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Disgaea

Review Date:

Reviewed by:

Released by: MVM Films

Age Rating: 12

Region: 2 - UK

Length: 300 minutes

Subtitles: English

Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo
Japanese 2.0 Stereo

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Disgaea

Summary

Based on the hit video game, Disgaea: The Netherworld Prince opens with Flonne, a cute and clumsy angel-in-training who is on a mission to assassinate the demon king. However she accidentally opens the wrong coffin and finds the demon’s son Laharl. These two, Flonne who believes in the "power of love", and Laharl, who thinks that "love is like poison", become the central characters of the series. Laharl’s father has died and he needs to find his father’s castle so that he can proclaim himself the new Overlord, so with the help of his father’s former vassal Etna, they hit the road to find the castle and conquer the Netherworld.

Review

Disgaea DVD Boxset

Disgaea: The Netherworld Prince is based off the video game, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, which spans several consoles. Sadly, this is obvious. The series as a whole feels cheap, the animation isn't quite on par with more popular series, the characters are flat and there seems to be no real reason for them to bother sticking together throughout their journey, and the reason for finding the castle is never made particularly clear nor convincing.

Disgaea DVD Boxset

That's not to say that it's all bad. Some characters are interesting, the character designs are pretty cute and some of the situations are funny. They also use the same voice actors and much of the same music from the games which is a nice touch, especially for fans of the games. The series doesn't seem to be aimed at anime fans but those who are already fans of the games, which is easy to see. Luckily the anime series doesn't expect you to have played the games at all, so you don't need any prior knowledge to watch it. The storyline follows the same basic story of the game but not particularly closely. There are some differences between the game's story and the anime, and some parts are poorly executed, but it's nothing terrible and it still makes sense in the long run. This is good for those unfamiliar with the games, but at the same time a little strange considering that the game's storyline is episodic and could have easily been adapted to an anime. The promotional video in the extras follows the game exactly, so why not do the same with the series?

Disgaea DVD Boxset

Disgaea seems to divide viewers, with some loving it while others hate it. But it is certainly a good video game adaptation, so fans of the games may want to give it a watch. Those who like classically ridiculous anime will enjoy this series. The story is simple and lively, and the English voice acting is fantastic, not surprising considering it's the same voice actors as in the game. Overall it is enjoyable as long as you don't take it too seriously. It is a series that is meant to be simply watched and enjoyed, not overly analysed.

Rating: 6/10

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