Disgaea Vol. #01

By Eduardo M. Chavez     September 04, 2006
Release Date: September 20, 2006



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Arashi Shindo
Translated by:Satsuki Yamashita
Adapted by:Jason Grissom

What They Say
So... you wake up one day after a two-year nap and discover that your father is dead. What do you do? Take over his kingdom and rule with an iron fist, of course!

Laharl may be new to the whole Overlord scene, but with the help of the demon-girl Etna and the angel-ditz Flonne, he's going to be the best ruler the Netherworld's ever seen. All he has to do is get by the hordes of halfwit hellions determined to challenge him for the throne, foil an interdimensional plot and keep his own vassals from trying to kill him.

Sound rough? Hell yeah.

The Review
Packaging:
As usual BroBooks seems to be able to always pull out all the stops when it comes to presentation. This latest release is another great example of that. The cover is a hoot. It is a piece from Harada Takehito the character designer for this video game series (Nippon Ichi Software). The image features the main characters from this book and presents their unique personalities well. The image is filled with reds and shades of violet and looks great along with the video games. There is a playfulness to the cover that seems to be expressed throughout the book. The logo is the one used by ATLAS for the US release of the video games. Kinda demonic but fun as well. The opposite cover has a description blurb and some SD character art from the mangaka Shindo Arashi.

Inside is where Broccoli really shows off there superiority. They have a great looking color plate volume header. The rest of the printing is perfect, but that is expected since Broccoli uses original source materials for this title. They also have the luxury to be able to include a nice sample of extras: a pair of ato-gaki, translator notes and a great preview for their newest title Disgaea 2.


Readers can also send in a form with $1.00 in stamps for a Disgaea Sticker! Now, that is a service I wish other publishers would try.

Artwork:
The art is a little misleading. If you judge this book just by the cover you will be in for a surprise. The cover was done by the character designer and the contents were done by the mangaka. The styles are slightly different with Shindo not relying on shading and attitude as much. The characters are a little more approachable in the manga. They seem to show more range of emotion as their eyes change size have much more depth to them. The cast also does not look as sexy as Harada's designs. Etna looks more like a punk from Gilman's and Flonne looks like a flower child instead of an angel.

The backgrounds were so-so. When you needed them they came out poorly. But since this is a comedy, I really didn't feel it mattered much. What did matter was the layout. That was very hyper and that was perfect for this series. That made the read go fast and gave a better perspective to what these characters were like. Lots of manpu and a good dose of SFX made this an active read from start to finish.

SFX/Text:
SFX are all translated in subs that reflect the art used for the original SFX but in a smaller size. They were all very easy to read but ever so often, some of them were translated into actions instead of onomatopoeias.

The translation here is very good. The translation is simple; no overuse of slang or Americanization, but it is still able to maintain the personalities of each of these demons well. One of the ways they do this is by using honorifics. This shows how these characters interact with each other and how their social structure is set. I did notice a couple typos but it was nothing shake my fist at.

Contents: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Dood, I got to tell you, sometimes I hate taking some time off. Main reason being that upon returning to work/school to a whole lot of changes. Heck, I went to Japan earlier this month and when I got back my department was cut in half. Friends I had for years were now gone and I had all this new responsibility. Took some time to get adjusted but I live on.

Laharl is experiencing something similar. The prince took a two year nap and after experiencing a nightmare he awoke to a whole new world. His dad, the Overlord, passed on while he snoozed. The throne, rightfully his, has constantly been under threat by morons and thugs. No more time for napping for this little devil, but can someone like Laharl take on the responsibility of being the King of the Netherworld!?

Absolutely! And he is going to take on all comers and all those lurking in the shadows as well. The masses are going to remember Laharl is a badass and he alone is next. Everyone in the way is gonna eat it as he will "preserve the throne!"

Phonies, peons and backstabbers are everywhere though. Furthermore, his own vassals could not care much about his ambition. And earning the fear and respect of the masses will take some time but the more Laharl takes his fists to the streets the easier that will be!

Comments
If you are not used to game based manga you might consider a title like Disgaea little curious. What the titles are usually about is either one where the game's general plot is followed in a linear format or one where the cast is given their original story relatively outside of the existing canon. Sometimes the latter type of book almost feels like an extended fanbook, where the game is respected but completely caricatured.

What you get with Disgaea is a basic retelling of the premise behind the first video game. All the main characters are there and the main points from the plot are followed in a round-about way. What is a little different is what Laharl does and how people treat him. There is no repsect for a new king, especially if he has been asleep for two years. But instead of going after specific challengers to the throne we generally see Laharl just blowing random demons away with either his sword or his magical prowess. I did not really get a feel for the game all that much. Nothing was really added to the story. At the same time, I got a decent look at the personalities. The manga got to take a look at the personalities in a different light. Because their adventures were accompanied by down time where the characters were just hanging out, I got to see their motivations a little better. And for the most part that works for me.

I cannot say I am someone in favor of manga based off games or anime. For the most part these things are just filler. Disgaea has its share of that. At the same time, I really had a fun time with these characters. This is one crazy story with one great anti-hero. Add some badass attitude and at least one battle scene in every chapter and you have yourself a hell raising time. Just sit down with this one, whether you have played the game or not, and go for a ride into the Netherworld. It might not be lovey-dovey but it sure will be fun.