Disgaea: Volume 3

Introduction

I couldn't have cared less about the first volume of Disgaea, finding it to be formulaic and juvenile. But by volume 2, Disgaea had begun to grow on me… Like an unsightly fungal infection it has to be said, but grow on me it did, and now I find myself in the unlikely position of vaguely looking forward to the conclusion, hoping for some more bizarre character comedy, and a host of pratfalls. Never before have the flaming depths of Hades, and the hordes of the Dark Lord's minions appeared so cute.

A trainee angel named Flonne is ordered to the Netherworld to assassinate King Krichevskoy, overlord of the demon kingdom. Only she has to spend two years looking for him, after she finds his castle in flames. She tracks him down to a crypt, a coffin marked with his seal, but her attempts to destroy it only awaken the occupant. It's not even Krichevskoy, who's been dead all this time having choked to death on a bun. It's his son, Laharl, who having learned of his father's death, now wants to take his rightful place as Overlord. So he sets forth, with loyal vassal Etna in tow, and the annoyance Flonne who insists on teaching him the value of love. It's just that everyone else in the demon kingdom wants to be Overlord too. Dante's Inferno this ain't.


The concluding four episodes of this twelve episode series are present on this disc from MVM.

9. Space Battleship Gargantua
Gordon has finally managed to fix his spaceship, and he's all ready to face the demon Laharl once more. Good timing too, as Laharl needs a lift to his castle, and suggesting that would be the ideal place for a showdown is a nifty way to bum a lift. Showdowns are forgotten when Laharl enters his castle, and takes his rightful place on the throne, as destiny is fulfilled, and he truly becomes the Overlord. Except that is what Gordon's robot Thursday has been waiting for, and he activates a signal that sends green light flaring into the heavens. The sky opens, and through a portal comes a fleet of spaceships 2 million strong. Earth is invading the Netherworld!

10. The Defender of Tomorrow is You!
Laharl's in trouble now, Etna and Flonne have been kidnapped by Kurtis, Defender of Earth (and Gordon's rival) and have been taken to the flagship. At the same time, the head of the fleet Supreme Commander Carter turns out to be Jennifer's dad, but after all this time in the Netherworld, Jennifer's not too sure about invading them any more. When she tries to change her father's mind, he claps her in irons, straps her to a table, and prepares her for 'modification'. If Gordon and Laharl want to save their friends, and the Netherworld, they will have to work together.


11. A Night Lit Up By a Red Moon
That was the last straw; Laharl has decided to settle these matters by taking over. That's all three worlds, Nether, Earth, and Celestia. However, they get diverted on their way to Celestia and end up in a strange, blue world, where Prinnies march to meet their destiny, and where a red moon shines. Laharl is irate at all these Prinnies leaving without his permission, and he's ready to raise some hell, but a rather unique pink Prinny seeks to dissuade him. Laharl's about to come face to face with his past… dood.

12. Love… After the Fighting's Over
Finally, they make it to Celestia, and Laharl's about to stamp his authority, when the mastermind behind all the recent shenanigans shows up. Vulcanus, the villainous angel has been seeking to take control of Earth and to wipe out the demons of Netherworld, and he's even put a bounty on Flonne. But there is a mastermind behind the mastermind; Flonne's boss Lamington has an even more insidious plan, to bring the power of love to all three worlds. Now Laharl is really peeved.

Picture

The 1.78: 1 anamorphic transfer is pretty much the norm for anime, it's clear and sharp, with the slightest tinge of an NTSC-PAL conversion, but with no major issues to speak of. The animation is unimpressive, a combination of 2D traditional anime, and 3D CGI, with no effort to really blend the two. The CGI looks like a ten-year-old console game, while the 2D animation is rough and ready, with simple character designs and not all that dynamic and vibrant.

Sound

You have the choice of DD 2.0 English and Japanese, along with optional translated English subtitles or signs. The dialogue is clear, while the sound does what it needs to convey the story. I didn't think too much of the incidental music, sounding like one of those old MIDI files, while the opening theme is pretty forgettable. The closing theme has a nice hook to it though. As for the English dub… Well, at least in this case, an anime gets a dub that it deserves.

Extras

No extras on this final disc. If you want the last set of Special Talks and promo video, you'll have to go for the Region 1 release, or the Region 4 boxset.

All you get here are trailers for Slayers and Samurai Deeper Kyo.

Conclusion

Now I feel really sheepish. I began this series by slating volume 1, and being somewhat noncommittal to volume 2. Along comes volume 3, and I have to admit that I really quite enjoyed this final instalment, a lot more than I expected. What started out with little promise had grown into something quite charming and entertaining, if still utterly forgettable and lacking in any substance. Actually, I quite prefer series that turn out like this, much more so than the reverse. Better an unlikely series that turns out to be a delightful surprise, than a promising show that fails to deliver.


It's still the same show though, the dismal MIDI style music is still there, as is the lacklustre animation, and Disgaea's plot and story still seems as bizarre and haphazard as before. Or maybe not so much, as with this final volume, the random mayhem of earlier episodes does turn out to have a point, and it turns out that there were actually storylines extant in the show. The writers weren't just making it up as they went along, and there really was a point to all this. It turns out that quite a big point was in the form of Gordon, Defender of Earth and his cohorts, Jennifer and Thursday. Rather than being just comic relief demoted to occasional cameos, they do have a point in the story, one that becomes clear in the first two episodes of the final disc when Earth invades the Netherworld. Then we learn that Flonne's insistence that Laharl learn the benefits of love and friendship and all things fluffy, wasn't just a tedious character trait. In fact, love, friendship, and all things fluffy lie at the heart of this story, and Laharl's development of all these weird, squidgy, lurid pink feelings, is the whole point of the show. That's what the final two episodes are about.


More than the sudden revelation of a story's existence, it's the characters that have finally grown on me. It turns out that Flonne is the unlikeliest trainee angel that you are ever likely to encounter. She had a personality swap moment with Etna in the first volume, became a biker chick in the second, and revealed the slightest little sadistic side as well. Here she utterly geeks out at the arrival of the Earth megafleet, and puts her extensive knowledge of anime clichés to use in analysing the rivalry between Gordon and his nemesis Kurtis. Laharl turns out to be surprisingly likeable, even with his single minded pursuit of ultimate power, as we learn of his past, and that Flonne isn't the first angelic presence to introduce the concept of love to his little demonic heart. And Etna is all sorts of sarcastic as well, with oodles of wisecrackery at hand. Gordon does the lantern-jawed dopey hero very well, while Jennifer finally gets a personality, and her boob size increases yet again. The show even leaves one or two mysteries hanging, in the hope of a second season. Just who is the mid-boss? I'd never have said this two volumes ago, but I wouldn't be averse to seeing a second series of Disgaea to find out what happens next, especially considering I think of the word 'console' as a verb, and I'll probably never see a Disgaea game.


Disgaea isn't the best anime ever made by any means. In fact, taken as a whole, it's pretty average, and I certainly can't recommend it as the epitome of the medium. But it did grow on me, and if you are in the mood for something silly and chaotic, and you've tried all the other silly and chaotic alternatives, then Disgaea will serve to entertain. The surprising thing is that the scattershot attempt at storytelling does eventually coalesce into something with a smidgen of heart. It took three volumes and twelve episodes, but Disgaea eventually charmed me. Maybe it will charm you too.