Excel Saga, Vol. 3, Volume 3

Stories the director himself said they didn't dare put in the anime!

Q: What happens when you try to act like an anime character in real life? A: EXCEL SAGA. Two groups of neighbors in an apartment building lead secret lives. One thinks they're trying to take over the city of Fukuoka. The other thinks they're trying to defend it. Only their bosses, would-be conqueror Lord Il Palazzo and obsessed bureaucrat Dr. Kabapu, know the truth behind this increasingly dangerous private game... Too bad neither will let their underlings in on it!

There's always an election coming up, and the city of Fukuoka won't be spared either. But what petty party stooge is this so-called "candidate for mayor" who dares presume to take control of a town Lord Il Palazzo has already stamped "Property of ACROSS"? Excel and Hyatt go undercover by volunteering for the campaign, and discover that democracy Japanese-style will have you begging for hanging chads. Vol. 03 of Excel Saga stays strong on the issues like health care reform, which must be why the girls have dressed up like nurses and snuck into the local hospital--where awaits everyone's favorite butcher, I mean, lecher: I mean, Doctor Iwata, M.D. Then: Not a dream! Not an imaginary story! One night, when the whole apartment's asleep, enter a place where even Freud would fear to tread: the REM state of our characters! Refreshed, Excel Saga's neighbors get up and go to work as their secret alter egos: yes, in this issue! the good guys and bad girls (DISCLAIMER Designations "Good" and "Bad" subject to the requirements of public policy) make dim first contact in the city sewers. Will it end senselessly in a waste of human life, or just in human waste?

Rikdo Koshi's Excel Saga was the creator's first professional effort and made its debut in 1997. He is also the author of Holy Brownie, published through Shonen Gahosha, and Arahabaki, published in Shueisha's Ultra Jump. He lives in Fukuoka, Japan.