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 CopiesThis 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 -
AmazonVolume 3 -
AmazonVolume 11 -
AmazonVolume 12 -
AmazonVolume 13 -
AmazonVolume 16 -
AmazonOption 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 GapsIf 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----------
Non-English TranslationsThere 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!
SpanishCreated 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 VolumesIf 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.
