You know an anime series is something special when the main character dies several times in the first episode, only to be brought back to life each time by a woman named the Great Will of the Macrocosm. Needless to say, that is exactly what happens in the first episode of Excel Saga (and several episodes following that as well). Of course, more happens in the series other than things like that.

The first episode opens up by showing Excel skipping along at a high school after her graduation, shouting "ACROSS" everywhere she goes. She is then run over by a car and dies, only to be resurrected by the Great Will of the Macrocosm. Several more deaths later, we see Excel at a part time job at a construction site with an immigrant worker named Pedro. Now, I won't say what happens here, but one of the funniest subplots in the entire series revolves entirely around Pedro. Other characters make their appearance in episode one like Nabeshin, a man that always just randomly pops in to every episode, speaks some bizarre, mysterious lines regarding the story, and then disappears. The series doesn't even bother to introduce him, either; you're just supposed to accept it.

Though that is essentially everything important that occurs in episode one, all of those events are woven into the most chaotic anime series ever created. It's difficult to express with words just how fast paced Excel Saga actually is, but I'll try my best anyway. Hmm... well, I'll put it this way: I actually know some people that have gotten headaches from just watching the first episode of Excel Saga. THAT is how much chaos is packed into each and every episode.

One thing that I really loved about Excel Saga was how its creators made each episode a different "genre." For instance, the second episode, labelled as a space epic, features Excel going up to outer space and inadvertently stopped a race of super-cute martians from conquering the world. The third episode mimics a B-grade action movie in which Excel becomes a prisoner of war and tries to escape from the camp, all the while befriending a mysterious person in an iron mask named "Tetchan." I could go on and on about the various genres for the episodes, but there are simply too many variations to list.

These incredibly fast-paced episodes, each with completely different genres, themes, and sometimes even vastly different art styles, help keep the show and its jokes as fresh as possible. Somehow, despite spending every episode concentrating entirely on humor (well, other than the last few, that is), the series also manages to develop a solid, coherent plot - though most of the time it's completely unbelievable. However, in the end, nothing is more important to the series than the Almighty Joke, and it goes as far as possible to ensure that the jokes are delivered, usually always going straight to the punchlines rather than having the actual jokes themselves. Most of these irreverant punchlines require a pretty hefty knowledge of japanese culture and common clichés, though, so beginners to anime probably wouldn't understand most of it. Of course, there are a lot of jokes that are huge duds, but with so many of them flying around all the time, there's an equal amount that are good, and if you understand them then you'll be rolling in the aisles.

Of course, not many anime series can really be called great unless there's a great cast of characters. Well, Excel Saga has those too. From Excel Excel (Excel is both her first and last names!) to a chronically ill woman code-named Hyatt who dies an innumerable amount of times in every episode, each character is just bursting with so much originality. Not only that, but there was also a great job done by the voice actors like Kotono Mitsuishi as Excel(also Sailor Moon), Takehito Koyasu as Ilpallazo(who has played nearly every pretty boy to date), and yes, even the director Shinichi Watanabe as the enigmatic Nabeshin.

Obviously, not every episode is great. There are several episodes in the series that are outmatched by even the two review episodes, and the last few episodes before the resolution, though done slowly and dramatic on purpose, are a huge shift from the normally hyper atmosphere. The final episode, episode 26, though a return to the usual hyperactivity following the story's conclusion, was one of the most disturbing anime episodes I've ever seen... and not in a good way, either. The episode is appropriately titled "Going Too Far" and, like it says, definitely goes way, way too far. I saw things in that episode that will haunt me until the day I die. There were also a bunch of characters that I really didn't care for in the series, and these characters appeared in almost every single episode following their introductions. There was also very little actual development between the characters after around episode five or six, which was somewhat disappointing.

However, to me, a comedy series doesn't need to have a believable story or insightful character development (otherwise I would have had to flunk Azumanga Daioh and Bottle Fairy). The only thing a comedy series needs to do is to make me laugh as hard as possible, and in that area Excel Saga passed with flying colors. Though it may not be everyone's cup of tea, Excel Saga is certainly worth checking out; it is one series that I encourage every fan of anime to at least try out.