!

The standout chapters in this book deal with a local glider building contest, with everyone at the beach trying to build a better aircraft. The comedy potential here is obvious, and it gets explored beautifully – from Ropponmatsu 2’s sad immediate crash, to Hyatt’s ecstatically happy face as she flaps her little fans, to Menchi sailing off into the sunset never to be seen again, and finally Excel’s desperate and powerful attempts to get the winning distance, complete with breaking the actual laws of physics. All this, plus swimsuits! (Though tasteful swimsuits – Excel Saga in the early days had little to no fanservice. This will change soon.)

The other chapters here are slight, but amusing. I liked the short 8-page special on Menchi running around town, right as the TV news comes on about an experimental dog gone missing – who looks just like Menchi. After much terror, Menchi realizes that being trapped as Emergency Food in Excel’s apartment is better than the alternative. And, in the biggest tragedy of the volume, Ropponmatsu’s power needs completely wipe out Sumiyoshi’s porn games. And another Geobreeders cameo on page 174 – plushies!

Still, this volume overall gave a sense of marking time. Luckily, it’s followed by one of the best volumes in the series, where we finally officially meet the third member of ACROSS.