Lord Ilpalazzo, head of the secret organisation "Across", wants to rid the world of corruption, starting with just one city ("Conquering one city is a reasonable plan that allows some leeway for setbacks."). Trouble is, "Across" consists in its entirety of himself and Agent Excel, an airheaded blonde who never stops talking. (The situation doesn't improve noticeably when Excel gains a sidekick in the second episode; Agent Hyatt is quite a bit smarter than Excel but has an unfortunate tendency to keep dying for no readily apparent reason.)
The show relentlessly parodies various films, games, dramas, and other works of anime, including but by no means limited to Sailor Moon, Dragonball, Superman, Doraemon, Fist of the North Star, Biohazard, Mickey Mouse, Lupin III, and Star Wars. The writer of the comic, Rikdo, is killed in the first episode by Excel, with a big Chinese sword.
The Japanese voice actor of Excel, Kotono Mitsuishi, is same as Misato in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Tsukino Usagi, the central character of Sailor Moon.
Excel Saga comics are originally based on the doujinshi comic Municipal Forces Daitenjin, also written by Koshi Rikdo.
Characters
;Excel Excel: Naturally high.
;Hyatt: Dies all the time but revives quite soon. She looks a lot like Mutsumi Otohime from Love Hina.
;Ilpalazzo: Typical evildoer, Excel and Hyatt's boss.
;Nabeshin: A strange guy with an afro, who dresses like Lupin III. The name comes from Watanabe Shinichi, the voice actor's name in Japanese order. (It is the same Shinichi Watanabe who is also the director.)
;Pedro: The unluckiest man on Earth.
;Daiuchuu no Ooinaru Ishi: The Great Will of the Macrocosm. Appearing in the form of galaxy with arms, she acts kind of a rewind button to revive Excel when she dies (she dies a lot in Episode 1). She falls in love with Pedro.
;Menchi: Excel's pet dog and emergency food supply.
;Tooru Watanabe: Excel and Hyatt's neighbor, he lives in an apartment with Iwata and Sumiyoshi, but he's fed up with them, all the time. He falls in love with Hyatt.
;Norikuni Iwata: A really stupid guy.
;Oomaru (or Daimaru) Sumiyoshi: A fat guy who speaks the Kansai dialect, but only in subtitles.