Turn Up The Suck Knob - Disgaea, Episode 1 In Tweets

Mike Ferreira (Editor) — July 8th, 2011
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The content of this piece was written during a viewing of the first episode of Disgaea on March 25, 2011. Edits have been made for spelling and grammar, but the rest is completely untouched, and un-edited from its original format.

If anyone has ever wondered what a train-wreck in motion looks like, take a gander at Disgaea. Anybody looking for a quality comedy though, look elsewhere.

7:39 PM: Good evening everyone, and welcome to another showblog!

7:39 PM: Tonight's feature is one that may be interest to the gamers out there.

7:39 PM: Tonight I'll be covering Disgaea.

7:39 PM: For those who haven't been exposed, Disgaea is a mediocre-at-best strategy game that encouraged game breaking and grinding over strategy.

7:40 PM: The title did have some popularity though, thanks to stronger-than-average writing, and spawned three sequels, as well as numerous side games

7:40 PM: Still, the anime IS based on a video game, so I expect this to be, like the game it's based on: mediocre at best.

7:40 PM: Anyway, before I begin, let's get the basics out of the way:

7:40 PM: Directed by Kiyotaka Isako (Massugu ni Ikou)

7:40 PM: Character designs by Akira Kano (Initial D: Fourth Stage)

7:40 PM: Produced by d-rights (Eat-Man, X, Princess Nine)

7:40 PM: Opening theme: Aishitageru by Loverin Tamburin

7:40 PM: Closing theme: Kusari by Akiko Kawakami

7:40 PM: Based on a game by .@nisamerica

7:40 PM: Distributed by .@funimation

7:41 PM: And without further ado, away we go!

7:42 PM: And we open to a sweeping shot of the heavens, going down to hell... so we got THAT part established early. :P

7:42 PM: And enter the blonde angel-in-training, before kicking to the opening credits.

7:43 PM: Catchy opening theme - so it has something going for it so far

7:44 PM: Music sounds like straight-up recycles from the PS2 game.

7:44 PM: Anyway... we've got someone going into a giant structure of sorts.

7:45 PM: Who's very polite... and clum- oh... it's blondie, aka Flonne

7:45 PM: "It smells in here D:" She can't do anything right. Or can she?

7:45 PM: Apparently she can - found a casket... and now she's going to go Sailor Moon on someone's ass!

7:46 PM: ...Some cute visual gags, but nothing I'd call "funny" yet.

7:46 PM: Not even the whole "blow up the damn casket with a missile launcher" bit

7:46 PM: Fission Mailed... or is it? :o

7:47 PM: The overlord awakens... and he's pissed.

7:47 PM: Enter the antihero, Laharl... who's underwhelming and shirtless

7:47 PM: "I think this is a garbage dump :D" your powers of observation are KEEN, Flonne

7:48 PM: "I'm an assassin named Flonne :D" "And you're an angel? T_T" "Actually, I'm just a trainee :D" ...smart girl is smart. >_>

7:49 PM: And she got the wrong casket! Epic Fail, Flonne.

7:49 PM: She's off to kill Laharl's dad... but she's against it, herself - CHARACTER BUILDING! Or something

7:50 PM: God, this is as crappy as the games!

7:50 PM: "Love is for losers! T_T" Laharl: #ForeverAlone

7:51 PM: Exposition time! Laharl was buried and left for dead, Flonne dug him up. The Overlord proper died 2 years prior.

7:52 PM: "The overlord met a tragic end when he choked on a dumpling of the damned! :3" I guess fail runs in the family

7:52 PM: "When you lose a loved one, I think you're supposed to cry! D:" Flonne doesn't get demons.

7:53 PM: "Demons don't know what it's like to feel love either? D:" Enter SUBPLOT A

7:53 PM: And monsters attack on the way out. .. which Laharl dispatches quickly >_>

7:54 PM: "Violence is never the answer ;-;" ...Flonne just doesn't get it... at all.

7:55 PM: And they're on the ropes and gonna die, thus ending this show early! Or it's just a false moment of tension.

7:55 PM: Anyway, eyecatch.

7:55 PM: Mid-show analysis: god, this sucks. It sucks worse than a broken strategy game that doesn't rely on strategy! Wait...

7:56 PM: And back to the show

7:56 PM: Laharl and Flonne got their butts saved by a stray rocket.

7:56 PM: "HOW COOL! *.*" ..looks like Opa-Opa

7:56 PM: And inside is human superheroes.

7:57 PM: "Who the hell are these irritating fools?! T_T" That's what I wanna know.

7:57 PM: Ohh... Captain Gordon and crew.

7:57 PM: ...How did a human get into Hell? O_o Nevermind... the plot's already fucking broken beyond repair

7:57 PM: Requisite fanservice... giant bouncing boobs!

7:58 PM: And Laharl's being hit on by the girl with a massive rack

7:58 PM: "Laharl, your weakness is voluptuous women, isn't it? :O" ...ya think?

7:59 PM: And he's been poisoned... gotcha

7:59 PM: Flonne casts a cure spell, amazing Captain Gordon.

8:00 PM: Who now thinks he was trying to kill Flonne... and we get another face full of boobs T_T wtf, Japan

8:00 PM: "Danger, danger! Sekuhara! :O" I like the robot... kinda

8:01 PM: Girl's name: Jennifer - and the robot morphs into a giant cannon. Fun.

8:01 PM: Well... that's the end of THEM

8:02 PM: And Flonne? She's lecturing someone that leveled a giant stone structure.

8:02 PM: Oh boy... Flonne lost her pendant. .. which keeps her alive in the netherworld

8:02 PM: Laharl's helping... for a price

8:03 PM: And Flonne doesn't have any money... this is so predictable it hurts

8:03 PM: And, of course, the humans have it

8:03 PM: "If I don't find it, I'm gonna disappear ;-;" PLEASE do so this show can end.

8:03 PM: Looks like the monsters are back for round 2.

8:04 PM: this time, Laharl's actually winning.

8:04 PM: "What do you know? T_T" I wanna know, myself. >_>

8:05 PM: Sucker punch fail from other demon.

8:05 PM: "I might rot away soon but I'll use every ounce of strength to assassinate you! T_T" Oh boy, please do

8:06 PM: Flonne's going Pokemon on his ass... GIANT DRAGON, I CHOOSE YOU!

8:06 PM: And now we have our third protaganist entering: Etna

8:06 PM: ...and like that, the episode's over.

8:07 PM: Verdict: This show is just... it sucks.

8:07 PM: The humor falls flat, the characters are vapid, two-dimensional pests, and everything is just painfully predictabl.

8:08 PM: From this short taste, I'd say you're best off leaving this alone. It's a below-average anime, based on an average-at-best game.

8:08 PM: There are far funnier comedies, and far more satisfying adventures than this.

8:09 PM: Anyway, thanks for joining me tonight. Have a nice weekend!

Disgaea is distributed in America by FUNimation. Thanks to FUNimation for providing a review copy!