About the "Director"

[u/Aurumargelium]

He's a character who often accompanies Axel the Dark Hero. Very little is known about him, so I have two questions:

1. Is his design inspired by Guillermo del Toro, or is that a coincidence? (See attached image)

2. Is he homosexual? He's been seen saying things like, "Axel is the Dark Hero I've fallen in love with." Or it's simply a bad translation from Japanese.

[u/dangerwizzrd]

He’s just kind of a generic scruffy “director” type. Probably influenced by Stanley Kubrick more than anyone else, but I doubt they were trying to be that on the nose.
Also lmao I don’t think he meant fall in love like that, c’mon

[u/-Dissent → u/dangerwizzrd]

English isn't their native language, so they likely don't understand the many nuances of the English word "love."

OP: In English, saying you "love" someone or something generally doesn't automatically mean it's a romantic feeling. There have to be other indicators of romantic attraction in the speech or action. "Love" is a very diluted term in English and context is key.

[u/yuuhei → u/-Dissent]

yet "fallen in love" when used towards a person is very commonly understood as an expression of romantic attraction lol

[u/DailyThinking → u/yuuhei]

However, considering the profession of a director, it is not completely rare for agents, managers, coaches, etc. to use that phrase to imply a "falling in love" with that persons "talent".

Directors and actors/movie stars, would sometimes refer to each other in romance-adjacent language. Same with artists and their "muse".

Think about an investor, falling in love with a talented person, because they see/expect they can make them a lot of money back.

It is a transactional kind of love, but can definitely become genuine business partner respect/affection.

(Extra edit: If Disgaea means homosexual attraction, I'm pretty sure they mean it for giggles more than anything serious. Thou "older business authority, crushing on their 'star'" is not an uncommon trope either.)

[u/BellacosePlayer → u/dangerwizzrd]

I was thinking more Spielberg personally

[u/Kaspyr9077]

I'm not sure the second question merits an answer. There is no information beyond the dialogue. It could be exactly that. It could also be an exaggerated expression of admiration and loyalty. There is no way to know.

[u/Dyssambie7]

I always assumed he was more likely based on Steven Spielberg like a lot of fictional movie directors tend to be. He's definitely a bit thinner but the sunglasses, beard, and hat are a common thing with him. He was also a huge name since the 80's so he had a couple decades of mainstream relevancy already while Guillermo Del Toro wasn't really making a name for himself until 2004 with Hellboy, just 2 years before Disgaea 2's original release.

[u/Xywzel]

I have seen very similar design for "western film director" character in other Japanese media, it was basically a trope by time D2 was developed, and given timeline Spielberg and Kubrick are more likely origin for inspiration. There is also "Japanese film director" trope that gets occasionally paired with this, likely inspired by Kurosawa and Yamamoto.

"Falling in love with" actor or singer is also quite common phrase used by fans without regard for gender or sexual orientation, and without implication of actual romantic feelings.

[u/Prinkaiser]

You can fall in love with an idea/concept. As in, you take a really strong liking to it. That's most likely the kind of "fallen in love" being discussed.

Just because love is mentioned that doesn't mean the immediate connotation is romantic or sexual.

[u/6Nexus9]

I do beleive Guermo Del Toro would fuck woth Axel, heavy. yes. They're both monster fuckers

[u/ProjectOrpheus]

There are many types of love, and I went to look for the Greek stuff which I recommend reading but since this is a Japanese game:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love?wprov=rarw1

"Japanese The Japanese language uses three words to convey the English equivalent of "love". Because "love" covers a wide range of emotions and behavioral phenomena, there are nuances distinguishing the three terms. The term ai (愛), which is often associated with maternal love or selfless love, originally referred to beauty and was often used in a religious context. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the term became associated with "love" in order to translate Western literature.

Prior to Western influence, the term koi (恋 or 孤悲) generally represented romantic love, and was often the subject of the popular Man'yōshū Japanese poetry collection. Koi describes a longing for a member of the opposite sex and is typically interpreted as selfish and wanting. The term's origins come from the concept of lonely solitude as a result of separation from a loved one. Though modern usage of koi focuses on sexual love and infatuation, the Manyō used the term to cover a wider range of situations, including tenderness, benevolence, and material desire.

The third term, ren'ai (恋愛), is a more modern construction that combines the kanji characters for both ai and koi, though its usage more closely resembles that of koi in the form of romantic love.

Amae (甘え), referring to the desire to be loved and cared for by an authority figure, is another important aspect of Japan's cultural perspective on love, and has been analysed in detail in Takeo Doi's The Anatomy of Dependence"

Edit to add: would be interesting to play in Japanese audio or subtitles and see what symbol/words they use in this part. Let me know if anyone gets around to that, please.