Disgaea 2

Reviewed by Marcio Guastavino
September 21, 2007

Author: Hekaton (Original Story by Nippon Ichi Software) Artist: Takehito Harada Publisher: Broccoli Books Website: Click Here

Adell is a boy who lives in a world called Veldime. He has a normal life with a normal fam......wait a second. DEMONS! That's right,  a strange phenomenon has happened in the world of Veldime. It seems everyone is slowly turning into blood-thirsty (hilarious) demons! In fact, it seems that Adell is the only human left on this tiny planet. What could possibly be the cause? A powerful overlord named Zenon has put a curse on every human being in Veldime, and he is gaining power for all the energy he takes. It's up to Adell and his hardcore fighting skills to take down Zenon and bring peace back to his home world. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. A failed summoning causes overlord Zenon's daughter to be called instead, and now Adell is stuck with her until he finds and kills Zenon. On top of that, it looks like another powerful demon is also after Zenon's title as overlord! That would be Beauty Queen Etna (she couldn't get a better title). The hilarity begins when demons, humans, and penguins (called Prinnys) collide in this manga based on the hit video game series by Nippon Ichi Software.

I'm a big fan of Disgaea 1 and 2, so a manga based on the second game is a dream come true. Does it compare to the video game though? That is the true question here. Not only is it as fun to read as it is to play, it ties up some stuff that was not explained between the transitions of the games. It basically shows what Laharl, Etna, and Flonne (the main characters of the first game) are up to after the first game is finished. All the funny dialogue is there and with great art to boot. In fact, those that aren't familiar with the series can easily pick up this manga and have a great time reading it without knowledge of the games. The thing I find great about the manga is how the characters actually act like they would in the game and they use all the moves they have in the game. I know, not that big a deal in the end, but I can't help but think of all the other manga I've read or anime that I've seen based on video games where characters never use the moves and abilities they had in their games. It should make the fans happy for sure.

Disgaea 2 gets a High Evolution factor from me. It's really simple. If you like the video games, you'll love the manga. If you don't like the video games, there's a better chance you'll like the manga. More story, more humor, and more ridiculousness that you can shake a stick at and you don't even have to level up for hundreds of hours. All that and it's a 5th of what the game costs, only ten bucks. Pick it up at your nearest bookstore!