The End of Excel Saga (in Japan)

[Sean Gaffney]

And we now have confirmation that it will be September's YKO which has the final chapter.  (The source being August's YKO.)

[Foggle]

And we now have confirmation that it will be September's YKO which has the final chapter.  (The source being August's YKO.)

[Foggle]

Final volume is planned for an October release.

Source: http://www.rikudoukan.com/info.htm

[Randamo]

I was hoping for a cover with a little more bang.

It's kinda boring.

[SWamP]

I was hoping for a cover with a little more bang.

It's kinda boring.

That cover is volume 26's... not final volume.

[Randamo]

 

The statement still stands. The Echo Zeon cover looks cooler to me.

[YouXiu]

Hi everyone I am new here... To be frank the news of the end of the manga is the reason I am here. I have been reading this manga for years, watched the anime over and over for many times, Excel Saga has accompanied me through out many bitter and sweet times. Now with the new of the manga is about to end, I am really sad.

There are many reasons for mangas to end...One is because the story ends naturally, another is because of unpopularity or other complexities so the author just wraps up the story quickly. Mangas ending due to the second reason can be easily identified from the plot. I really hope the author is not ending excel saga because he is starting to draw the new manga. And I really hope there can be an Excel Saga 2.

I even have the urge to write to Rikido to show my support for Excel Saga...but I can't write Japanese. What do you think?

[Lord Il]

^Welcome to the Excel Saga Forum, YouXiu. Happy to have you join us! ^^

I'm sure there are many of us who feel as you do when a favorite series ends such as Excel Saga. I've been an avid fan of ES for close to 10 years - from the anime to the manga. It seems too surreal to me for the manga to finally wrap up. But.. all good things must come to an end at some point. I just wish for the characters to not be shelved forever.


We've had someone from here write to Shinichi Watanabe (aka: Nabashin) and got back a great and fun reply from him. Rikdou has also been emailed, but unfortunately I don't think a reponse ever happened. This is not to say it isn't a good idea, though! It would be great to write him, but it might be better to enlist the help of someone who is fluent in Japanese. Online translation services (Babelfish) are still not very reliable and not recommended.

[YouXiu]

Thank you Lord Il, this is a great forum! May I ask what was the mail to Nabeshin about? Is it also about the end of the manga?

Nabeshin is a very talented director but I think he has nothing to do with the manga, if we want to ask about the manga... I sometimes even suspect if Rikudo is really in good terms with Nabeshin. The anime emphasize on comedy but the manga has more depth. In the manga, the jokes and satires are hidden behind the surface of the plot and the readers often need to think about what message Rikudo is trying to deliver. Nabeshin kinda made a slapstick comedy show out of Excel Saga, in other words, Nabeshin changed Rikudo's work entirely (I am not saying the anime is not good though, it is brilliant, but in a way different from what the author intended Excel Saga to be).

[Lord Il]

May I ask what was the mail to Nabeshin about? Is it also about the end of the manga?

I believe it was Turbam!!! who saw him at an anime convention a few years ago and felt inspired to write him about his general thoughts on Excel Saga. And no, it wasn't specifically about the manga, but more about whether or not an Excel Saga anime remake (moreso based on the manga) could be a possibility. Sadly, I think the thread which contained the posted email was eaten by wolves - I can't find it.

Nabeshin is a very talented director but I think he has nothing to do with the manga, if we want to ask about the manga... I sometimes even suspect if Rikudo is really in good terms with Nabeshin. The anime emphasize on comedy but the manga has more depth. In the manga, the jokes and satires are hidden behind the surface of the plot and the readers often need to think about what message Rikudo is trying to deliver. Nabeshin kinda made a slapstick comedy show out of Excel Saga, in other words, Nabeshin changed Rikudo's work entirely (I am not saying the anime is not good though, it is brilliant, but in a way different from what the author intended Excel Saga to be).

I agree completely with everything you've outlined here. 
As I've always said, the anime of Excel Saga was pretty much Nabeshin's baby. It's the added depth which only the manga can provide is what makes Excel Saga truly shine as a series.

[Foggle]

Welcome to the forum, YouXiu!

Something important to remember is that the anime was made around the time volume 5 of the manga came out. It wasn't really until the 8th or 9th book that it started going deeper with the plot, character development, and overall message.

While the anime certainly features a different style of comedy, I feel as if Nabeshin simply made the humor of the first volumes more palatable for general anime-viewing audiences. I do not mean to speak ill of Asian culture or taste, but it is quite rare to see the kind of subtlety and wit present in Rikdo's Excel Saga in an eastern comedic work, and I do not believe the anime would have proven successful had it stuck to the style of the original manga. Its cleverness is both its greatest strength and its downfall, unfortunately.

[Randamo]

Fresh meat mwahuhahahaahaha!*cough*cough*

 

ahem. Welcome to the forum newcomer.


About your views on the anime, I don't really think Rikdo disliked Nabeshin particularly. Rikdo asked for the anime to take a different route from the manga. The only thing I heard was that Rikdo was disturbed when he heard Excel's voice. He said that he really didn't have an idea of what her voice should sound like.

But this is mostly hearsay as we don't hear much about Rikdo's viewpoints. He's never been at a con (I think), so most of what we know is based on what he says in the manga.

[Foggle]

But this is mostly hearsay as we don't hear much about Rikdo's viewpoints. He's never been at a con (I think), so most of what we know is based on what he says in the manga.

He was at a couple around the time the anime was first released overseas... which means that few outside Japan had actually read the manga, and no one really asked him about the differences.

[YouXiu]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome!  The difference between the anime and the manga is not my concern lol. Both are great. It is the end of the manga that bugs me. No more Excel action! That is very bad!

[Kharaxel]

I am only worried that we'll never get a proper explanation of...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

What the fuck was Tenmangu's evil plot?

Other than that, yeah... it's kinda sad it ends. But I prefer for it to end, rather than it becoming something like Naruto. : /