The anime series Excel Saga, is an adaption of the manga by Rikdo Koshi. The series was produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Shinichi Watanabe and premiered on TV Tokyo on October 10, 1999. The series ran for twenty-six episodes until its conclusion on March 30, 2000. At the publisher's request, the anime series follows a different storyline from the manga, however Rikdo was pleased with the adaptation. To balance the removal of Rikudou's original material, Watanabe added his own alter ego, Nabeshin, and expanded several elements, including increasing Pedro's and expanding on the concept of the Great Will. The twenty-sixth episode, "Going Too Far", never aired in Excel Saga's original run on TV Tokyo because it was purposefully too violent and obscene for broadcast in Japan.