Etna

Etna is a recurring character in the Disgaea series, first appearing as a playable character in Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. She is a manipulative demon intent on gaining power, and also hides dark secrets within her heart.

She was voiced by Tomoe Hanba in the Japanese version, and by Amanda Winn-Lee and Michelle Ruff in the English version.

Overview

As Laharl's second in command, Etna is a demon who has been working at the castle since before the Prince was born and not particularly impressed by his immaturity. She is also highly ambitious and has the tendency to transparently plot Laharl's overthrow, if only to keep him in line.

Story

Beginnings

In the beginning, Etna tries to wake up Laharl by trying many things, from drills and flails to Gatling guns, swords and jackhammers. From then on, Etna becomes Laharl's closest vassal, though not necessarily most trustworthy vassal, aiding him in his rise to power. She is the only vassal from Laharl's original servants who goes out on the battlefield for him.

Etna is mostly carefree, but also very devious. It's often hard to tell who she is really working for. She has holds deep respect and loyalty towards Laharl's father, King Krichevskoy.

In all but the 'Flonne Tragedy', 'Good', and 'Human Conqueror' ending, Laharl gives up his position as Overlord to Etna. In one ending, she even murders Laharl and Flonne to get the throne, while in the anime, she is given the position of Overlord after Laharl decides to sacrifice his life for Flonne.

Disgaea 2

Etna quits her position as Laharl's vassal after a fight with Laharl over pudding (which is supposedly a rare delicacy from the Sea of Gehenna) and becomes a Demon Lord, taking the Prinny Squad with her. She then travels to Veldime, hoping to eliminate Overlord Zenon, the God of All Overlords, and runs into Adell and his party in the process. In Episode 9, she gives Adell a fake 'Demon Lord's Nail' and is accidentally summoned by his mother. The failed summon drops her back to level one, and in order to regain her former power she deigns to join up with the player's party. At the end of the game, she, along with Hanako, returns to the Overlord's Castle as Laharl's vassal once again.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice

Etna appears alongside Laharl and Flonne and assumes the legendary Overlord they are looking for is Mao, while Mao and his party believe that Laharl is the legendary Overlord. After the battle, she tries to push Laharl to defeat Mao as the two are evenly matched until Almaz makes them realize that neither of them are the legendary Overlord. After the battle, Etna joins the party. Like many of the characters, she has lost something to the legendary Overlord: her one billion Hell savings account.

In an alternate battle, when Laharl appears before Mao, claiming to be his father, Etna tries to convince Mao that she is his mother, speaking in a motherly tone. However, when Flonne starts claiming she's his mother, the two begin to argue over who the mother should be. Her description of Laharl's selfishness makes it clear that she still doesn't forgive him for eating her pudding and that he still eats her sweets without permission. However, in the end, Laharl reveals that they really weren't his parents after all, just an Overlord and his vassals passing by.

Trivia

• A recurring gag with Etna is her getting mad when someone mentions that she's flat-chested, thinks someone called her flat-chested, and when insulted about her chest.
• A very unique quirk of Etna in almost all official artwork, is that she is often seen fingering the collar on her neck and holding her own tail, also in Disgaea 3 and Phantom Brave showed Etna sticking out her tongue.
• She shares her name with a volcano in Italy named Mt. Etna, possibly a reference to her wild, bright red hairstyle and occasional short temper.
• In Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and its remakes, Etna occasionally pulls out a gun during cutscenes, regardless of her equipped item. This is even odder considering that she is usually portrayed in other media using a spear, which she is proficient with using. She is low-ranked in the use of firearms if you actually equip them in-game.
• It seems Etna often uses the excuse of having to pee. In Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Etna tells Laharl she has to pee so she can go to her secret lair. Also in Disgaea Infinite, Etna uses the excuse of having to pee to get out of telling Laharl about the pudding. Even in Cross Edge, Etna says she has to pee after you take her out of your party.
• In the Playstation Home her earrings can be used on your character.
• In Disgaea D2, Etna receives a new special called Dead End Chaos. Unlike other specials, Dead End Chaos is learned by passing a bill in the Post Game, making Etna the first character to learn a new special by passing a bill in the Dark Assembly rather than learning it by traditional methods.
• Related to this, Etna, along with Laharl and Flonne, has four unique special skills, contrary to their usual three, Etna's being Dead End Chaos.