Disgaea

“A Quirky, Humorous Adaptation of the RPG Series”

There are so many anime and games out there that follow a group of heroes on a quest to bring down the Demon Lord. It is a very straightforward goal, but there are so many things that can go wrong along the way, and the ending may be something you never expected. Especially if the protagonist was someone who entered a fantasy world from an ordinary one, it’s easy to get sidetracked and lose their way. So let’s take a look at another series where they were supposed to bring down the Demon Lord, but...

“Makai Senki Disgaea," also known as “Netherworld Battle Chronicle: Disgaea” or simply "Disgaea," is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 5th of April until the 21st of June in spring 2006. Nippon Ichi Software produced it, Funimation and Geneon Entertainment USA were granted licenses, and Studio OLM brought it to life.

The main staff behind it include Isako Kiyotaka as director, Watanabe Jun as sound director, Miura Kouji on script, and Ooba Hideaki on storyboard. Featuring the genres of action, comedy, and fantasy, alongside the theme of mythology, the show received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years of age or older. Each episode has a runtime of 24 minutes.

The Disgaea anime follows the events of the game “Disgaea: Hour of Darkness," which is a tactical role-playing video game brought to us by Nippon Ichi Software. It has been playable on the Sony PlayStation 2 ever since its release on January 30, 2003. The show is also adapted from the “Disgaea: Battle Chronicles of the Netherworld” manga series, which was released as a single volume from the 28th of February until the 38th of October, 2003. Targeted at the Josei demographic, it was serialized in Comic ZERO-SUM thanks to the work of author and artist Shindou Arashi.

On September 20th, 2006, Broccoli Books also released this in English as Disgaea. A single special episode titled “Makai Senki Disgaea: Welcome to Netherworld” aired on February 23, 2006, and ran for 5 minutes. Finally, a preview animation of the series was included with the game “Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories.”

The story starts with an angel assassin-in-training named Flonne, who is on a very important quest to defeat the demon Overlord of their world. Thanks to her ditzy nature, she does something that is very far from what she is supposed to be: awakening the demon lord and heir to the throne, Laharl, from his two-year-long slumber. This was definitely not supposed to happen, causing the Netherworld to crumble and threaten them all.

Left with little to no choice, the duo team up and join forces with Etna, Laharl’s not-so-faithful vassal. At Etna’s disposal is her whole army of explosive souls donning penguin costumes for some reason, and it’s up to them to restore order to the world. So it’s not so odd that an angel has arrived in Hell and there are “penguins” everywhere, right?

As Laharl sets off on his journey to destroy the demon rebellion, he must be determined to reclaim the throne and destroy anyone who obstructs him—either that or allow them to join him if they so wish. As the demon lord, what are the chances of him showing any form of kindness, compassion, or love? Let us find out!

Starting off, remember that the story is as it was set in the game, but it isn’t a carbon copy either. As such, the plot is pretty easy to follow and understand for anyone; in the same way, don’t look for a very complex and groundbreaking tale here because it’s not something they promised to begin with. It is a simple story that grows with some depth, darkness, and complexity over time.

Whether you’ve played the game or not, this is an enjoyable watch because it has some significant differences from the original, making for a rather interesting alternative storyline. The format is episodic, so it suffers from a lack of character development with plot progression. It’s not devoid of development, though, because you’ll experience some memorable ones towards the start and the end.

This is an entertaining, lighthearted story with its own bag of serious moments, which makes for a nice blend overall. It doesn’t suffer from being limited to 12 episodes, telling many new tales and doing so in a very cute way. You won’t be disappointed in the ending either, because it is very logical and satisfying. While it would’ve been great to have more episodes, you can acknowledge it’s simplistic greatness as it is. Without spoiling too much, the conclusion remains vastly similar, while the road there was quite different because “the journey is more important than the destination.”

As stated earlier, the main characters are Flonne, Laharl, and Etna. Personally, together, they formed the best department of the whole series. Everything starts with Flonne, a low-level Assassin Angel who is both cute and lovely but is constantly going above and beyond her love for Laharl.

But it becomes obvious that she is much more than she seems as the series progresses, all while being the perfect character to contrast with the other two spawns of hell. Laharl easily stole the show; he was a brutal evil demon obsessed with power, money, and ultimate control.

His pure demonic nature is what highlights his emotional development as the story progresses, all while remaining evil and pulling strings from behind the curtains, making the series so much better. I just adored this character for his originality, evilness, and development in a smooth way. Etna starts off as another cute and helpless girl, but in reality, she is very similar to Laharl but doesn’t get as much screen time as her master, despite deserving more. She could’ve been developed a lot more too, but the show falls short here.

Regardless, she remains a very sadistic and likable character, albeit lacking in depth. While 12 episodes is not enough to do justice for the supporting characters as well, they could’ve done more with the Prinnies, but they remain hilarious throughout. They aren’t bad in any way, fulfilling their roles well and adding to the overall series. This is a department with both depth and development, even if it is simplistic.

As for the Art and Animation department, the character designs, backgrounds, scenery, and effects are delights. The art is overall simple, so I wish it was more detailed on occasion. On the other hand, they used 3D well for special effects and integrated it into the show seamlessly, despite all the odds.

Sadly, the animation is not on the same level; particularly, the action scenes seem very lacking and lame, which is a shame because they could’ve easily done better considering the general vibe of the series. It’s no glaring disappointment, so let it discourage you. This department thrives on being simple and cute, so don’t let the time of production and cartoon-ish style fool you.

The Sounds and Music department isn’t up there. The sounds are mostly average but fun and suit the show’s vibe pretty well. The music is very fitting for the story it accompanies, but there were a lot of scenes where they should’ve used different OSTs to really make them hit. There were a handful of moments where the OSTs enhanced the scenes to another level, but nothing particularly memorable.

It was the music’s job to enhance the emotions where they counted, so I felt they could’ve handled it better with a bit more effort. As for the voice actors, they all did a great job bringing their characters to life.

Special applause to Mizuhashi Kaori for her performance as Laharl; she did legendary work here, and the series wouldn’t be the same without her. I don’t say this often, but the English dub is actually good in this series. The opening theme is "Aishitageru" by LOVERIN TAMBURIN and the ending theme is "Kusari" by Akiko Kawakami, both of which are pretty catchy and well-made, but nothing super impressive.

Overall, Disgaea is a pretty enjoyable show with its own zonky sense of humor. It can be a hit or miss depending on your preferences because it's pretty cartoonish, but you’re more likely to be entertained than not. So allow yourself to adjust to the humor and style until around episode 6 or 7, and you’ll be comfortable for the rest of the way, laughing enough and spending more time beside the main cast.

By the end, you won’t feel like you wasted your time at all. This series may not be revolutionary, but it is one that you will certainly not regret watching, primarily because of Laharl; he is that evil dude with whom you will unknowingly fall in love. Of course, there’s Etna and the “Penguins” as well, so it’ll be hard not to laugh even once. Therefore, take a seat, grab a beverage and a bag of chips, relax, and watch this show unfold. Recommended, especially if you’re looking for a casual watch.