That Man

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the character from Excel Saga. For the Guilty Gear character, see That Man (Guilty Gear).

That Man (あの人 Ano Hito) is a fictional character in the Excel Saga animated series, originally only intended to have a brief walk-on part. This resulted in his not having a name, creating a running gag throughout the series. He speaks in the thick drawl of a yakuza thug (and in a mediterranean accent in English), but is of critical importance to the anime's principal subplot.

He may be a parody of French singer Johnny Hallyday, since beside the physical resemblance in face and hair style and the fact that he is obviously a foreigner, the background guitar music accompanying his first appearances sounds like Les Portes du Pénitencier, a famous cover of The House of the Rising Sun by Johnny Hallyday.

[edit] History

For a character intended to have no importance at all, a history is quickly built for That Man. He is one of the ACROSS Six, the governing body of the ideological organization ACROSS, distinguishable only from the other five members (This Man, That Man Over There, That Man Over Here, This Man Over There, This Man Over Here) by his purple scarf. As a member of the ACROSS Six, he is a superior of Lord Ilpalazzo.

As the events of the animated series take place, That Man is quietly staging his own plan for universal domination. In an attempt to gain control of the reality-bending power she possesses, That Man romances the Great Will of the Macrocosm, but discovers that she is only half of one being, the other half being the sexy wife of South American immigrant worker, Pedro. Donning a disguise and taking on the name "Gomez," That Man poses as a co-worker of Pedro's, and seduces Pedro's wife - a job made all the easier by Pedro's death in a fire caused by ACROSS' Agent Excel, in episode 1.

Condemned to roam the Earth as a ghost, Pedro soon learns of the affair, and winds up in the arms of the Great Will, arousing the ire of That Man, who seals him in flan pudding and tosses him into Tokyo Bay. He is then rescued by the Great Will, who forces Pedro into a confrontation with Gomez in order to take vengeance for his betrayal, and during their fight Pedro learns for himself that Gomez is none other than That Man. Nabeshin, who himself has a score to settle with That Man, arrived in the ensuing battle and awoke the Power of the Afro within Pedro and Pedro's son, Sandora, giving them the power to battle That Man. However, the Great Will and Pedro's wife merged, and That Man escaped with them. The first half of these events occur over the first fifteen or so episodes and are recapped and continued by episode twenty, "The Best of Mr. Pedro."

Soon thereafter, the wasting and conquest of Fukuoka is much to That Man's pleasure, seemingly sealing his victory. After a period of training, Nabeshin, Pedro, and Pedro's son Sandora attacked his headquarters, with Nabeshin sacrificing himself only to unwittingly destroy That Man's double. Pedro is forced to face the villain at first only with Sandora, but then the ghosts of Nabeshin, Space Butler, Jack Evans, Tetsuko, and Antonio appear to aid in defeating That Man. These events are recounted in episodes twenty-four and -five. Nabeshin subsequently destroys the remaining ACROSS Five in episode twenty-six.

[edit] Powers

That Man is clearly an enhanced human, as he most notably possesses the ability to shoot destructive energy beams from his hands and right foot, and once turned his entire lower body into a thruster (although the thruster might have been attached to his suit coat). He is also able to physically interact with non-corporeal beings such as the Great Will, and could both visually and physically perceive Pedro's ghost when no one else was able.

His role in ACROSS is unclear, although it is apparent he is one of the six supreme leaders of the organization. It is also possible that he was the head of the ACROSS Six, perhaps something of or beyond a chairman or primus inter pares. Such speculation rests on 1) the seeming ease with which Nabeshin dispatched the remaining ACROSS Five set against the difficulty with which That Man alone was defeated; and 2) That Man's ability to outwit the others of the Six and almost become God of the Macrocosm by means of the Great Will's power and the "devilishness" of Pedro's "sexy wife."

Excel Saga
Major Characters: Excel | Hyatt | Ilpalazzo | Kabapu | Nabeshin | Shiouji | That Man
Information: Characters | Media
Related: Municipal Force Daitenzin | Puni Puni Poemy | Rikdo Koshi