Hello people that might still be alive in this forum, is the daitenzin translation available anywhere anymore? Or has it become lost media?

Sorry for the super duper late response! There is no legitimate Daitenzin translation yet as far as I know, the thing mentioned in this thread was just a shitpost rewrite made by Mincy and myself. We do hope to eventually release a *real* TL though!

Updated this thread with new purchase and streaming links for 2021.

In December 2012, the excelsagaforum.com domain was, without warning, not renewed, and immediately snatched up by squatters. After several weeks of the few people aware of the situation attempting to scare up a couple hundred bucks to get it back, some bloodsucking corporation bought it from its previous "owners," jerked the webmaster around for a month, and started charging $2000 for it. And just like that, the first online community I'd ever truly felt like I belonged to, one which helped me through some very difficult times in my life, disintegrated. Ever since, about twice a year, out of curiosity more than anything, I've been checking on the status of the domain. Last week, I discovered that said corporation had finally abandoned it after 7 years, and it was available to purchase for $18. With urging from Micki!, one of only three people I've managed to keep up with from this forum over the past few years, I bought the domain and a hosting package. It was time for the Excel Saga Forum to rise from the ashes.

In 2013, we bought the excelsagaforum.org domain and tried to merge the forum with another board I run, a hangout for some other old online friends. This was a huge mistake, but back then I didn't have enough money to afford two hosting packages (or even one without help), and with everyone else also being low on money and the community being woefully inactive, it was really our only option. But now excelsagaforum.com is back, and it's not going anywhere as long as I'm capable of breathing oxygen.

I do not expect the old community to return. It would be nice, and I would be overjoyed if any of the old members even just stopped by to say "hi" once, but 7 years (closer to 8, really) is a long time. I'm sure the ship has sailed for most if not all of them. After all, who really cares about Excel Saga in 2020? I have de-adminned/modded everyone except myself and Micki!, but if anyone else with a previous staff position returns, I will be happy to reinstate them if they want.

So why did I resurrect this relic from the old days of the internet? Even if it will likely never be active again, this community is still important to me, and I think it would be wrong to not have it online in some form. I tried my best to keep everything the same way it was back in the day. The old theme doesn't work on SMF 2.0, so I looked for one that resembled it more closely than our previous substitute. Aside from that, everything else should be the same. Your old usernames and passwords should still work. Your old posts and PMs are still there (and oh god, is the stuff I posted when I was 14 embarrassing). The only things that appear to be lost are the avatars, image attachments, and contents of the original Gallery. I wouldn't have gotten the backups without the ill-fated forum merger, so I guess something good did come out of it after all!

We've got a new Gallery up and running (with video functionality!) and a Discord server to replace the old chatroom. Looking to the future, Micki! and I are planning on turning this into an Excel Saga museum of sorts. I've made threads in the new Resources section to help people find copies of both the manga and anime, we've started a project to make the Oubliette more easily digestible, and we're planning to begin commissioning translations of things like Excel Saga SP, the original final chapter from Young King OURS, and Holy Brownie very soon.

As far as the manga goes, Excel Saga's sociopolitical satire is still relevant today; meanwhile, the anime's "xD so randumb!!1" antics now function as an appealing time capsule of the early 00's. I hope that, together, we can keep this wonderful series from being forgotten, and spread the love for it into 2020 and beyond. Now, then, and forever, Hail Il Palazzo!

One of the biggest barriers to entry for reading the Excel Saga manga is that many of the volumes are out of print and thus expensive or hard to find. The cheapest copy of Volume 26 on Amazon right now is $800! Though much cheaper now, Volume 8 was also ridiculously overpriced for many years. Worse still, the very first volume is out of print, and while definitely on the lower end in terms of secondhand pricing, it means few if any will be willing to make the investment necessary for getting into the series. This problem was solved for a few years, when Viz first launched their digital distribution platform (then called VizManga), until the entire series was subsequently yanked from the site with no warning a week or two after Volume 27 came out. My theory is that they held onto the license just long enough to get the final book out (for which they have my eternal gratitude) and then immediately dropped it. Regardless, my hypothesizing doesn't actually help anyone get a hold of the damn things, so below I will detail several methods for obtaining these books.

Option 1: Buying Physical Copies
This is a list of the ones that are still in print, using merchant links taken directly from Viz's website. These are all around $10 for new copies, and buying them will support the official release in the most convenient way possible at this point in time.

Volume 2 - Amazon
Volume 3 - Amazon
Volume 11 - Amazon
Volume 12 - Amazon
Volume 13 - Amazon
Volume 16 - Amazon

Option 2: Buying Digital Copies
"But wait," I hear you say, "I thought you couldn't buy the digital copies from Viz's distribution service anymore!" Turns out, even though they've been removed from the public storefront, you can still purchase them by "tricking" the website using Inspect Element on the page of a book that is still officially available for sale, provided you know the product code. Luckily, I was able to purchase all 27 volumes for myself before they were delisted, so I have a list of all their product codes available. I have tested this personally and can confirm that it works. Below, I will show you how to do it with a brief tutorial including screenshots. Each one will run you around $7.

Step 1 - Sign Up for or Log In to a Viz.com account. I don't believe doing this is illegal or that they'd ban you for it, as you're still paying Viz for one of their products and receiving it in return, but you might want to create a separate account specifically for Excel Saga just in case.
Step 2 - Find a manga that's available for digital sale. Here's Naruto Volume 1 as an example.
Step 3 - Make sure you're on the Digital tab, not the Paperback tab. It should look like this:
Step 4 - Open Inspect Element in your web browser. You can do this by pressing F12 in Firefox, Chrome, or Edge. I haven't tested opening it with any other browser and have only tested an actual purchase with Firefox, so if it doesn't work, either respond to this post or PM me and I'll try to help you out. Once open, you should see something like this:
Step 5 - In the Search HTML bar, type ".cart_add_manga", select the first option from the drop down menu, and go to the first result. It should lead to something like this:
Step 6 - Change all instances of the original manga's purchase code to the one for the Excel Saga volume you wish to buy. In the case of Naruto Volume 1, the code is 16, and in the case of Excel Saga Volume 1, the code is 820. See the following picture for assistance:
Notice how there are 3 "16"s in the HTML. You will need to double-click to open the text strings, then replace them with "820"s. Press Enter/Return when you have finished. Once done, it should look like this:
Step 7 - Click "Buy from Viz" as if you're adding Naruto Volume 1 to your cart. Do not close Inspect Element yet.
Step 8 - Go to your Shopping Cart. You can now close Inspect Element. You should see Excel Saga in your cart, like so:
Step 9 - Click "Check out" to buy your book(s)!
Step 10 - You should now be able to read Excel Saga from "My Library." Proof it works:

Product Codes:
Volume 1 - 820
Volume 2 - 824
Volume 3 - 842
Volume 4 - 1354
Volume 5 - 1355
Volume 6 - 1367
Volume 7 - 1368
Volume 8 - 1380
Volume 9 - 1381
Volume 10 - 1404
Volume 11 - 1405
Volume 12 - 1445
Volume 13 - 1446
Volume 14 - 1470
Volume 15 - 1471
Volume 16 - 1480
Volume 17 - 1481
Volume 18 - 1496
Volume 19 - 1497
Volume 20 - 1509
Volume 21 - 1510
Volume 22 - 1532
Volume 23 - 1552
Volume 24 - 1573
Volume 25 - 1580
Volume 26 - 2005
Volume 27 - 2530

While the above no doubt sounds like some ridiculous hackerman nonsense, it's actually rather easy. That said, I understand any trepidation one might have about using this method. Also, I realize that the above links probably only apply to people in the US. If you would like to add information on buying the manga in other territories (or in other languages), please reply to this post or PM me!

Filling In The Gaps
If you're looking for a certain volume of the manga (or something else, like one of Rikdo's doujins), feel free to post in this thread requesting help locating it, and we'll do our best to assist you. Though probably not feasible until after this coronavirus business has subsided, I would like to eventually start prowling the local used book stores/thrift shops looking for Excel Saga volumes to give away on here. Until then, there's really only one way to be able to read some of these books, and I'm not about to deprive you of it.

I have no intention of distributing copyrighted material illegally, but Rikdo, Viz, and Shonen Gahosha will never see a dime from used book sales either, so I see no harm in providing off-site links to download them. All credit for these copies goes to the original uploader, Wisperer.

English Volumes

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Non-English Translations
There have been various scanlations of Excel Saga into other languages, as well as a few incomplete official attempts. I will do my best to compile them here, with the help of our esteemed forum/discord members!

Spanish
Created by the Excel Saga Forum's very own SWamP and originally distributed at his website, this herculean project translated all 27 volumes into Spanish! While the download links no longer work, the entire thing was miraculously archived by kelzt, and now it can once again see distribution:

Spanish Volumes

If you were involved in the creation of any scanlations and would like me to remove the download links, please do not hesitate to contact me. It is not my intention to step on anyone's toes here.

And if I've gone too far, I will, of course, remove the downloads upon request from any of the IP's legal owners.

Yeah, I can't believe I've been keeping up with Excel Saga for 10 years now (and I've been lurking these forums for about 8 years?). I was just a 14 year old kid when I first started reading it, and after all this time it's still my favorite manga. All this waiting and anticipation makes the plot twists so much more special.

It's sad that there is only one volume left to wait for, but at the same time I'm also excited to finally see how this story is going to end, and I'm glad this forum exists for me to share my excitement.

I've had a very similar experience and feel the exact same way.

But I'm not ready for it to end yet! This is one of the few mangas I've ever really cared about.

Same here!

We're still searching. D:

LESS THAN A MONTH.