Ask John: What’s the Story on Nabeshin?

Question:
Is Nabeshin’s character in Excel Saga parody-ing Spike from Cowboy Bebop or Lupin (both of which he seems to resemble both physically and characteristically and with the situations he’s in) or neither?

Answer:
Excel Saga’s Nabeshin is actually a parody of Excel Saga director Shinichi Watanabe, whose nickname is “Nabeshin” (“Wata-nabeShin-ichi”), and who actually does, in real life, look and dress just like his anime rendition. The parody is solidified in the Excel Saga OAV series Puni Puni Poemi, in which Nabeshin is actually clearly identified as the anime director. You can see that Watanabe plays up his distinctive looks on his Japanese homepage, even going so far as to create cute little SD models of himself.

In Japan, where everyone naturally has a similar skin color, height, weight, and black hair with black eyes, it’s very common for liberal minded Japanese, especially teenagers, to dye their hair blonde or red, wear unusual hair styles, and wear non-conformist clothes in order to stand out from the crowd and make a statement of personal individuality.

Thanks to Andy Lee for his assistance in composing this article.