Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice



Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice is the third game in the Turn Based Strategy series Disgaea by Nippon Ichi. It was released in 2008 for the Play Station 3.

The game involves the students of the Nether Institute, Evil Academy, an entire Netherworld devoted to "teaching" demons how to be evil. Honor students are those who beat up other students for milk money and cheat during exams, while delinquents attend class and perform good deeds in the community.

Mao is the Evil Genius son of Evil Academy's Overlord, and is considered the school's No.1 Honor Student because he hasn't attended a single day of class. Looking to take out his father, Mao researches a method using manga and video games as reference material and comes to the conclusion that since The Good Guys Always Win, all he needs to do is become a Designated Hero (by mugging a "Hero" title off of some sap) and then victory will be assured.

Unfortunately his plan fails, and Mao discovers to his horror that getting rid of the "Hero" title is going to be a lot harder than it was to acquire.

Joining Mao is Almaz, a timid fanboy whose homemade "Hero" title was stolen by Mao; Raspberyl, Mao's childhood friend and rival whose goal is to become the worst delinquent in the history of Evil Academy; Princess Sapphire, the sweet but Ax Crazy noble that Almaz has a crush on; and Mr. Champloo, the Hot Blooded Home Economics teacher.

The game features a lot of Downloadable Content which allow you to recruit characters from previous games or other Nippon Ichi games.

Got an Updated Rerelease called Makai Senki Disgaea 3 Return/Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention on the Play Station Vita.

This game provides examples of:
"Master Bigster: I have too much pride to be prancing around with this ridiculous name.
 * Absurdly Powerful Student Council:
 * The School Board President and her PTA army. The Diez Gentlemen may qualify as well,
 * The Student Council also determines what clubs you have access to and what quality of goods are available in the school shops, right up to who among the Diez Gentlemen you may talk to and (in a specific instance) how fast your equipment improves. Also, the senior council members are level 1,000, even before you start levelling the enemies up. You're expected to be about level 100 by the time you reach the epilogue.
 * Academy of Evil
 * Action Girl:
 * Sapphire is an Ax Crazy example of this trope.
 * Occasionally, the only thing keeping Raspberyl from the fighting is that she wants to maintain her perfect attendance record.
 * A Day in The Limelight / Another Side Another Story: Much like Etna before her, Raspberyl gets a chance at being the main character in the downloadable Raspberyl Mode.
 * Absence of Detention will have four new scenarios, including one starring two entirely new characters.
 * Almighty Home Economics Teacher: Champloo.
 * An Ice Person: Mao, Rozalin, and Pram.
 * Anti Hero: Almaz starts out as a type 1 (i.e., kind of a loser). Much of the game's plot revolves around him graduating into a proper hero.
 * Armor Piercing Question: Mao to Master Big Star, after part of the latter's name is stolen.

Mao: Would you rather keep your new name for the rest of your life, Master Bigster?

Master Bigster: Eh...! Well...!"

"Geoffrey: I thought this might happen so I..."
 * Ax Crazy: Most exemplified by Sapphire, the ditzy human Princess who just happens to think that assassination is a great way to avoid having to worry about future enemies and has the skills to back her ideas up, too.
 * Aw Look They Really Do Love Each Other: Adell and Rozalin in their DLC -- both of them came to the Disgaea 3 game world to make money for a gift for the other, if you do the first character's DLC mission first then the second, the second's mission changes to have the first character come in and confirm this. Sorta.
 * Badass: Specifically lampshaded by Raspberyl, who, as a highschool demon, has some really interesting ideas as to what being a badass is (hint: it involves volunteering, being responsible and polite, caring for the environment and small animals, etc etc...)
 * Badass Bookworm:
 * Mao. There is nothing quite as geeky yet menacing as a demon with a stack of books in one hand and a BFS in the other. He has a serious mad scientist thing going on, as well. In one scene he demands to know if Love is a disease, an acid, an alkaline, and... if it has a chemical formula. Later, after beating a rather strong boss,
 * Raspberyl also applies. Bonus points for literately fighting with a book. Nasty spell caster to boot.
 * Badass Normal: Almaz is a good fighter. Sapphire is a jack of all trades type character but with an archer student, she becomes nasty with a bow or gun.
 * Giving Sapphire an Axe is a pretty good idea, since she makes just as good a frontline fighter as Almaz. It's also rather fitting, seeing as how Princess Sapphire is an utter psychopath. (But in a good way)
 * Badass Princess: Go on. Guess.
 * Batman Gambit: Mao's father pulls one of these from beyond the grave as part of a counter to the Xanatos Gambit of Aurum. Uses the personalities of Almaz and Raspberyl as pawns and Champloo (one of his most trusted servants) as the manipulator that put it all together all in order for Mao to open his heart.
 * Battle Couple: Almaz and Sapphire.
 * Also to an extent Laharl and Flonne, Zetta and Pram (though that may be more of a fan preferred pairing), Adell and Rozalin, Captain Gordon and Jennifer (who also form a power trio with Thursday, and there probably are more than I can accurately account for given all the DLC characters.
 * Because You Were Nice to Me:
 * Benevolent Boss: The previous overlord was quite good to work for.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Sapphire. Her idea to "open the heart" of someone involves a chainsaw -- or if they complain, a scalpel. Upon hearing that an enemy would be busy in class, she suggested that it would be a great time to assassinate them.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Raspberyl pulls this when Savvy Mao refuses to let Almaz and Sapphire turn Mao's heart back on. Turns out right parodic when the moment suddenly turns into a graduation ceremony for Raspberyl and friends with Savvy Mao waiting for the graduation to end before confronting them again.
 * Big Eater: Asuka mentions that Raspberyl eats all the lunches of her absent classmates for them... but since they're always absent, she eats about thirty lunches per day.
 * Bishonen: Master Bigstar is a total send-up of the concept, complete with roses and a constant cascade of sparkles.
 * Bland Name Product: Mao's Slaystation Portable in English. In Japanese, it's Death-OmegaStation Portable.
 * Blood Knight: combines this with Manipulative Bastard.
 * Bonus Boss: About half the cast of the previous games, then offers whoever is missing as available downloads.
 * Bonus Level of Hell: The Land of Carnage makes a return, but with a vengeance. In the first two, you could take solace that at level 9999, enemies were capped. In this game, however, any enemy that would pass level 9999 gets a 1 percent stat increase for every 20 levels above said Cap, and thanks to how the Land of Carnage works (2000 percent level increase plus 200, and double stats), late-game enemies in the Item World will have ridiculously high stat numbers.  in this one has a base level of 4000, doubling to 8000 in every subsequent fight afterwards, though he has reasonable stats. Fighting   in the Land of Carnage after the first battle bumps his level to 9999, but thanks to all those extra levels being converted into stats (around 168k levels), his stats swell up considerably (in the area of about 40-50 million).
 * And even then you can pass the "Stronger Enemies" bill to get... you guessed it. Stronger enemies.
 * Bribing Your Way to Victory:
 * The game allows the player to purchase and download additional sidequests during the post-game, almost all of which have new characters as rewards. The player will have to fight most of these characters in order to recruit them. Many of the characters themselves are ridiculously powerful on their own, but some also have absurdly good equipment during the recruitment battles, which they don't get to keep after they join... unless the player steals it from them during the battle. The player may also get some pretty sweet new weapons during the course of Raspberyl Mode.
 * All of the Disgaea games Lampshade on this. The player can bribe members of the dark assembly with items in their bag to rule in the player's favor making bill passing easier. Of course if that doesn't work the player can just force them through battle.
 * Chainsaw Good: Sapphire in perhaps the most memorable joke of the third game.
 * Chastity Couple: Almaz & Sapphire,.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Geoffrey. Champloo has some elements of this which are revealed in chapter 8.
 * Chewing the Scenery: TO MY LAB!
 * Chew Toy: Almaz in the third. The universe does eventually decide to throw him a bone for all the crap it's put him through.
 * In light of this,
 * Childhood Friends: Mao and Raspberyl
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Sapphire is a rather Axe Crazy version.
 * Continuity Nod:
 * During the third chapter of Raspberyl Mode,  Later in the same chapter,
 * Unlike Disgaea 2, Disgaea 3 uses the On the Next Episode segments from the first game in between each episode with each of the main characters taking turns as the star of the segment. Then, once you beat the main game, you get one last On the Next Episode segment.
 * Cooldown Hug: See Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu.
 * Descends into parody of this and Big Damn Heroes when one is delivered
 * Clothing Switch: The final DLC allows Raspberyl and Sapphire to swap clothes.
 * Comedic Sociopathy: Raspberyl is more interested in her actions being seen as "good" (especially to other demons) as opposed to whether or not good actually happens because of them.
 * Crazy Prepared: Geoffrey in the third game, often lampshaded by the rest of the cast. Usually when this happens, he begins by saying:

""Unnaturally efficient as always, Geoffrey.""
 * Crouching Moron Hidden Badass: Almaz. Normally a coward, but when Sapphire's around, he becomes much braver and matures quite well as a hero.
 * Cruel Mercy: Mao to in the normal ending.
 * Cute Little Fangs: Almaz starts growing these as part of his transformation into a demon.
 * The Dandy: Master Bigstar.
 * Dead All Along:
 * Deadpan Snarker: Almaz; justified as he's the Only Sane Man.
 * Death Seeker:
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu: Raspberyl prevents Mao's REALLY evil side (a borderline Cosmic Horror in its own right) in check by hugging Mao, twice.
 * Double Entendre: Mao knows. We all want that sandwich.
 * Downloadable Content: In addition to making almost every character from the past two games in the series plus other Nippon Ichi characters downloadable, players can download Raspberyl Mode, which takes place some time after the events of the main game with Raspberyl replacing Mao as the main character.
 * Ear Worm:
 * The main theme. Especially the lyric-less version that plays in the main hub of the game. It will get stuck in your head for days.
 * The Game Over theme, too.
 * Even Evil Has Standards:  gets a massive tongue lashing from the entire party in the last chapter. Karma eventually bites him HARD. Also in the same game, Raspberyl chews out Mao when he plans to destroy the human world saying that's not something an honor student does, but something scum does. This is a reoccurring theme between the 3 games, along with What Is This Thing You Call Love and Noble Demon.
 * Evil Laugh: Mao. "Muahahaha!"
 * Expy: Geoffrey looks alot like The Schoolmaster from The Wall, shares a few similarities even what with having a very strict agenda of constantly keeping the protagonist in unaltered shape.
 * Eyecatch: Used to break up episodes, along with a short skit.
 * A Father to His Men: Master Big Star.
 * Field of Blades: The 'Infinite Graves' sword-special. Probably a direct reference to the Unlimited Blade Works.
 * Fission Mailed: The end of the first boss battle.
 * Five Man Band:
 * The Hero: Mao
 * The Lancer: Almaz
 * The Big Guy: Mr. Champloo
 * The Smart Guy: Raspberyl
 * The Chick: Sapphire
 * Flipping the Bird: During the game, you have to fight the hands of Mao's father. The middle finger of each hand (named the Bird, of course) has an evility where its stats double when it's the only enemy unit left standing. If you check its in-battle stats, it is also described as "cruel".
 * Foreshadowing:
 * Funnily enough, the little cutscenes that played before you fought and recruited DLC characters foreshadowed Raspberyl Mode slightly.
 * At one point, Raspberyl mentions that one's full potential could be unlocked by "reviving from the brink of death, or your best friend dying".
 * Chapter 4 shows that Mao employs regression as a means of psychological defense against painful experiences,.
 * Fun With Acronyms: The P.T.A. = Perfectly Trained Assassins. Or, in Japan, Perfect Terminator Agents.
 * Genre Savvy: Everyone, with the exception of  who doesn't realise.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: a very small example at the start of the game that some players may miss -- if one tries to use the Classroom before it's made available, Plenair will say that "The classroom is closed for now, due to adult situations."
 * Girl With Psycho Weapon: Sapphire and her chainsaw in perhaps one of the funniest moments of the game. Also proficient with axes.
 * Goldfish Poop Gang: The Vato Brothers. When you meet the first one, the screen initially identifies him as "Obviously Weak".
 * They're even in not one, but two joke levels,.
 * Gratuitous English:
 * Master Big Star in the Japanese version.
 * In the Japanese audio, the savvy side of Mao uses English phrases like "Hey boy!" instead of the Japanese equivalents in practically every line he says.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend: Raspberyl reacts in this way when she's asked by others if she has a thing for Mao.
 * Hostile Show Takeover: Etna shows up to announce Disgaea 3's "sidequest" -- i.e., postgame -- has started after the end credits. And during the postgame, Laharl valiantly leads (or tries to, at least) the main cast of the original game in repeated attempts to reclaim the role(s) of main character(s).
 * Hot for Student:
 * A couple of the teachers at Mao's school have...deep..feelings for their students. Of course we should probably expect this, seeing as they often are Horny Devils. Since it's the Netherworld, stuff like that may even be encouraged.
 * A full chapter is devoted to going to class so that Ms. Machiko, the "sexy teacher" (that is her in-game title) can teach you how to use the power of "crush"... by wiggling your butt at people. Complete with demonstrations and practice.
 * How Dare You Die On Me:
 * Humans Are Bastards: Mao, due to Super Hero Aurum.
 * Image Song: Both Mao ("Go, Mao!") and Almaz ("Unlucky Hero") have one.
 * Ineffectual Loner: Mao starts off as one of these. The whole story is about him learning to open up a bit.
 * Insane Troll Logic: So to recap everything we hear about Evil Academy, it's purpose is to teach students to be proper demons, but they're discouraged from ever attending classes, and in fact teachers will try to stop you from attending classes to so they don't have to work, because they get paid regardless, and nobody ever graduates, except Raspberryl, Kyoko and Asuka because the teachers were sick of them. Really, the "school" is nothing more a money pit where teachers are paid to do nothing.
 * The Jeeves

"Mao: Huh? What's happened to your name?
 * Just One More Level: Lampshaded in the PSN trophy "Consult your physician" (seen here)
 * Karma Houdini: in the Super Hero Mao ending.
 * Kicked Upstairs: Nether Academy finally gets rid of by.
 * The Knights Who Say Squee: An important plot point, even.
 * Lady of War: Sapphire
 * Laser Guided Karma: The net source of Almaz's Throw the Dog A Bone and Rags to Royalty moment.
 * Little Miss Badass: Raspberyl.
 * Luke I Am Your Father: Thoroughly spoofed in one of the endings, where.
 * Man I Feel Like a Woman: Gender-flipped in an omake sequence. Female shapeshifter Beyond X switches through a variety of forms, stopping with Super Hero Aurum, at which point she emits a cloud of hearts until interrupted by the real Aurum.
 * Marshmallow Hell: A girl-on-girl example where Sapphire picks up the tiny, fun-sized Raspberyl and subjects her to Marshmallow Hell. Unsurprisingly, this has sparked a pairing.
 * Medium Awareness:
 * Present during the story, as Mao thinks that to beat the Overlord he must become a Hero and thus works to change his class to said title, and goes Up to Eleven during the post-story, with characters trying to become the main cast so they have more screentime and other exclusive features.
 * Goes Up to Eleven during the event in which Captain Gordon, the Defender of Earth is recruited. Simply put, Mao is suspicious of Gordon being the real deal and checks Gordon's status screen with his proof being that Gordon is wielding a weapon specified only for monster-types. Then to further prove his point, he dares Gordon to magichange which Gordon accepts, only to plop on the ground as a lightsaber.
 * Everyone in the world seems to wear a nametag or something (not shown in their portraits) bearing their name and title, too. There's the whole deal with Mao stealing Almaz's homemade Hero title, plus there's...

Master Bigster: As you can see, someone has stolen the space and letter "a" from my name. And I could only afford a new "e"...

(a bit later)

Mao: Maybe it's a text bug.

Master Bigster: Impossible. I've reported it five times already, and they always say that's how it's supposed to look in this scene."

"Kyoko: Ahh! My lady, watch this! It's a love scene, like we read about in our study guides!
 * Moment Killer: Raspberyl's gang never learned how to Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone.

Asuka: Could it be possible they might do the high-level skill from the 48 expressions of affection, "the Kiss"!?

Beryl: Calm down! Don't get too panicky! Kyoko, you go get the camera! Asuka, you prepare for the interviews!

Almaz: Um, do you mind not mocking us?"

"Mao: Damn you for using such a convenient game mechanic!"
 * Monumental Theft: in the bonus chapter. Subverted in that he may not have actually stolen everything the characters claim he did, and many may just have been engaging in some kooky "insurance fraud".
 * Morality Pet: Raspberyl to Mao.
 * The Musical: While the first two games have more traditional eyecandy-for-the-sake-of-it sequences set to an Anime Theme Song, the third game instead presents its opening as a showtune with of course completely contextual lyrics and the voice actors themselves singing. It manages to be evocative of The Nightmare Before Christmas, "Thriller", and "Hare Hare Yukai"...all at once.
 * YMMV on which style of opening works best, but NIS seems to have returned to the original formula as of Disgaea 4.
 * Nerf: The Majin class, again. Lowest movement in the game, shortest throw range, lowest aptitudes, requires twice the amount of exp. points to level up. The only point in raising one is to have it learn one of the most powerful evilities in the game then pass it to everyone else.
 * Noble Demon:
 * The delinquent Raspberyl fits this bill (Subverted/Lampshaded as she's considered the worst delinquent in school because she's a Noble Demon).
 * Champloo doesn't seem to bother with even the rudimentary evil most Disgaea demons display. Unless there's something sinister about being a Hot Blooded Large Ham chef, he might qualify as the nicest guy in the whole game, humans included.
 * In the Mao's Ambition Ending, Almaz becomes so Noble, he's actually Apologetic about it.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Mr. Champloo = Emeril Lagasse. BAM! Er, BOOM!
 * No Fourth Wall: Especially jarring here, wherein several characters comment that helpful explanations by various characters are "awfully useful for those out there playing this game for the first time."
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Almaz in the Almaz ending.
 * Non Standard Character Design: Several of the DLC characters, such as Gig and Revya, owing to the fact that they come from games with wildly different art styles Disgaea, Phantom Brave, or Makai Kingdom
 * Ojou: Subverted with the Axe Crazy Cloudcuckoolander Sapphire.
 * Old School Building: The setting for part of the second chapter.
 * One Stat to Rule Them All: NIS games normally devolve into extreme offense postgame but it shows up much sooner here compared to other Disgaea games thanks to some damage formula changes.
 * One Winged Angel: Played straight with, who had absorbed so many dark overlords and gods that his own class was "Dark God" during the fight. It's played with, though, when he decides to go to another area after you defeat him so he can let you save.
 * Hilariously lampshaded by Mao.


 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Raspberyl and Mao, though technically the whole point between their rivalry is not necessarily defeat each other, but to better each other as both a Delinquent and an Honor Student respectively. Their rivalry is explored more heavily in Raspberyl Mode.
 * Only Sane Man: Almaz, Master Big Star.
 * Personality Swap: After Mao steals Almaz's "Hero" title, their personalities switch about, a bit of a subversion though, since they act very much themselves.
 * Playing With Fire: Raspberyl
 * The Power of the Unknown Cosmos (Which is definitely not friendship): Mao gets a storyline powerup based on this. He refuses to acknowledge it, though.
 * The Power of Love: Spoofed with Mao's attempts to unlock the Power of Love via research and mad science while completely failing to get what love actually is.
 * Rags to Royalty: Almaz
 * Real Men Wear Pink: ... Or, more accurately, real men teach Home Ec. And they do without a license or benefits!
 * Running Gag: Almaz owes Raspberyl upwards of three autographs.
 * Samus Is a Girl: As Mao and co. find out when they meet Salvatore of the Diez Gentlemen. In fact, half of the Diez Gentlemen are made up of girls.
 * Save the Princess: Subverted. Almaz makes the instant assumption that Princess = Must Be Saved, even if said princess is a trigger-happy Lady Of Ax Crazy (Sapphire). The situation ended in comical pain.
 * In a more serious note, this is why Sapphire is crazy. As a child she witnessed a constant stream of heroes going out and getting themselves killed in her name. She swore that this would never again happen; no matter what she had to become.
 * Sexy Discretion Shot: A Succubus teaches a class on how to "influence" people. We don't see her "lecture", just Mao's excited reaction... And his attempts to imitate her moves.
 * Shout Out: Has its own page.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Sapphire.
 * Smart People Wear Glasses Mao. Raspberyl tends to take them as her own on occasion (see the picture) as if to cement her Smart Guy status. She eventually gets her own pair in Raspberyl Mode.
 * Standard Hero Reward: Referenced by Mao after he learns why Almaz was in the Netherworld in the first place.
 * Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Mao's reaction to 's death in the worst ending.
 * Super Powered Evil Side:  would have gotten one, but...
 * Sweet and Sour Grapes: In Chapter 3, Mao chooses.
 * Take That: The dialogue before the DLC battle against Thursday is an obvious take that at fuel companies and their recent price gouging. Go Mao.
 * Taking the Bullet:
 * Team Dad: Mr. Champloo tends to act like this, BOOM!
 * Tender Tears: Almaz sheds a few for Mao after Mao is accepted as Freshman Class Leader.
 * Theme Naming: The names of the main cast are connected to science, in a way.
 * Mao, aside from literally meaning 'demon lord', can also stand for monoamine oxidase.
 * Almaz, Almandine, Beryl, Sapphire and Rhodonite are gems or minerals.
 * Aurum is Latin for gold.
 * Third Person Person: Gold Knuckle.
 * Throw the Dog A Bone: Almaz.
 * Try Not to Die: Sapphire is horrified when Almaz tells her that he would die for her if necessary (particularly since she's seen far too many would-be-heroes charge to their deaths for her sake), and instead makes him promise that he'll stay alive for her instead..
 * Tsundere:
 * Mao and Raspberyl. Being rivals, they constantly fight and mock each other for choosing their respective positions in the Academy, but they occasionally show that they do care about each other. However, if they are questioned about it, they instantly deny it and say that their actions were only meant to further their own goals. Depending on how one may look at their relationship, it may be a case of Belligerent Sexual Tension.
 * If you fight Adell after defeating Rozalin in the DLC, Raspberyl gets overly excited Rozalin's use of the Tsundere Skill (Rozalin hiding the fact that she's getting Adell a present).
 * Unable to Cry: Sapphire can't even cry for the death of her own mother, and finds herself labeled as cold and heartless by those around her.
 * If you fight Adell after defeating Rozalin in the DLC, Raspberyl gets overly excited Rozalin's use of the Tsundere Skill (Rozalin hiding the fact that she's getting Adell a present).
 * Unable to Cry: Sapphire can't even cry for the death of her own mother, and finds herself labeled as cold and heartless by those around her.

""I wore a Bulletproof Vest.""
 * Unwinnable: Spoofed in the Mao's Ambition ending, where Mao and Almaz accidentally render the game unwinnable through some Sequence Breaking.
 * Unexplained Recovery:

"Mao: The Armageddon of Egginess!!"
 * Up to Eleven: The Level Grinding and Elite Tweaking. The maximum character level is 9,999. Every single item can be leveled up by going through the item world. You can buy new items, go through their item world, and transfer the residents to your favorite equipment for more power. Every character has a class world, the residents of which are the same level as that character, and when you get through it their aptitude increases and you can spend a few thousand mana to upgrade their movement rate and throwing distance and such. Most of your random characters have several character tiers, which you must go through iteratively.
 * Verbal Tic:
 * Mister Champloo. BOOM!
 * The Prinnies, dood!
 * And the Vato Bros., Homes! (Ese!)(Weddo!)
 * Violence Is the Only Option/Violence Really Is the Answer: Even the good demons are subject to this trope. As long as it results in you making friends, Raspberyl encourages people to break into another person's house and challenge them to a fist fight.
 * Also, a meta example: The Majin class demon's last Evility is often seen as the best, as it boosts all stats by 50%. Granted, it cuts EXP gain, but at lv9999 that doesn't matter. The name of that Evility? Violence.
 * Violently Protective Girlfriend: Sapphire. Already Axe Crazy as is, many of her murderous impulses are derived from this trope.
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Awesome: When Mao eats the dragon egg, the music and background change a upbeat tune and space background.

"Mao: We all want that sandwich."
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Heinous: Mao tries to tempt Almaz into doing terribly naughty and perverted things to Sapphire... like sipping drinks from the same glass or getting her to make him a sandwich.

"Mao: I don't know the meaning of the words "level grinding"!"
 * Where It All Began: The final episode of the main story and the final battle of the Raspberyl story both occur in the same location as episode 1.
 * White Haired Pretty Boy: Mao. Except he's just a nebbish-looking kid who happens to have white hair, but close enough.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Parodied.
 * World of Ham: It is a Disgaea game, after all. What did you expect?
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:
 * Mao is convinced that studying video games, manga, anime, and toku shows is the way to learn how to beat an overlord, and attempts to use his knowledge of Fantasy / Scifi RPG tropes to further his goals. Unfortunately, Disgaea is, for the most part, a parody of those tropes...
 * At least as far as plot is concerned. Now, if he had only studied up on acquiring Game Breakers and proper Level Grinding...


 * That's because grinding requires patience and hard work and there's no way the top Honor Student would bother with that. Plus, he makes the Prinnies do the grinding for him.
 * When Almaz points out the necessity of level grinding, Mao retorts that most games also have an instant max level cheat ("What was it? Up, up, down, down..."). He is annoyed that Disgaea is apparently not one of these games.
 * Xanatos Gambit: Two of them:
 * Yank the Dogs Chain: The Almaz ending.
 * Yank the Dogs Chain: The Almaz ending.
 * Yank the Dogs Chain: The Almaz ending.