Disgaea 2 was most probably my least favourite out of the three Disgaea games so far, however this did not stop me picking up the manga and reading it, and I must say, it is a pretty damn good read… not only for the storyline which is moderately different from the game, but also the comedy which cannot be shown in the cutscenes of the game.
Artwork
Heakton did a pretty good job with the artwork. It is nothing stunning like the high end mangas however since when has the Disgaea franchise ever been known for the best of the best graphics? It covers the comedic cartoony style graphics that we have all grown to know and love and uses several styles such as insanely comedical, chibi etc at random intervals which adds to the flavour of the graphics. The character designs were similar to the ones shown in the game but does feature different personalities and ages such as Flonne Etna style and child Adell. Simply, it suits the style of the series. My only peeve is that the background designs were less then satisfactory in most scenes with the pure white world behind the characters most of the time… however in the times there was background designs, they were very nice such as the Overlords castle and the Giant House in Veldime.
Characters
Whilst the game mainly focused on the characters of Adell and Rozalin, and then later Tink, Hanako and Taro, this time the first volume focused on Lord Laharl alongside Etna and Flonne as Etna decides to ditch him due to other comedical reasons. How Flonne is reacting to being a Fallen Angel, Laharl’s life as overlord, Etna’s nature at being nature, Pleinair adjusting to her new life and most importantly, the life decisions of Adell and Rozalin as they set out on their venture are all focused on. The characters are much more interesting I guess simply cause they have left out all the boring content out and added new fresher material in, as well as the Next Chapter previews and Etna’s background story adding a whole different perspective. Overall, pretty impressive. Shame there was no Tink in this volume however (No telling Adell “Not on my watch Monsieur Napoleon BonerHard“).
Storyline
Here is a short summary as taken from the back of the volume:
“Sure, Laharl united the Netherworld and Celestia in peace, but what’s he done lately? Nothing much, and Etna’s sick of it. She wants her own world to rule, and she already has one picked out.
All she has to do is defeat its overloard and the human champion Adell who’s determined to destroy him. After a botched summoning that binds him to the overlord’s daughter Rozalin, Adell sets out the free his world from tyranny once and for all, and he’ll clobber anyone who gets in his way.
Hell of a choice, Etna.
For those that have played the game, this volume focuses on the first chapter of the game where the Prinny’s are introduced to Adell and Rozalin and try to kidnap her as well as the introduction of the Dark Hero Axel. Not really far into the 15 or so chapter game but it does include a lot of bonus chapters not featured in the game. Whilst they could have done without a lot of the content within it, I doubt it would have been a successful volume without the filler chapters (This is one of the few times you will hear me say that).
Extras
The following content has been added as extra content in this volume:
- Disgaea 1 & 2 Character List
- Episode Previews comedical like the Next Episode/News Break/Final Episode previews found in Disgaea 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
- Next volume preview that is interrupted by Laharl trying to take over the manga through that.
- Translation Notes
- Comical Volume 2 Preview
- Detailed character descriptions
- Small Broccoli Books Quiz
Personal Opinion
If you have played the game before and even remotely enjoyed it, then it is almost certain you will enjoy this manga, if you havent played the game before, then it is an interesting introduction to the series but some content may need to be explained by reading the first series manga or the first game…. but there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Overall
Artwork: 8/10
Characters: 7.5/10
Storyline: 12/15
Extras: 4.5/5
Personal Opinion: 8.5/10
Overall: 40.5/50 (81% A-)
show!!!!