Reviews for Disgaea

Ohayoo! This is my first anime and my english is bad , so excuse me for my \'lame\' writing... I\'ll review this anime with the 6 elements available. First comes the story: As we all know the set is from the PS2 game. The plotline its easy to understand and very enjoyable to watch closely, but it\'s nothing special afterall. Art: Ok, here comes the great dilemma - the 3d is great integrated in the TV series, the character art is great, the landscape is very good, but i think something is missing. Maybe if there where more details i guess The sound is average. Its pleasurable, ican\'t say anything else. Laharl (about him later) is casted by Kaori Mizuhashi - woman, how do you like that :D (don\'t get me wrong- she\'s a proffesional in voice-acting :))

The main stage Characters in the anime are Laharl, Etna and Flonne. This is the best element in the anime.

One of my favorite characters is Laharl - the brutal evil male demon who\'s obsessed, like a true demonish character, for power,money and ultimate control. A deep development in his emotional level through the anime. A GREAT \'against the grain\' character - one of those evil ones who are always on Backstage , but in Disgaea he\'s the primary evil dude who\'s pulling the anime score up. Just superb! One of the coolest personages i\'ve ever seen :D

Etna is one of those cute and helpless girls, on the first look, but is much like Laharl - she\'s his servant,but there\'s not enough \'screen light\' on her like Laharl. The development of this character is not deep enough,though... But afterall she\'s sadistic and very cute x)

Flonne is an low level \"assassin\" angel. A very lovely angel, who\'s always gabbling about love to Laharl :D She\'s also cute, but not like Etna ;]

The Enjoyment of this anime is Very Good indeed. The final feeling is that you havent wasted your time with this title. The anime has a strange sense of humour, though... I\'ve started to laugh at 7-8 epz. But indeed i have a hearty LAUGH with Laharl and the others.

Overall: don\'t hesitate to watch this - it\'s not one of the \"Must watch!\" but if you want you can watch it only for Laharl sake. That evil character dude is amazing. :D And the humour is really really good when you get to understand it. The plotline isnt that great but it\'s pleasurable,like the Art and the Sound.

This is worth watching whether or not you've played the game, for Playstation 2 because the plot takes some significant divergances, which I found to be an interesting alternate storyline. (The ending is still very much similar, but how they get there is different enough) The story, in large part is very episodic, so a lot of the time "real" character development doesn't happen. There are, however, a couple of parts where there's some "real" development, generally in the beginning and end, I would say. Though it's generally lighthearted, it has its serious points as well. The characters, I think, are pretty lovable. Ok, not Gordon. ButLaharl, Flonne and Etna are all lovable or hateable in their own ways, and Prinnies are just kind of funny in general. MIDBOSS. <--- Is why you should watch this.

Disgaea also has a sort of...zonky cartoony sense of humor. You might like or dislike this, I kinda liked it.

The action scenes are somewhat...lame, at least most of them. I was expecting a little more of that from an animé like this, but I suppose it was good enough elsewhere that it wasn't a fatal disappointment.

Watch this if you want a relatively light and short watch, it has some good moments and I thought the ending was even a little touching for what was otherwise more on the silly than serious side.

Never have I found a better situation in which to use the letters L-O-L. This short series based of a popular game title gives the aura of a "quest anime" where a group of people (usually under aged little kids or teens) have to travel far and wide to obtain some magnificent treasure. Luckily this isn't one of those dry lengthy traveling series that lack comedy, this anime keeps the humor rolling and displays the most eccentric of characters. The ending was also as well pretty good, with an unseen twist to the very dramatic side. And I stress the word VERY. I give this 10/10.Didn't drag on too long, but didn't fall short.

First of all - Anime is based on Sony Playstation 2 game, with same title. I watched this series after playing sequel of Disgaea game, so I already know about some things in Netherworld. But if someone haven't played it, could have problems with understand some things at the beggining. Makai Senki Disgaea is comedy with supernatural powers. Young trainee angel Flonne was send to Netherworld, home of devils to assassinate king of this world. After long searching she founds he's son, in deep slumber. When she woke him young Devil, Laharl is trying to take his place as King of Netherworld after death of father. This isreally humoristic series, exactly like in game, with some attempts of the creation of epic climate, but still with large amount of humour. It's short so its perfect for small relax after job or school.

Is preaty good for anyone that want to kill some time. Is good anime to wach and if you ask me is one of the best anime that I have wach PS. They even have the video game I am going to buy!!!

Without even trying, Disgaea steps over all those anime about a hero who Wants to Become to the Best. It’s not a deliberate, focused exercise in style or cliches. The only idea behind it is to deliver a simple adventure about becoming an overlord. This form will never die and that’s okay. You can fit many ideas into it. Somehow, Disgaea manages to get it right without fitting any ideas. Other great works in this style – JoJo and Kill la Kill – have a bigger purpose than simply telling a story. One was about testing the limit of how macho you could get. The othercomes from the head of Imaishi, and that guy never stops hallucinating. After all, we’ve seen this pattern of Hero Defeats Enemy plenty of times. Relying on it means falling back on cliches, and cliches are always terrible when they’re crutches.

Disgaea has no such lofty ambitions. It doesn’t push the monomyth further, or tries to get more steam out of its formula. In fact, it has no ambitions besides telling a fun story about an exciting adventure. Unambitious anime are rare, and often terrible. Plenty of time anime fail despite having big aims and trying hard. There was a lot less effort put into Disgaea than other shows, but the result is great.

That’s because telling a simple story isn’t that hard. You just need to remember your story is simple. The problem with doorstop fantasy series and long-running anime is that their size comes back to bite them in the ass. If your story is only about adrenaline and a few oddballs, why stretch it to be as long as life itself?

Free of these limitations, Disgaea lets loose with its wacky world. How it compares to the original game, I have no idea. As an anime, it gets everything right. The focus is both on memorable characters, unique set-pieces and a story that’s bigger than its initial premise. Although it’s mostly comic and light-hearted, it has its powerful emotional moments. It’s another anime that proves that if you make your characters feel alive enough, we’ll be swept away by their troubles.

The characters of Disgaea aren’t psychological. They’re of the grand-mythic type, but even there it’s in a basic form. A megalomanic, a pure-hearted angel and a conniving demon. These templates still work because the characters have an inner drive. Each of them reacts to the situations in their own unique way. Even if their personalities aren’t the most original or developed – they’re never as bizarre as Kill la Kill – they’re still lifelike.

The wacky nature of the world adds excite to the adventure. It’s a free-form world. There’s no internal logic to it. Hell is a bizarre place where weird stuff happens. If that makes the world shallow, these lone set-pieces still achieve the lifelike quality of the characters. The pacing is focused. Each episode stands on its own and has its own arc.

It’s important for your story to consist of such arcs. Stories that only build up put all their eggs in one basket, and can easily fall apart (Especially if your adventure goes on for a lifetime or two). Disgaea‘s adventure is fun because every moment is meant to be fun. In fact, the series often puts its big climax on the afterburner. It’s more focused on what happens now.

These set-pieces are often bizarre and silly, but why shouldn’t they? Adventure stories are that their best when they’re wild. We’re attracted to adventures because the events are often bizarre in exotic places. The silly nature of Disgaea‘s world makes it both more lifelike and more immersive than any WHOA WORLDBUILDING work by Western fantasists. Sure, Maritn filled with world with details and names. He never made something as attention-grabbing as the Prinnies.

Looking back, the expansion of the climax isn’t so unexpected. The hint that the show is more than Laharl becoming overlord are at the very beginning. It’s still a great decision. When the climax arrives, it’s huge. One climax leads right into another, but it never overloads. Every episode has its own inner story. Thus the climax doesn’t explode from too much content. Rather, it’s divided up and allowed to build tension.

While it gets the basic formula right, Disgaea is still an unambitious anime. That’s the flaw that follows it in every episode. It doesn’t feel like only an advertisement, but the art and the basic nature of things point to an unambitious team. The art is great, but the animation quality is fairly low. It’s not a minimalist art style yet the lack of details in the background make it feel like the creators didn’t think it deserved it.

The character design is also great, but everyone on the side is piss-poor. One episode has a one-time antagonist that looks like it was designed in one minute. The creators are clearly capable of great character design and good background. The visuals drastically improve in the climax (The Prinny redemption episode is especially beautiful). Until then though, it looks so basic and uninspired it takes you out of the anime. Animation quality isn’t everything and art style is far more important. Here, though, the animation quality affects the art when the character design is boring and the backgrounds aren’t as wild as they should be.

The story is also, in the end, about nothing. As the mighty Digimon Tamers proved, an adventure story can definitely be full of meaning. Disgaea doesn’t even try although it’s capable. The Prinnies are a brilliant creation. They’re hilarious and an episode proves they can be emotionally powerful. The series never plays around that. The series never pays too much attention to Laharl’s psychological development although it could. It’s not pretentious. It simply doesn’t try to add psychological depth or even cover it up. I don’t know what is worse – not trying, or covering up.

The flaws prevent Disgaea from being great, but it’s highly enjoyable as a light adventure. Many anime can still learn from this – the characters have inner drives, each episode is focused on a single arc and the climax is bigger than the synopsis says. There really isn’t much to dislike here, although some will be turned off by the lack of ambition.

3 Prinnies out of 5

The Disgaea franchise is, generally speaking, fantastic. They're RPGs with a strong sense of humour & endearing characters. Sort of like another RPG franchise that I reviewed an anime based off of. The anime for this came out in '06 from OLM. That's right, the Gunsmith Cats, Steel Angel Kurumi 2 & Pokemon studio. Let's see how they managed with this one. Story: we open with an angel, Flonne, faffing about in the underworld to assassinate its king. She comes across the king's son, Laharl, who was poisoned and left in a casket. She heals him and the pair swiftly learn that his father died while hewas snoozing. After some confrontations with other demons, and finding a companion in Etna and her Frobisher... I mean prinny squad, they decide to head for the castle so that Laharl can claim the throne.

The biggest issue with the narrative is simply that it's extremely abridged. Things like strong pacing, atmosphere building and some of the more amusing but frivolous dialogue get tossed out in favour of trying to hit all of the major plot points from the game. To be honest, I'm not sure it was the best way to go about it. It might have worked better if the anime was slower and only covered a quarter or a third of the game.

I will give the anime credit for fleshing out the Big Sis Prinny reveal a bit better than the game did. And that's literally the only thing I'll credit it with over the game. It is also kind of nice to see the big scenes in a fully animated form, even if they are shortened in order to cram it all into a twelve episode series. And I'm kind of glad they don't use the game's best ending since it gives viewers more incentive to actually play it.

Characters:

The major characters are pretty decently represented in this series. They don't have all the development they get in the game proper nor do they have all their best lines but, for a short series that's trying to cover everything, they do a pretty good job. And it does feature one of my favourite aspects of Disgaea. Demons with a lot of redeeming qualities and angels who are kind of scumbags. Call it heretical if you like, but I enjoy the subversion and I like that the execution in this franchise is a bit more nuanced since the characters are fleshed out enough that the angels do have positive traits as well, Flonne especially while the demons are significantly flawed.

My biggest issue is that the anime might be too heavy handed with that aspect. The game was better about putting it in and not really drawing a huge amount of attention to it whereas the anime feels the need to shove it in your face.

Art:

The series looks good. They captured the game's aesthetic nicely. Unfortunately, the animation is pretty lazy. There are a lot of scenes where someone talks and their mouth doesn't move or where an action scene starts and ends very abruptly and I'm not sure whether it's because they were "hard to animate" or because they were just rushing to get to the next plot point. Either way, it's not a good impression.

Sound:

This is one aspect where I can give the anime full credit without any "but..." involved. Mizuhashi Kaori, Hanba Tomoe & Sasamoto Yuuko are all fantastic. The soundtrack is really damn good as well. The sound design is just on point all around.

Ho-yay:

There are, maybe one or two scenes where Etna & Flonne read as having tension but it's not exactly a significant thing.

Final Thoughts:

Ultimately, this anime has its strong points. The sound is fantastic, the characters are close enough to their game versions to have a lot of the endearing factors intact, the story has its moments. But its pacing and atmosphere suffer from being too abridged, the big subversion is too heavy-handed, the animation is lazy and it ultimately ends up being an inferior version of the game's story with some changes that do work and others that don't really matter. I give the anime a 6/10. It's decent enough and it might be worth watching if you love the game or if you're on the fence about trying the game and you want something that can give you a good idea of whether or not you'd like it. Because if you enjoy this anime well enough the chance of you enjoying the game is very high. Next week, Ninja Batman. Because I've looked at a few Marvel anime already and it's time to give DC a chance.

A light-hearted story of an angel in training, a devil heir to the throne, and his "servants" who don't exactly serve him the best they can. It's comic and cute, and with a minimal amount of innuendo, Disgaea is suitable for most audiences. If you want to pass some time with a fun, enjoyable anime, this is certainly the one to watch.

Disgaea is a great game! Lots of comedy, great characters. The anime is just as great! Although it is shorten to only 12 episodes, You got to admit it's great. Plus it tells many stories that you won't be able to see in the video game. Now I must admit it's really cute. You might say it's cute with a little dark tiwst to it. It includes all the characters(well most of them.) along with some other characters as well. I not going to tell you about any of the new characters since I'm not allow to show spoilers. If you like the Disgaea series, then givethis anime a shot.

I initially decided to watch Makai Senki Disgaea because I thought the drawing style was cute. And it was, though MSD was quite different than I'd expected I guess. The first half was okay, but at a certain point I must admit there were moments that I thought MSD was a bit boring, and in the first episodes not much happens, or at least not much very exciting stuff. I kind of missed the "deeper meaning" of the story... But the last four episodes were quite different! From episode 9 on I started to enjoy MSD much more because it gets more interesting and theseries finally start becoming "deeper". But I won't get into details, so you should just go and watch it for yourselves ;D Overall, a 7 because it was close to a six in the beginning, and close to an 8 in the ending :) If you want a "light" anime that is easy to understand and enjoyable I would recommend MSD to you, but if you're looking for an anime with a more complicated plot then MSD is probably not interesting for you. Here just a short point by point review:

Story: Good. Like I said, in the beginning it was quite plain, but towards the ending it got more of a deeper meaning.

Art: Great, beautiful character design, and the computer images really fit in perfectly and all the effects are wonderfully done!

Sound: Very good. Overall the sounds and music really were suitable for the story though some scenes could do with a change of soundtrack and there were also scenes that the music just brilliantly intensified your emotions.

Character: very good. Overall the characters are quite stereotypical, but especially in the last few eps you really notice their character changes, which makes the story better and more interesting.

Enjoyment: Good. Like I said, in the first few eps, it wasn't really particularly enjoyable, aside from some funny (visual) jokes. In the last few eps it becomes more enjoyable, though most of the jokes remain plain and not very spectacular in my opinion.

Riding off the coattails of the game, the Disgaea's anime adaptation doesn't do the ps1 classic any justice at all. I understand that this was made in 2006, but old doesn't equal bad. There are many anime, movies, and films that are very good even when they're old, even in just a technical aspect. Maybe for it's time, it was OK, but that just doesn't cut it when I'm watching something a whole 16 years later. I guess I understand that this was aimed at kids that just played the game or something, but clearly, there's a lack of quality put into both the dialogue and thecharacter development.

The only thing that's good about this show is the OST, and that's only because the anime borrows the OST from the game, which is superb.

This show is an ancient relic of the past, something that should be forgotten.

Disgaea is simple, yet well made fun! If you like cute stuff and a good story? Then this is for you (and me!). Watch the short into video "Welcome to Netherworld" for an excellent, no spoilers look at what you'll get. Etna is really the central character, but all 3 MC get plenty of air time and development. If you find Etna adorable? You'll love this show! Story: Seems simple to begin with, but grows in depth and complexity. The finale is terrific, bringing everything to a logical and satisfying end. Except: 12 episodes is too short! But there's no sense of rushing, just a wish wecould see more!

Art: Pretty basic, it may turn some away with its age & cartoon-ish style.

Sound: Is good, and the English Dub is terrific! The OP and ED are catchy and well made.

Characters: While not much can be done in 12 episodes with 3 main and 6+ secondary characters, and the Prinnys! Dood! There is both depth and development that is really well done. If a bit simple.

Overall it was great and I highly recommend it to both new anime fans and veterans. For kids too? Mostly, there's nothing like pantsu or gore, so probably yes. The only thing that stops it from being a 10 is the basic art and it's too short! A solid 9.5 for sure.

This is an anime based off a video game. It likely isn’t as good, but I still enjoyed it as an anime only viewer. Although the story isn’t the best, it is clear and somewhat interesting. It’s about an angel who has a task to reform the demons who live in hell, but it’s clear from the start that they aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be. The story around the Prinnies, why they exist, and why they work so willingly for something the demon characters seem to have so much of is also interesting. Like most video game adaptations the character designsin this anime are really well done. The main character is a blonde girl, but unlike most anime blondes she isn’t a Westerner, although she technically still is a foreigner. Although the series is set in hell and is about reforming demons the pace of it feels more slice of life so there isn’t much fighting. This isn’t to say the animation isn’t good, but the place where good animation really shines is missing. All of the characters are well animated and the area they live in is well designed for what it’s meant to be, although seeing as it is hell there really isn’t too much going on and everything looks very samey. Although it is sort of an adventure anime the scenery looks fairly boring. The waddle that the Prinnies do is kind of fun to watch and adds a little something to the show.

I watched it dubbed so I can’t really comment on the seiyuu performance, although the dub wasn’t bad so I’ll give it that. As for the theme songs the opening was very unmemorable and although the ending is better it still isn’t very good. I saw this anime a long time ago so I don’t know what say about the soundtrack other than the fact that I can’t remember anything about it.

The personalities of the characters was surprisingly good for this otherwise underwhelming anime. The heroine was given an understandable task to complete and the others have good reasons to not cooperate. The Prinnies which are originally seen as some sort of worthless slave race are later shown a much more interesting reason for existence. I actually found their tale to be more interesting than that of the protagonists.

I watched it on a bus so this was more or less just an easy way to pass the time, but it does a good job with that. It might not be too good of an anime objectively, but it made for a really fun watch. It has a lot of unique attributes.

If you’re looking for a fun way to pass the time this would be a good choice. However, if you care about depth or don’t want a cheesy story about how people who look evil aren’t that bad then you might to give this show a pass.

I should've just dropped this, but I keep going. The reason is that I just want to see the ending, like literally, I heard that the story actually ties with the manga or something, and not the game, so as a curious person that I am. I dived in and watched it. I had fun watching it, don't give me wrong, I felt nostalgic in a way because the series takes the story absolutely not seriously, and the episodes themselves are episodic, like classic OLM series like Pokémon. The only serious parts are episode 9 to the end. How did I find this? This is the onlyanime that I searched for in an article. Yup, that's right. I research it by myself and not through recommendations on YouTube or announcements from Twitter/X or browsing through MAL. I research it through Google search.

I was searching for a good JRPG one day and found out that Disgaea was one of the top games that the article suggested, so I went ahead and researched the game. Upon research, though, I found out that it had anime, so as a curious person that I am, I watched it.

Now, I actually have watched it in the past, but that was only barely finishing episode 2. The animation style didn't age well; it is hard to watch, but I had to... I had to because I'm a committed person. I don't just want to watch and hold it "on-hold". So, I finished it.

Appealing (Why did I get into the anime?)

Etna and Flonne.

What? You have never seen a ±15-year-old who wanted to... with... angel and demon...

You know what I'm gonna stop right there. You know the point.

But that was way back. The 25-year-old me now just wanted to see the ending.

Platform

It's on Crunchyroll now. I don't know if there is another platform that provides it legally.

But me... no, not this anime. I actually traded this with a friend online back in the day. Idk if they get it illegally or legally, but yeah, I still had the folder of the anime, so I watched it from there.

The review;

Plot/Story

Simple, Laharl was buried for a long time, and he wants to be the ruler of the underworld. With the help of a demon and an angel, he tries to claim that title from his diseased father, the former demon lord.

But throughout the series, you quickly find out that they just walk it out and get sidetracked, just like Pokémon series. This is where my hate came in. I hate how Laharl, Etna, and Flonne could fly, but decided to walk. Then in the later episode, they asked the human hero party to take them for a ride to the demon lord's castle, like what?

And here is the dumb thing, and what makes me take this series not seriously at all. The series treats the hero party like Team Rocket from the Pokémon series. They got blasted every... single... episode, like every episode up to episode 9.

And the biggest turn-off, the ending, in my opinion, is mid. It doesn't feel like an ending at all, but that's just me, I guess, because what I recall from the article I read, they say the ending is satisfying. And to that I say, yeah... if you didn't include the part where Laharl "reincarnated" as Prinny.

I've said enough. This is going to be a rant if I keep going. 😅

Character

I actually love all characters. Despite the worst writing, I actually bond deeper with the characters. Because it's an episodic series where a problem is solved in one episode, and it focuses on one topic, it makes you bond with some of the new characters that they introduce.

Though not all can be said the same for the high angel. Now I know I will get heated by a certain group, but I'm so tired of seeing angels treated as an enemy in anime. I'm not pissed because how ridiculios of a concept that was because Tears to Tiara nailed the story perfectly about the angel being the bad guy. But here? No. Absolutely not. It felt like an attack because I'm Christian, I believe what I believe, and when I saw how Vulcanus acted as an angel, it... rubbed me in the wrong way. Yeah, let's just say that.

I'm still happy at the end, though. Lamington has the characteristics of an angel down to a tee.

OST/SFX

No doubt, the best of this anime. The OP and ED are, in my opinion, the goat. I mean, I can actually sing the lyrics. It's that good that I think you guys can sing it too. The SFX in the anime itself is also very good, not as great as the OP and ED, but still good.

Animation

I've touched on this at the start, so I'm just going to say, I hope it has a remake, because it is making me sick a little bit.

VA

Mate, Laharl, what are those laughs? Lol

I love how every time Laharl laughs, I actually try to laugh like him. It is so inviting, lol.

Other than him, I just give you all my 2 thumbs up. Good job, guys. You did great.

Conclusion

The good;

I've finally done and can give this series a rest... but not the game though. I need to catch up with the latest game.

The bad;

I think I might stumble upon more not well-aged animation on my journey to watch these old anime. Oh boy.

Overall, I don't really recommend this anime, but if you're interested, go ahead and watch it. But what I mean by this is just play the game, it's far better than this.

I give this my first ever, 4.6/10.

The anime is fine, doesn't follow the game's plot but rather mixed the endings together. I started with Disgaea 3 until I went back to play its previous predecessors, I started to appreciate the 1st game's plot a lot more than most of its newer games. The anime did an ok job with its adaptation, the comedy at least. This is an honest review with Disgaea. For those who had played this game assuming most of its viewers did, would enjoy it for what it is (like me). However, for those who haven't played the game would probably not like it, not like the personreading this would care actually. So I'm going to be brief.

The art is good for its time I guess, the sounds were alright, there was some character development mainly for Laharl that one would not expect when they are first introduced to Disgaea. My enjoyment for the anime is indifferent. The comedy was rather unique for its time as well.

Overall, it just brought a nostalgic feeling in my childhood. If I were to look at it in an unbiased honest way, overall it was ok. I recommend the Disgaea games way more than the anime itself. The anime adaptation for games isn't the exactly the greatest nowadays.

I would rate the anime 6 out of 10 prinnies. Loved for its comedy, but recommend 100% the games instead.

9 out 10 prinnies for its game's unique rpg mechanics and tradition grinding.

This review contains spoilers, read at own risk. Skip to the end for a summary. Fair warning, I'm an avid fan of the Disgaea series, and have played the game this show is based off of multiple times, and so I will be drawing some comparisons here and there, but I will keep the focus on the show itself. The story is, on a surface level, not particularly unique; a king dies and a successor must take his place, but not before going on a path of self-discovery. Nothing groundbreaking, but Disgaea likes to put its own unique twist to it. A large helping of comedy, action,plot twists and compelling characters helps turn this time-old setup into a truly unique story.

Having been adapted from a video game that's meant to be played for anywhere from 40 hours to 400 hours, being a 12 episode anime really cripples the show's potential. It's forced to alter or omit certain segments from the story and often feels rushed, and will likely feel that way even for someone with no knowledge of the game it's based off of.

On top of this, the anime seems to stretch out certain segments and make use of filler, which hurts with its already short running time of 12 episodes. The most blatant example of this is the episode that focuses entirely on the uncertain swordswoman, a character who has no relevance to the overall plot and appeaared as a mere joke boss in one stage in the original game.

Its saving grace, however, is the writing. Comedic, tastefully cheesy at times and clearly holding that unique Disgaea charm. If you've played the games, it's very obvious that they had the same writers on board. It's witty, funny, and silly, but can be serious when it needs to be.

Having a unique artstyle based off of that from the game, with the eye-catching and varying landscapes of the Netherworld and incredible character designs from artist Takehito Harada, Disgaea is a visual feast, and prior to the recent remaster, actually looks better than the game it's based off of. Each character, main, side, or background, has a memorable look that sets them apart from one another. No two episodes look the same. Many different backdrops are used, all complimenting the visuals well. While not as polished as more modern anime, Disgaea stands out even today.

A lot of the music is borrowed from the game or is given a nice little update. Tenpei Sato's work adds a lot to the charm that makes Disgaea what it is, and that's no exception here. You're bound to get at least one tune stuck in your head by the end. There's also the original piece made specifically for the opening which, trust me, you won't be skipping. Fantastical and catchy, it fits perfectly with the visuals of the opening to make for quite the memorable opening sequence.

The main trio of Laharl, Etna and Flonne are the selling point of this show. Each one unique in their own ways and much funnier than they have any right being, a lot of the character development and arcs are skipped in favour of the main character, Laharl.

Laharl: Snarky, bratty and selfish beyond belief, Laharl is the last person you'd expect to be the protagonist. Laharl has a specific view on what a demon should be and what a demon can and can't do, which shapes his actions and causes him to mask any feelings that go against those beliefs. Over the course of the story, those beliefs are challenged (primarily by Flonne) and both Laharl's outlook and behaviour begin to change. At the start of the show, Laharl is a selfish brat who would make for a terrible overlord, and by the end, he's a good leader and caring friend who tries to mask his good deeds and positive feelings under a facade reminiscent of the average tsundere.

Etna: Lazy, self-obsessed and underhanded, Etna is anything but the "humble vassal" she introduces herself as. Caring only for herself and her own goals, showing little care for any harm or destruction caused, Etna is what most people would see the typical demon as. Unfortunately, her character arc and development from the game is almost entirely absent, which can make her feel rather one-note in the show. On top of this, for whatever reason, the anime has a running gag of Etna being afraid of Laharl('s power), whereas in the game, Etna fears no soul and inversely is the one to instill fear in Laharl. (Just an odd change I felt the need to point out.) Despite all this, a first time viewer is still bound to fall in love with her snide, cutting wit and badass charm.

Flonne: Cheerful, optimistic, and incredibly dimwitted, Flonne serves as the moral anchor of the group, when she isn't serving as comic relief. The sole fact that she tries to preach peace and love to demons says more about her character than I probably ever could. The driving force behind Laharl's change and arguably the love interest, she's often butting heads with him in an effort to make him behave more righteously. Through Laharl, Flonne learns that even demons can show love and kindness to one another.

A special mention goes out to Vyers as well, as although he mostly serves as comic relief being the infamous "Mid-Boss", he's eventually revealed to be the reincarnation of King Krichevskoy, testing and overlooking Laharl on his journey until eventually revealing his true identity and fading away with the spirit of Laharl's mother. He comes off as a joke, only to surprise you with a hidden depth, and to me, that's something special.

Fun fact: In Hour Of Darkness, once Laharl calls Vyers "Mid-Boss" for the first time, the game permanently changes his name to Mid-Boss. I'm serious.

SUMMARY: A visual and audible treat for both fans and newcomers alike, Disgaea delivers a short but sweet tale of growth with a generous helping of comedy and mirth that leaves a pleasant aftertaste. Suffering from its short runtime and unnecessary use of filler, Disgaea has some lost potential, but could definitely work as a gateway into the series for those interested.

Makai Senki Disgaea is an adaptation of the first game in a series of games that has taken the RPG gamer community by storm, combining wit and intriguing combat mechanics to keep players entertained for weeks on end. How much from the original is left? Hardly anything. Is that a bad thing? Not really. The story of anime diverges heavily from the very beginning: Flonne finds Laharl sleeping in a garbage dump, far away from the castle. However, this allows watchers already familiar with the source material to discover something new, albeit unexpected, given that the trailers promised a more faithful adaptation. However, seasoned players will getexactly what they expect: more of the characters they've grown to know and love.

Makai Senki Disgaea is heavily episodic with little interaction of individual plot points up and until the ending, which is a good suit; the show, as does the source, relies heavily on quirky humor delivered in a lighthearted style. The changes made to the overall storyline thus does not affect enjoyment in the least. While delivering new content is one of the strengths of this anime, I cannot help but feel that character development was rather lackluster. This was balanced out, though, by the three final episodes stringing the way to the ending beautifully.

Despite the lack of development, the cast is and stays unique, which is partially owed to the source material providing a fantastic point to start from. The most memorable exchanges between the characters have been kept. It is most difficult for all but the most demonic of watchers to not feel any connection to the characters and not getting dragged along for the ride.

Surprisingly, the potential for fan service was barely harvested, which is a nice touch; jokes just cannot be delivered as well if there are panties on-screen every few minutes. However, if were to make you think that the show takes itself too seriously, I must disappoint you, as the animation suggests otherwise. Horribly clunky and off-model visuals for even the lowest of low-budget anime, the interaction between characters, which is the heart of any comedy, can only be described as an accident. The less-than-stellar animation did not ruin any scenes per se, yet it is noticeable enough that it is at times detrimental to the overall experience.

Good though the art style may be, which was a straightforward copy of the design in the game with more color to it, the contrast with the backgrounds is insurmountably large. At times, a truly beautiful view, albeit not even close to scenery porn as seen in Aria: The Animation, causes a jarring contrast to the protagonists' actions. This stark difference in quality is further amplified by the soundtrack, which consists of remixes of tunes heard in the game and a few well-made original pieces that did truly help the visuals along and set a fitting atmosphere at all times.

The soundtrack deserves far more recognition than it does – it is difficult to obtain by now, but every single track is worth finding someone still selling the soundtrack CD. While the voice acting was neither remarkably good nor bad, it was good enough to go under the radar and the seiyuu did fit their respective roles; the opening and ending are standard “show the characters off and promote some J-Pop band” tunes with visuals that any seasoned anime watcher could expect.

Once one is able to see past the glaring problems with animation, however, Makai Senki Disgaea presents itself as a light comedy. Unfortunately, this means that those who were looking forward to great fighting scenes will be disappointed; seeing some battles is a reasonable expectation if one keeps in mind that the source material is heavily based around combat. The few scenes of that kind are short and use sub-par special effects to make up for the visuals, which is a failed attempt at damage control.

The anime is a must-watch for anyone already familiar with the source material and everyone looking for a one-cour show to watch between seasons, though it is not worth your time when you already have a long plan-to-watch list. However, once all the gags have been delivered, watching the series for a second time will be quite boring as the novelty of it wears off quickly. Nonetheless, Makai Senki Disgaea is a fun ride that is neither exceedingly good nor horribly bad.