Most Popular Books by Rikdo Koshi

The inspiration for the outrageous hit anime series, the anime''s director told ANIMERICA magazine that the manga contains scenes he knew he''d never get away with! EXCEL SAGA is a charm offensive that''s guaranteed to offend. Today the city--tomorrow, the world! That''s the plan of Il Palazzo, the haughty, pretty-boy leader of ACROSS, a secret society based somewhere deep beneath the streets and sewers of Fukuoka, Japan. It''s a good thing he''s starting small, because ACROSS begins its bid for global domination with just two members--Il Palazzo and Excel, the teenaged girl smitten with him. After setting up house in a cheap apartment, Il Palazzo explains that the budget for world conquest and the budget for room and board must regrettably be kept separate. Their neighbors are a trio of regular guys, whom they hope will all overlook the irregularities of their comings and goings; not to mention the sound of screams, struggles, and gasoline explosions!

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! Last volume, ACROSS tried and failed to capture a member of the City Environmental Security Agency. This time, Dr. Kabapu tries to capture a member of ACROSS--and succeeds! Vol. 14 of EXCEL SAGA not only proudly offers further plot development--never to be taken for granted, as in lesser manga--but shamelessly panders to base reader instincts with a romantic date, a muddy catfight, and two lavish bath scenes, one of which unfortunately involves Dr. Kabapu.

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?

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! Dr. Kabapu be ILLin'', as the stunning success of Il Palazzo''s eponymous electronics firm is turning him literally sick. But even while ILL''s president--the stylish, corporate Excel--carries out her CEO''s directives, kindhearted Umi discovers another version of her: a woman in a torn prison outfit with little memory of her past. Dressing the stranger from her extensive cos-play wardrobe, Umi brings the mystery girl into the Shiouji household, only to let her fall into Aunt Miwa''s clutches. And that''s not a figure of speech!

Rated T for teen.

Rated T for teen.

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! Excel and Hyatt''s nice, normal, next door neighbors Watanabe, Iwata, and Sumiyoshi are just a bunch of regular guys--who are about to start suffering from Excel Saga''s chronic irregularity. The mysterious Dr. Kabapu and his devastating secretary Matsuya have recruited these jobless youth for the Environmental Security Administration--to be among the few (the five, actually), the proud, the protectors of Fukuoka. What are the odds that this joy will bring them in conflict with Excel and Hyatt, who just happen to work for their own, rival, scantily-staffed covert organization...dedicated to taking Fukuoka over? Exactly five to two in favor!

Rated T for teen.

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! Guess who''s back…back again…Excel''s back…tell a friend! But of course, there are still two Excels…and still two bombs rigged to blow ILL headquarters sky-high! Even though her memory of her old self has returned, Excel''s recollection of her time as "Teriha" remains unclear…yet contains clues she and Elgala will need as they target the impostor. Plus there''s no welcome back for either of them--just the same pursuit and poverty. Fortunately, if there''s one thing ACROSS agents know how to do, it''s hustle for cash--with a gig as shrine maidens that''s simply sacrilicious!

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! Kabapu has spoken of a gate...Il Palazzo has spoken of a door. And for some time now, finding this portal has been the secret job description of the City Environmental Security Administration—secret, of course, from them most of all! Now Kabapu has made the task plain, but not plain enough to keep them from being trapped in ACROSS’s base with little food, little water, and a little problem called Elgala. And Umi, too, will journey deep into the mysteries that lie beneath Fukuoka...if that’s what it takes to save her friend Teriha...

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! It''s a nonstop neurotic cabaret as Excel/Teriha is targeted for assassination and kidnapping--in that order! As Umi attempts to find her amnesiac friend safe employment in a maid café, two things are beginning to return: her memory and Dr. Kabapu''s health. But just as "Teriha"''s past is coming back to her in strange bits and pieces, the Doctor is no longer the ruthless man he once was, but a kindly old gent who''s discovered the true meaning of--and that''s all the spoilers we have time for now.

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! The final volume is here! Excel, who had seemed back to her old self, is now a stranger once more after making contact with something—or someone—beyond the forbidden portal. Will she be the captive in the end of a tragedy that happened so long ago? There is but one power that can prevail over all the mysteries of human knowledge—namely, the power of Excel''s ego. You didn''t think she''d ever forgotten about world conquest...did you? The ignorant masses will kneel at last before the spectacular conclusion of the aptly named...Excel Saga!

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! Usually Elgala knows too little...but now she knows too much! Sent out by her Lord to live as a fugitive on the streets of Fukuoka, the poor purple-haired girl is back to the kind of homeless lifestyle she used to whine about with Seniors Excel and Hyatt--but now, she''s all alone...except for, awww, a small white doggy. Somewhere on those same streets is the person Elgala insists exists...the real Excel. But Excel doesn''t know who she is--and is she becoming so much a part of the Shiouji family that contentment will trump conquest?

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! "Fukuoka 911!" Perhaps the stress of the hobo lifestyle has led Excel Saga''s characters to crack and imagine themselves cast in a badly edited retrospective on Japanese cop shows. But back in The Real World--no, not the MTV version, but the one with all the poverty, squalor, and filth--life brings surprising new fortune to Hyatt, Excel, and Elgâla, as they are mysteriously led to new digs equipped with--dig!--CABLE! Yet even that mercy packed syringe known as the remote cannot long keep them from their responsibilities, as both sides in the battle for the city and their shadow war to fight it out in the streets with lots of guns and lots of robots! Will the cynical masses respond to this awesome demonstration of power, or will they assume it''s just violent guerilla marketing for the next Power Rangers sequel?

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! Finding a ready (and willing!) audience at a small-town retail outlet, Excel preaches the word of ACROSS. She''s a smash success (as a performance artist), until Iwata and gang arrive in robotic attire. Poor Excel...does she have what it takes to right the wrongs of society--or will the elegantly military El Gala take her glory away? In a crisis of faith, Excel strikes out on her own--leaving a note behind for her beloved Il Palazzo. Meanwhile--who knew?--Sumoyoshi''s tasty little sister comes to town on a visit. Then, if there wasn''t already enough isolation and despair in the world, the whole group is transported back to High School Daze (remember, this book is rated "T" for teen!). Yes, head-master Kabapu, we like beach volleyball, especially when the gorgeous girls of ACROSS are involved...saving the world, one bikini at a time.

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! Sitting on a park bench…no, it''s not Aqualung, but Dr. Shiouji, whose view of the slides and swing sets is being blocked by a beautiful girl--tall, voluptuous, just turned eighteen…in other words, not his type. But who is the mysterious Miss Umi, and why is she trying to get the Doctor''s attention, pandering to him and the readers alike by dressing in a nurse''s outfit, a maid''s outfit, and yes, in desperation, a schoolgirl''s outfit? Meanwhile, Watanabe is lost at sea with a dead albatross named Ha-chan around his neck. Will he give into the Coleridge-like temptation?

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! Under the clear, unambiguous orders (you can never be too sure of that in Excel Saga) once more of Lord Il Palazzo, Excel sneaks into the very place that figures in her half-remembered visions: Shiouji''s lab! Knocked out and captured once inside, Excel is interrogated by Matsuya, but she''ll never talk! Never! Well, knowing her, maybe she''ll talk a little. Meanwhile, Dr. Kabapu, finally realizing that the flaw in using Iwata as an agent of justice is Iwata, decides to take direct personal control of his super-powered suit! Oh my God, this is starting to sound like an anime!

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! Is the Il Palazzo commanding ACROSS real or fake, and what does that mean, exactly? The original reunited team of Excel, Hyatt and Elgala stand before the throne of their lord—only for Excel to perform a blasphemous gesture of disloyalty, and for Il Palazzo to issue the most shocking order Excel could ever imagine! As Shiouji comes to realize the truth about both his father and his mother, Matsuya is ready to make a decision that will open the forbidden door at last. Warning: you have been misled!

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! Hard cash is the theme of the day, as the women of ACROSS discover the promise of domestic peace to be a gold brick--literally. Nor do public-spirited paupers like Watanabe receive all that many of your tax dollars, which could seal the tomb on his nearly-necrophilic affection for Hyatt. It seems that for someone so closely beckoned by the spirit world, Hyatt can be a remarkably material girl--that must be why she and Watanabe are on a romantic date down to the local ATM. Will their cold, still love hang upon his balance?

Excel and Hyatt, have now been joined by Elgala. The members of ACROSS have had enough trouble with having money and food without adding a third person. How will they survive when their apartment burns down?

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! In Fukuoka, first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women--unless you''re Il Palazzo, in which case you get the women first and proceed from there. As the struggle for the city takes its most blatant form yet, with a mayoral race between the long-haired chairman of ILL and the long-mustached head of the Department of Environmental Security. It falls to Elgala, of all people, to comprehend that something is terribly, terribly wrong with Excel. But sit back and relax--because there''s something terribly wrong for everyone in this volume of Excel Saga!

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! Signs and wonders mark the escalation of the battle for Fukuoka! But can even giant visions in the sky awaken the jaded citizens to the struggle--or Dr. Kabapu''s revelations convince his own staff that he''s not more of a loony than they thought? And will the final sign be the appearance of the most feared individual in all of EXCEL SAGA, the University of Illinois'' own Dr. Miwa Rengaya, the Courtney Love of science...and Shiouji''s mother?

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! It''s oo-er in the sewer as Excel and Elgala make their stealthy, stinky way beneath Fukuoka, determined to return to base at last! But when Excel fulfills her dream of reaching out to touch her Lord, it seems he''s not quite there... but unfortunately, a certain sprightly robot is! And speaking of mechanical menaces, why should Iwata be allowed to create chaos in just one body, when there''s so much more he could inflict with three? Sent by Shiouji to infiltrate the underground sanctum, there''s only one thing now that can prevent the professor from learning all of ACROSS''s secrets--the fact Iwata is extremely dumb.

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! They were always hassling Number Six about why he resigned, but when your boss is Dr. Kabapu, there should be no mystery that the younger and still human members of the City Environmental Security Administration have just given notice. But their mass walkout from the office is about to collide with the massive presence(s) coming in, known as Miwa Rengaya. Will this noted motivational speaker help Kabapu''s employees face what could be the greatest challenge of their careers--namely, actually doing their supposed job...to face down ACROSS in mortal combat?

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! Excel cannot long survive in the artificial body of Isshiki; the tragedy is that she has no incentive to leave it, as she’s finally the faultless servant of Lord Il Palazzo she’s dreamed of being. By contrast, Iwata seems to have made a recovery under Matsuya’s care—but in coming back to his old self, he tells her secrets beyond what a lover would. And Miwa makes her next move by revealing a few things her son has kept to himself. They say a little knowledge is dangerous—and if it’s in the hands of Umi...?

Seeking global domination, would-be dictator Il Palazzo forms a secret society based deep beneath the streets of Fukuoka, Japan called ACROSS, and his first member is Excel, a teenaged girl smitten with him.