Excel Saga, Volume 24

Stories the director himself said they didn't dare

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...?

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen plus audiences.