Name(s): Makai Senki Disgaea: Welcome to Netherworld / Makai Senki Disgaea: Makai e no Shoutaijou / Makai Senki Disgaea Trailer / 魔界戦記ディスガイア 魔界への招待状
Format: Special (1 5-minute episode)
Studio(s): OLM (unknown; presumed)

I remember I would watch this every once in a while to unwind after a particularly brutal defeat returned me to the title screen in Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories. This 5-minute short was accessible from the main menu and served to advertise OLM’s anime adaptation of the first Disgaea game, which technically makes this my introduction to its iconic trio of main characters.

Frankly, I’m a soldier of Disgaea 2 to this day, and I find it superior overall to the other entries in the series. In particular, the running quirks of the D1 mains tend to be stretched very thin (though nothing compared to more modern Disgaea writing), and there’s only so many times you can hear Laharl doing the same laugh, claiming to be the most evil overlord and the true main character, and Flonne following up saying they actually fight for the power of love etc. without rolling your eyes. Or maybe not, since they still plaster these three everywhere. Etna is cool though, since she doesn’t have catchphrases to fall back on, so her punchlines have to be uniquely contextual.

But if their shtick gets old quickly, then it’s hard to argue against it only lasting for five minutes. This is a nice enough bonus, and it gets points for featuring the original dub cast. Well, sans Etna, but Michelle Ruff has always been the superior actress. But that’s a conversation for another time and place.