Daisuke Niwa is a clumsy, block-headed, and wimpy middle school student who has few redeeming qualities. On his 14th birthday, he finally decides to confess his love to his longtime crush Risa Harada, but is rejected.
In an unexpected turn of events, however, Daisuke finds himself transforming into Dark Mousy, the infamous phantom thief, whenever his mind is set on Risa. Though Daisuke is unaware of this strange heritage, his mother is certainly not: since before the boy was born, his mother had been planning for him to steal valuable works of art and let the name of the elusive art thief be known.
With doubt and confusion constantly clouding his mind, Daisuke finds himself struggling in his relationships with classmates and family. And it is not long before Daisuke realizes that he is not the only one with a fated family legacy—his greatest adversary could be the one classmate he is most unwilling to fight.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
theeggman85
It seems that most people who have read the manga are disappointed with the series, and that's completely understandable. I usually like to read a manga and then ignore the anime version of it, or possibly try the first few episodes. It's sad but true: the animes just don't quite live up to their manga counterparts. That aside, I have never read the manga, so take into account that my review is written without knowledge of the story manga-style. Fantastic! This anime is truly amazing! I want to start by telling you this: The reason that this anime is so great is the innocence and purity of theromance. Most animes lack this, in fact every other anime I have seen doesn't come close to this. Now this could be because I haven't seen enough romance animes, but D.N. Angel touched me in such a way that still leaves me impacted, one year after viewage. (Yes, I know that's not a word.)
STORY: 9/10
Great story, I'm mainly grading by how engaging the story is, not how inventive it is. Its actually a very simple story, but its this simplicity that makes it beautiful to watch. To boil it down to the essentials, its just a story about a boy who is confused about love. As the story progresses, he slowly finds his way, and begins to understand more about his life.
ART: 9/10
I love the art, its unique yet not too forcefully new. Its very refreshing, and the smooth textures really blend in with the moods of the anime. I'm not a very artsy person, but a big thumbs up in this section.
SOUND: 9/10
The OP is just amazing, I can never get it out of my head. It sounds a bit weird at first, like the vocals are a bit weak, but the more you listen to it, the more it will be stuck in your head. The in-anime music is also fantastic, great great job here too.
CHARACTER: 10/10
This is where D.N. Angel really shines. The characters are simple, some cliche, but these are the characters I have found myself being attached to the most in any anime. The focus ends up being confusion and misunderstandings, and how the characters deal with these. And instead of turning into some dum fanservicey, ecchi, borderline hentai situation like most modern semi-romances do, the characters are forced to turn away from each other and they think long and hard about their feelings. Through this process, you really start to develop your own feelings toward each character. I really really got into this anime after about 13 eps or so, I became slightly obsessed... whoopsie :D
ENJOYMENT: 10/10
Nothing much to be said here; I kinda already said it. It's really great to see such innocence on the screen when other things like violence and fanservice are in high demand. Not that I mind either of those, but D.N. Angel puts those concepts to shame. Shame shame shame, this anime is so good.
OVERALL: 10/10
I am definitely going to have to rewatch this anime when I run out (like that's gonna happen...). But this anime has something that others lack, and its probably its ability to draw the viewer deep into the romance, and you can really see and develop feelings and attitudes during the episodes. Please, you don't want to miss D.N. Angel for the world.
VK11
Let me lead of by first saying that I love D.N.Angel and its an amazing anime, however, I just feel that it had the potential of being so much better than what was presented with the final product in the anime. The story of D.N.Angel is relatively original as you don't see other anime shows adopting what D.N.Angel has - an angel stealing artwork in hopes of preventing world destruction, if you put it in very simple terms. In a nutshell, the Niwa family has long been the bloodline that holds the dark-winged angel, Dark, in their male children and every 40 years or so,it is time once again for Dark to re-emerge and once again steal the artwork or art pieces from the Hikari family, who also houses an angel of their own, Krad <-- Dark spelled backwards if you guys did not notice that immediately. The town that the story takes place seems like it was taken somewhere from Italy and they simply just inserted Japanese speaking people there. ^_^ But don't worry, the town setting perfectly suits D.N.Angel as soon enough, you will be wishing that you were living in that quaint, little town.
A very important part of the plot is the triangle romance between our protagonist, Niwa Daisuke and the Harada identical twin sisters, Risa and Riku. At first, Niwa has a crush on Risa (the prettier of the two sisters) but as the anime progresses, we see a change in Daisuke's heart. And its rather very interesting how the change comes about. The romance is such an integral part because in essence, that is what brings out Dark from Daisuke - his love for Risa. To understand exactly what that is about would be giving away too much. You should watch the anime. ^_^
The animation is actually quite interesting. There are a few scenes in some of the episodes which you'll believe *have* to be computer animated, but amazingly enough, it isn't. In addition, the quality of the animation is crisp, clean and smooth and is up to today's standards, given that the anime is a few years old.
The music to D.N.Angel is very good, however, it does fall short of being exceptional. There are many scores that you will find enjoyable, but some of them just sound too much of the same. The introductory song is fantastic (True Light), however, it is sung in the same pitch of voice, and if you're a big music person who understands that, it may or may not get on your nerves a little.
Character development is a integral part of D.N.Angel as the relationship between Risa, Riku and Daisuke is the overall focal point of the anime. Satoshi Hiwatari is Daisuke's rival in a sense, however, as Daisuke embraces his counterpart in Dark, Satoshi is seen to reject his. The Niwa and Hikari families have been battling each other for centuries over these artworks and Satoshi is adamant in capturing Dark without his counterpart. Its interesting to watch his relationship with Krad throughout the series.
There is no doubt in my mind that everyone who is looking for a cute romance and an interesting plot will enjoy this show immensely. The only qualms that I have with it is that there are not enough battle scenes in the show that is seemingly advertised by the introductory song and the pace of the anime seems a bit slow in some of the middle episodes. The ending was also very abrupt and easily could have been stretched a bit longer, given us more information and more battles. But looking back on it, once can say that it was sufficient enough. However, once you get passed those two or three episodes that do seem a little too slow, you're in for quite a treat. If you're a sucker for romance, look no further than D.N.Angel.
FauxAzn
Just watch the first episode — that’s all it should take. There are plenty of lengthy reviews for D.N.Angel, so I'll try to be concise to save you some time: What makes this anime truly stand out is how the story, the characters, and the romance are all serious and pure. This is not another silly anime where the characters degenerate into loons or crack stupid jokes. They take their lives seriously, which in turn allows you to take them seriously, and eventually get sucked into their world. Though most episodes are captivating and fun, the show does stagnate in places.For example, I remember the snow painting episodes near the end being especially painful to get through. The beginning half also might seem a bit routine and slow, but just wait for the romance that eventually develops with Daisuke halfway through. It was presented very well with a lot of heart, and will keep you coming back for more. Wait for it.
However, keep in mind that this was marketed toward younger viewers, so dialogue, scenes, and characters might come off a bit childish. If you’re young at heart though, you may actually enjoy this point!
Rowan
CHARACTER/STORY: The plotline of DNAngel is really one of a kind. There are so many unique twists throughout the story that there is rarely a dull moment. Basically a boy named Daisuke Niwa falls in love with a girl names Risa Harada. On his fourteenth birthday he is basically rejected by Risa and later when he is thinking of her his DNA has some kind of reaction to Risa and he changes into the phantom thief Dark Mousy every time he thinks of Risa. To make matters difficult, Dark has the same reaction to Risa's twin sister Riku. But there is a problem- Risa is theone who likes Dark and Riku doesn't want anything to do with Dark. There is also a guy named Satoshi Hiwatari- he goes to school during the day and is the commander of the police at night. He is not only assigned to capture Dark but he has personal reasons to do so. Satoshi actually has an alter ego as well, Dark's all time nemisis, Krad. (notice Krad is Dark spelled backwards). Dark is the outgoing, flirty type but he does have a serious side. Daisuke is the innocent, average boy. Krad looks like an angel but has the heart of a devil. Satoshi is the genius, misunderstood character that thinks of nothing but capturing Dark. Risa is too preoccupied with her reputation and her "love" for Dark. Riku is the athletic, stronger twin. With (Wiz) is Dark's familiar and "wings". There are also characters like Daisuke's Mom, Dad, and Grandfather (I forgot their names >.>) that play important roles in some episodes. Anyways, the only way Daisuke can get rid of Dark is if his love (Risa) returns his feelings which is difficult because she is obsessed with Dark.
ANIMATION:
The animation is over-all really well done, in my opinion. There was nothing bad about it that distracts from the anime and there was a lot of effort put into it. Some of the images (especially at the end) look like they were done 3-d and it didn't really fit in to the rest of it, but nothing too distracting.
SOUND:
The music is really great- my favorite is the opening music. It brings out a lot of emotion and really fits really well with the anime.
OVERALL/ENJOYMENT:
I really liked DNAngel. I first saw it off youtube and I didn't have any speakers so at first I didn't get a good look at it because I was too bust trying to read the subtitles. When I was watching it I could think of nothing esle but it. I finally bought the box set and watched it for hours on end, once again thinking if nothing but it until I finished it and even after it was over. It is definately worth a look at, its a really great anime! ((its even better with sound (-^^)- )).
DistinctlyBenign
I really don't understand the raving about this series. D.N.Angel has a typical anime plot, and executes it poorly. The story starts out typically enough, based on the first two episodes it could have really been something good. Young boy who is a high school student by day, and a paranormal thief by night. Its just that the storyline itself develops slowly and never really built up much interest. The actual stealing was a bit interesting, in the style of Lupin the Third, but in the end D.N.Angel just fails to deliver. I'm not sure on the English dub, but I must say that the Japaneses voice actingcast for this series is probably one of the worst I have ever heard. The leading female was alright, but the main characters voice often lacked emotion completely. If the line was about how he was in great danger he would almost sound like he was being sarcastic because of how lacking his voice was in the sense of that danger.
I'm not saying D.N.Angel is a bad anime. Remember, 5 is an average score. However, why watch a 5 when there are still unwatched 8's 9's and 10's?
Phill-z
There is nothing outstanding to say about D.N.Angel. When I think of it, nothing really comes into my mind as to how it's unique compared to other animes, or how all the pieces of it create something truly great because it's not. Story: Prophecies/Fate/Family Secrets are all plot points which, unless done really well, make an anime extremely cliched. I couldn't tell whether this anime was a crime/fantasy anime or a fantasy/romance. They make this really big deal about Dark being an amazing theif, which originally I thought was pretty cool, but then they make him steal magical things that hurt people...which grewvery boring, very quickly. The other facet is the romance aspect. Dark and Niwa share a body, and Niwa loves one girl, and Dark, of course, loves her sister. This puts in alot of misplaced angst because obviously Niwa doesn't want Dark flirting with the other sister...I think.
Art: The art really does nothing good for the anime. It feels campy and tired. There's nothing in the art that seperates it from other anime made in the same year or in the same style. They occasionally do some nice effects, but nothing really that oustanding. The character designs are alright, but everyone became very boring after awhile.
Sound: They try to impliment songs during some "fight" scenes, they don't work at all and I was tempted to skip them in boredom. The beginning/ending songs didn't really stand out to me, just felt like the same boring j-pop that you can find anywhere. Some of the effects they used were pretty nice, but there were a few they threw in which sounded very cliched.
Character: Niwa is a clumsy, shy, kind kid who has a crush on some girl but can never bring himself to tell her. Oh...and did I mention that his family worship the occult and have been training him to be a thief/assassin since he was very small? And yet despite this training, he's still "clumsy" and we see him muddling up small things because of this. And then....inhabiting the same body, there's Dark Mousy. He's bad. He's a super-thief and he's also everything that Niwa isn't. The fact that they like seperate sisters makes sure that the right amount of drama is infused because obviously Niwa doesn't want Dark to ruin his love-life. The other characters are boring, they build off the four mains and every now and again they throw in Satoshi..who loves Niwa and hates Dark....which is very strange. But the characters in D.N.Angel are only skin-deep.
Enjoyment: Frankly, I didn't enjoy this anime, I found the self-contained episodes...especially in the beginning, to be very tiring. I was trying not to fall asleep during many parts.
There's nothing spectacular about this anime. In a couple days I will most likely forget almost everything about it. I wouldn't recommend this anime, but it's definitely not the worst thing anyone could see.
inarizushi
Way, way back in middle school, I read this manga. That was back when I snapped up every manga I could find, and adored phantom thieves (Kurama, and Tuxedo Kamen, and Saint Tail, oh my!). A friend gave me the box set of the anime for Christmas and I was so excited. Until I watched it. D.N.Angel can't decide if it wants to be an epic story of light vs. darkness or a show about a middle school love triangle. It starts out good enough with the phantom thief angle, but that turns into a completely different story about ancient magical rivals. Which would be fine exceptthat the pacing is way off. Instead of the thief bit being the introduction to the magical rival bit, we get lots of episodes stretching out the first part and the latter being rushed and confusing.
For the sake of a middle school love triangle.
The story has it's original aspects, but it quickly gets derivative. Our lead, Daisuke Niwa, is utterly bland. He makes up for this by having a cute furry mascot and turning into the dashing thief Dark Mousy--via a strange genetic condition--that is so good at stealing things, he sends out calling cards to the police and still gets away with the prize. And, in the history of great shoujo tropes, Daisuke turns into Dark by getting flustered by his crush or thinking about her too hard. Romantic hijinks ensue!
Daisuke is in love with one Risa Harada, who predictably has the hots for Dark. (Super Man, anyone?) Risa is, of course, the school idol and moe princess with a tsundere twin who would love Daisuke's affections if only she could stop berating him long enough. Which twin will he choose!?
Meanwhile, sickly child prodigy super detective (WHO IS IN THE SAME CLASS AS ALL THE OTHER MAIN CHARACTERS) Satoshi Hiwatari is out to catch Dark, but oh no! His body is home to the phantom Krad...who is the opposite of Dark. You know. Because their names are reverse. It turns out that even though Krad is lighter (blond, light eyes, wears white, where as Dark dresses in black, black hair, violet eyes), he's the more dangerous of the two and his family has made or collected potentially threatening objects over the years that Dark must steal to neutralize.
Things that work:
Daisuke's mom, Emiko is a fantastic character. She's hilarious, involved in the story (she has agency! Even though she's a mother!), and a competent thief herself. Because of the "family secret/trade", she's been training Daisuke since birth and possibly before and guides him along.
Dark, for being a typical "cool bishounen" is actually interesting and can be really funny when he looses that cool.
Krad and Dark obviously hate each other, what with being exact opposite beings and all, but Daisuke and Satoshi manage to form a strained but genuine friendship. Not an easy task with Dark screaming inside Daisuke's head about it.
Daisuke can only stop turning into Dark if the person he loves returns those feelings, but as I said before, love triangle. Risa is the one that triggers the transformation into Dark, so Risa is the one he needs to end up with, but what of his developing feelings for Riku the twin that actually knows he exists? There is the implication that he could be trapped into a relationship with Risa, which is an interesting take on the situation. Things get more complicated when he wonders if he wants to get rid of Dark at all, since they become close.
The theme of dark does not equal evil never gets old.
In 1997, having the boy be the protagonist of a shoujo story and turn into someone else was a cool new idea. We get a lot of Daisuke's inner monologue, which while never being shocking, it's nice to hear a boy muse about his feelings.
The art is decent. I don't care for the character designs, but the colors are bright and crisp.
The music is surprisingly good.
What didn't work:
Besides all the cliches an utter predictability, the world wasn't clearly defined. There was a lot of use of German, European type spell books, references to fairy tales, and Dark and Krad having English names, but a clear mythology wasn't revealed. The city also looked very German, but the kids attended a Japanese style school and behaved very...err Japanese. I was perpetually confused over the setting and culture.
The romance wasn't all that engaging (to moe or tsundere! that is the question!) and ate up way to much of the time.
I wasn't a fan of the character designs, especially Daisuke's weird, out of place hair.
Pacing. Pacing was a problem.
Ultimately:
I guess watch this if you like the manga? Or pretty 1990's style bishounen? Or if you're REALLY into pre-teen romance?
Don't watch it for the magic or phantom thieves though. There are better anime out there for that.
KuroiNamida
D.N. Angel is definitely one of the best animes of all time. It's quite well known, and with good reason. The story deals with the blurry borders between certain things - such as Good vs. Bad. And the plot basically asks one question that has become rather philosophical through the ages. "Does the end justify the means?" Without giving away the plot, I mean of course, "Is Dark/Daisuke Niwa's job alright because of his reason for doing it?" The artwork - to be quite frank, is marvelous. In particular episodes, the artwork is so outstanding, my emotions became overwhelming dueto the sheer fact that the artist's ability to portray a situation were just so superb. It's detailed, clear, and absolutely gorgeous.
Besides the plot and art, the characters in D.N. Angel are without question original and interesting. The depth to them is amazing... The opinions you have about a character will most likely change drastically by the time you finish the series. Throughout the series, the relationships between the characters change a lot - in certain cases it becomes completely opposite of what it had been before.
In other words, D.N. Angel is, to me, a legendary anime that no other can compete with. I must say I'm rather disappointed that there are no movies are OVAs to it... Some of the greatest animes of all time have several movies and OVAs. This anime is right up there with the best, yet it has nothing but the actual series. Ah well. ^^ Either way, it's still an anime that is simply magnificent, and I'm glad to have watched it!
Reborn1991
D.N.Angel is an anime that i can say is a classic, the story was very understanding and simple to follow. the main character is in love with Risa Harada, but when he is about to confess to her he is friend-zoned by her, and you know the rest if you read the Synopsis. The Art was Great not only the character concept, but the art in the pictures, there is nothing bad i can say about the drawings. The Sound isn't bad but some of the sound is annoying, but other than that it is very pleasing to the ears especially the background music. The Characters are awesomei will explain all of them
Niwa Daisuke: Okay this character kinda surprised me. Here is my first reaction to this character, another cowardly main character. i was wrong, he was a shy character, but not cowardly. I liked how they made him, though he was very caring about every character which was a little disturbing.
Risa Harada: she is my least favorite character. i don't like shallow girls and she is a very shallow girl.
Riku Harada: She is the older twin sister of Risa she is a light tsunadere. She is an awesome character and the complete opposite of Risa.
Satoshi Hiwatari: The rival of Niwa, at first i thought he was homosexual, but it turns out that he doesn't care much for anybody.
Dark:The Main character's alter ego until he found true love. He is not shy like Daisuke is. he shows some interest in Risa.
Krad: The Main villain, the name is not very creative, but he is the alter ego of Satoshi. He is pure evil despite the fact that he looks like the good guy lol
The anime was enjoyable, but some of it was kinda "next episode please", but other than that it was interesting it had some comedy in it so you can let off a chuckle or smile, it wasn't always drama.
this is my 1st review of an anime i didn't want to spoil so i held back as much as i could but yeah overall i give this show a 9/10
Cupcake_1
A little about the Characters D.N.Angel follows the adventures of Daisuke Niwa and how he must cope with his alter-ego, Dark Mousy. Because of the nature of the ability, his two friends, the twin sisters Riku and Risa Harada become involved. Other central figures include Satoshi Hiwatari, a descendant of the Hikari family who created the artworks that Dark targets in his thefts and the adopted son of a high ranking police officer. Like Daisuke, Satoshi possesses his own alter-ego, Krad. Daisuke's family act as supporting characters in the story and aid Daisuke as he copes with the instability of his transformations. A little more D.N.Angel was adaptedinto a 26 episode anime series by Dentsu which aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 3, 2003 until September 25, 2003. The series was directed by Koji Yoshikawa and Nobuyoshi Habara.
The series is licensed for release in North American and the United Kingdom by ADV Films, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment.[5][6]
Five pieces of theme music are used in the anime adaptation. The song "White Night -True Light-" (白夜 ～True Light～ ,Byakuya -True Light-?), by Shunichi Miyamoto, is used for the opening for all twenty six episodes. For the ending theme, "Gentle Afternoon" (やさしい午後 ,Yasashii Gogo?) is used for the first twelve episodes, and "The Day It Begins" (はじまりの日 ,Hajimari no Hi?) is used for episodes 13-23 and episode 25. Both songs are performed by Minawo. Episode 24 uses the song "Caged Bird", by Shunichi Miyamoto, for its ending, while the final episode of the series uses Miyamoto's song "Guidepost" (道標 ,Michishirube?).
For me this Anime Teaches About the real world it helps u know So much, In one Part for me it teaches the sometime went u love someone u need to do the best for the one u love not only think of yourself
PS. If you’re looking for a fun love and yes no this it will make u cry big time well good look
I give it all a 10 ^-^
Muan142
Watch it before you read the manga. Premise: Guy, Daisuke transforms into Phantom thief Dark. Dark is different personality that lives in his head. Ladies man, very suave. Daiske is a nice dweeb, dreams of being like Dark. Can't stop transforming till girl likes him. In the mean time, he steals magic cursed art. Opinion: I liked, no loved this show before I read the manga. Daisuke is such a loser, Risa just tramples over him, and I could sympathize with that. A lot of guys can actually, despite it being about a bunch of bishounen who act ambiguously gay at times, this anime tends to appeal alot to guys.
Me, I'm having a hard time recommending it. I remember loving this series. I own all the DVDs. The English voice actor commentary alone is worth it. I love the final episode where Satoshi's voice actor is commenting alongside Krad's and he tells the story of how when he was going in to do the last episode, Risa's voice actress was just getting done, and they crossed paths in the parking lot. She comes up to him and say, "Oh Greg, your character." and she is just swooning. And Greg has no idea what happens in the last episode. The English voice actors were never allowed to see their parts before they did them and everybody on the staff thought Satoshi was gay.
That's just about the only reason I keep the anime. A lot of great stories in those commentaries. The actors used to call the world in which DNAngel happens "The Land of Clueless" because none of the voice actors had any idea what was going on most of the time.
Anyway, I don't know\what to tell you. I watched this over and over again in high school, and I'm glad a friend of mine warned me not to read the manga until I finished the series, because the manga is just so much damn better it put's this thing to shame. I'm sorry. I guess I should be reviewing the manga.
Aishiteruze
D.N Angel is about an ordinary boy, named Daisuke Niwa who has a family secret: when a boy in the Niwa family turns 14, he\'s prone to turning into phantom thief Dark. The only way to turn into this phantom thief is to think about the girl that he has strong feelings for. At this point in time, it\'s a girl named Risa. Dark has an alternate named Krad, who is represented as angel, which is like \"light\", and they\'re constantly at war with each other, but the reality is they both have to be conjoined together. D.N angel is such a cute anime to watch, Daisukeis the main character and he is so genuine, sweet, and caring, you just have to go \"Daisuke!!\" Dark is completely different from Daisuke, and the adventures that they have together are crazy and so intoxicating, and on the other hand Risa and her twin sister Riku, are both friends with Daisuke, and at the same time, don\'t know that he is also the phantom thief that the police are trying to capture!
yoshiness
*I am not really good at writing long reviews... so yea...* Story/Art Not sure how to answer this Great story line. I can't think of another anime with this kind of idea. Sound Sound effects, voices, music, and everything just matched the characters themselves and played at just the right times (??? lol) CharacterEach character has a unique "aura". Just by their hobbies and actions you can tell what kind of people they are. You can also relate to some of them.
Enjoyment
I couldn't stop watching this show once i started (finished it in 3 days, because I started it after it finished airing)
TokyoSanchez
D.N. Angel is quite the strange topic to talk about, really. There are so many things both wrong and right with this show that it kind of blurs the line between good and bad. I don't have anything else to say really, so lets get right on with it. The first thing I will mention, and it is by far the biggest flaw this series has, is the narrative structure. D.N. Angel doesn't really have an overarching story, nor does it have an episodic storyline as it tends to jump between the two. The problem comes from the standalone episodes that have nothing to do withthe main story or the main romance. I don't have a problem with episodic stories; I actually find them vast with wonderful stories and characters even with only 22 minutes or so. However, D.N. Angel fails to capitalize on this.
First off, the standalone episodes aren't interesting to begin with. They could have been, but a lot of them come off as very stilted and jarring, and doesn't really leave any impact on the viewer after the episode. Second, they make the overarching story and main romance way more rushed then it needed to be. So many episodes and even characters could have been cut out to focus on the stuff that was actually good in this anime, but with over half the episodes being stuff that rarely mattered to the main storyline that weren't even good, we are left with a very underdeveloped story.
However, the stuff that is good can still keep enjoyment levels fairly high. For one, the romance. Although not much happened until the latter half of the series, the two romantic leads have fantastic chemistry together, and I really bought them as a couple. I'll give you a fair warning though: even though this is classified as an action romance, the action here is fairly limited. This doesn't bother me that much as the romance was particularly strong, but if you want good action, I suggest you look elsewhere.
Another strong point, although it made little to no sense, was the setting. What I mean by this is that the town the characters reside in is European in nature, with all the houses and various artifacts being German or something (I apologize if I am horribly wrong with that statement). However, it still states it is set in Japan, with is kind of awkward. The setting is still cool from a story perspective, but I wish they didn't have to mention the real world at all in the series, so that way I could suspend my disbelief a lot easier.
There are a lot of strange logical errors in D.N. Angel if you happen to catch them, but they are more nitpicks than anything. For example, Daisuke Niwa's grandpa looks and acts like he is in his 70's or 80's, but based on the information we are given, he is only 54. Doesn't really matter, but it's just kind of amusing even it's kind of dumb.
Also, the actual overarching story, or what we get of it anyways, is fairly unique. It's a unique twist on the family rivalry kind of story, and it delves fairly deeply into various types of artwork and how strongly it can affect both the people creating the art and witnessing that creation, which was pretty interesting.
Now, the characters, oh god the characters...
There are some really good characters in D.N. Angel, and there are some trash tier ones as well. But let's start off on a positive note. The main character, Daisuke Niwa, is a very likeable protagonist. You make think of him as very by the numbers (which many people do by the looks of it), but I think he's a step up from the usual cookie cutter protagonist. Yes, he is your typical nice but kinda clumsy dude, but there is quite a bit more to him than that. His love for drawing (which kind of interferes with his family's business in an interesting way), appreciating the beauty in nature and artwork, and most especially his interactions with Dark, Hiwatari, and the romantic lead, are very well handled. I especially liked how in the early episodes he felt he was completely overshadowed by Dark (LOL SEE WHAT I DID THERE SO FUNNY) and his acceptance of him as the series progressed.
Dark as a character isn't much to talk about. He's just cool and that's all he really needs to be I guess.
Hiwatari is probably my favourite character in the show, mainly for the position he is put in. I'm not going to spoil it, but he is put in a situation that he never really agrees with, which creates an interesting relationship between Daisuke and him. I guess I also have to quick mention how much effort the creators put into creating a yaoi ship between those two. Guess they wanted to turn the shoujo demographic into a bunch of raging fujoshi's, but hell if I know.
Riku Harada also isn't much to talk about, but that's mainly because of spoilers. She's a good character for the role she is put into, and once again, that's all she needed to be.
Now let's go to the fucking godawful. Risa Harada... I get goosebumps remembering all the times she pissed me off. I have not been this annoyed with a character in a long time. She is the most bratty, fangirly, disrespectful, superficial and downright douchebaggy character in any show I have ever seen. They try to give her character development in the last fourth or so of the show, but I plain don't give a damn. She was just so cringeworthy.
And speaking of cringeworthy, let's talk about Mio Hio. Holy shit, the engrish on this character was so bad. Her role in the plot was laughably bad, and before that came to light, she was also just incredibly annoying.
All the other characters are pretty okay; nothing special.
The animation is nothing to write home about. The designs are serviceable, the 3D camera movements weren't awful, but they certainly weren't that great. They re-used a ton of those shots as well, especially the goddamn downwards pan of the school. Pretty meh, but still hold up generally well even over a decade later in my opinion.
The OST is also not that memorable. The opening was quite decent though, even though the vocalist doesn't really sound like he's trying all that hard. That might be part of the charm, I don't know, but it was weird all the same.
Lastly, the voice acting. I'll be completely honest, the reason I started watching D.N. Angel was because I saw that Greg Ayres was voicing a main character and I was like fuck yeah! (I have a soft spot for the guy, I just like his unorthodox voice I guess) However, I only managed to get through 2 episodes of the dub before having to go to sub, and the funny thing is, Greg Ayres as Hiwatari was by far the best sounding of the main cast. Daisuke in the dub sounded godawful, and the supporting characters even worse.
But what I find incredibly astonishing is that, even though it's better than the dub, the Japanese voice acting isn't really that good either. Niwa's voice actor is incredibly annoying, especially when he shouts a name. Riku's voice actress also wasn't that good, but fared better than Niwa's VA. Once again, Hiwatari's VA was the shining star in the sub. It is incredibly rare to find a sub that isn't that good, but unfortunately, I found it.
Crunch time. Is D.N. Angel worth your time? Honestly, I have no idea. There are so many problems structure wise, half the episodes aren't even that interesting, and Risa and Mio are some of the most insufferable characters in anime history. There are some really good parts too: the other main characters, the themes, the setting and what we got of the overarching story, etc. I just don't know if that is good enough to give it a pass. Personally, I had an experience where I knew the overall product was more bad than good, but there was something about it that kept my enjoyment level at a consistently decent mark. In the end, I'd probably say watch a few episodes, and if you don't basically what is going on, skip it. There isn't enough here to warrant a good recommendation, but I can't deny that some people have and will like this show a great deal more than I did. But for what it was, I had a good time.
yuudaiikanata
'mkay, d.n. angel.. i remebered that faithful day when i accidentally stumbled upon the tv channel where this was showing. the first episode got me hooked! what i liked about this show was because of the art works. haha. the story is nice actually. it's unique in its own ways but interesting nonetheless. art work is great! XD although i found some instances when they were a bit too skinny. haha. OST is great as well, i actually had the songs downloaded. i prefer the action over the love story (though the love story IS the side story) i just found it boring when they were focusingon it =__= but generally, it's a good watch.
owaru :)
HaruhixAngel
(Taken from the same review on Hummingbird.me by the same user, but changed to better fit MAL guidelines.) D.N.Angel is a shoujo anime series, based off the manga by Yukiru Sugisaki. While this series isn't especially popular anymore, it was pretty popular in the 2000s, especially with young teenage girls. NO, WAIT, COME BACK! I'M NOT DONE YET! I personally believe that just because a show has a...erm, vocal fangirl fanbase, does not automatically make it a bad show. In fact, most of these shows are pretty mediocre and harmless. Is D.N.Angel a mediocre shoujo franchise, an underrated masterpiece, or a piece of garbagethat only the most impressionable of teenagers can enjoy? Let's break it down and find out.
Story
This series has a pretty interesting concept, and the story itself is pretty okay. Since this is a fantasy show, it's hard to criticize the story for being "unrealistic." That being said, this anime does have filler episodes that add nothing to the story. It's expected from a show with 26 episodes to have some filler for the most part, Most episodes are for character development, but saying that is somewhat generous. There's an episode where the animal sidekick falls in love with another animal. Now that I think of it, didn't Tokyo Mew Mew, another shoujo anime from the same time period, do something similar with cats? Weird. Other than that, I don't have too many complaints about the story itself. It's execution is okay, and it's pretty easy to follow
Animation
The animation was done by Xebec, a subsidiary of IG Port, the holding company of PRODUCTION I.G, I kid you not. Xebec also worked on shows such as Love Hina, Shaman King, Negima!: Master Negi Negi, To Love-Ru, and many other series. There isn't too much to say about the animation, other than it's pretty good. The action scenes look pretty good, while the calmer scenes look...good enough. It's not a strain on your eyes or anything. It does definitely look like a 2003 anime, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Sound
The opening theme song is called "White Night -True Light," performed by Shunichi Miyamoto. The opening song is actually a really good song, and the opening animation is really good as well. There's also an official English version performed by Vic Mignogna, Dark Mousy's English voice actor. That version is actually just as good as the Japanese version, a rarity for dubbed anime songs. There are a few ending songs, but they are ultimately forgettable and do not stick around in your head for long. The BGM is fairly decent, but the show does like to repeat certain pieces like...every episode, pretty much. If that doesn't bother you, then the soundtrack is decent.
As for the Japanese dub, I cannot say if it is actually good or not, because I do not speak Japanese and I'm not an expert on Japanese voice acting. The only thing I can say about it is that it sounds good from an English speaker's perspective. Now let's talk about something that doesn't sound good AT ALL.
The dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever sat through, up there with Higurashi and Elfen Lied. The casting itself isn't that bad, however. It's just irritating. Thankfully, we also have some half decent performances. Hilary Haag did a good job with Riku's character. No, it's not the best performance ever, but it's still good enough for what it is. The best performance has to go to Vic Mignogna as Dark. He captured the sarcastic tone and attitude of Dark very well, and he brings emotion to the character, like he does in most of his other roles. It's not as good as his performance in FMA, but he's still fun to listen to. Thank god for him, because he's the only saving grace in the English dub. If you are going to watch this anime, please watch the Japanese version, for your ears' sake.
Character
The protagonist is a typical love-struck teenage boy. Yes, he's very obsessive over Risa, but he's not the worst of this archetype. I suppose he has a "good heart," but in all seriousness, he's just an average character who's not very interesting. Risa Harada is your typical fangirl. She loves Dark to pieces, watching him on T.V, trying to meet up with him as much as possible and always talking about him. She's just as annoying as she sounds, and she gets in the way of Dark's schemes. I know she's supposed to be cute, but she's really not. Her sister is the polar opposite. She's probably the most relatable character in the whole show. She feels insecure about her feelings for Daisuke due to her tomboy-ish attitude, and she cares about his happiness much more than Risa does. She also worries about her sister and has a very close bond with her.
Dark Mousy had a lot of potential as a character, but does not develop into later in the series. He's just there for two reasons:
1. To steal stuff
2. To provide eye candy for both Risa and the target audience
All of the other characters are pretty forgettable, with Hiwatari being the typical cold teenager and Krad being the typical bad guy. However, the characters are actually pretty fun to watch if you forget about their flaws. The interactions and different relationships are all very entertaining.
Enjoyment
If you don't think too much about how good the show actually is, it's surprisingly enjoyable. I had a lot of fun making fun of the show's silliness at times. I 'm sure teenage girls will go crazy over Dark and enjoy that aspect of the show as well. I don't care about that, but hey, to each their own. I personally had a blast watching this anime. It's definitely guilty pleasure worthy.
Overall
As a whole, D.N.Angel is a fairly decent series. It's not anything special, but it could have been a lot worse than it is. I have heard that the manga is better, so if you are unsatisfied with the anime, the manga is probably worth checking out. The characters are decent, the story is decent, the animation is decent. The best word to describe this series is "decent." I would recommend this series to someone who has just started watching anime or someone who likes romance/action series. To answer the question asked in the beginning; D.N.Angel is indeed a mediocre shoujo franchise.
Rinjii
First of all, hearing about DN Angel, I first got the impression of not being interested on it. I decided to buy the DVD to try watching a bit of it. After awhile, I started to take a liking on the Anime Series due to some reasons (maybe because it's Romance and Magic). I love the anime series so much that It resulted to addiction *I guess*. I made DN Angel as one of my best watched anime ever! Daisuke Niwa is a 14-year-old boy who has a special genetic ability: whenever he sees or thinks about his crush, Risa Harada, he turns into the infamousphantom thief Dark. Satoshi Hiwatari is a student at the same school as Daisuke and the Harada twins, as well as the Commander of the police force who is heading the investigation on Dark. He is also member of the Hikari family, a clan of artists which has opposed the Niwa family of thieves for centuries.
piphie
Story: The story has no story. This is just one of those animes that you watch for the hot guys. Certainly the most of a plot I could get out of D.N.Angel was that 12 year old Daisuke Niwa belongs to a family that has played host to the phatom theif Dark Mosey. The reason it's called D.N.Angel is because Dark is like a black angel (he has wings) and his DNA lives within Daisuke's. Meaning Daisuke's body has two hosts. Whenever Daisuke sees his crush (Risa Harada) he turns into Dark, and when Dark sees his crush, twin older sister of Risa, Riku Harada,he turns back into Daisuke.
The anime passes with lots of fillers, and mini-storys (like Naruto, only shorter). Mostly Dark's purpose in life for his centuries with the son of the Niwa family is to steal peices of art that are tainted, and seal off the evil in it. Of course, he never gives the art back after sealing it. Plus some people like Krad, the opposite angel to Dark comes in, and they're both very pleasing to the eye so let's just watch them fight! Sadly, the ending made no sense to me at all and all my little dangles of string were just cut into little pieces in front of my eyes.
The story has a lot of suggested shounen-ai, so for all you boy+boy=^^ people, D.N.Angel is the shounen-ai without the yaoi, sort of...
Art: This is the reason people watch D.N.Angel. Dark is beatiful, and though in the anime his hair sometimes has the blocky look to it, overall it satifies the eye. No wonder my picture is of Dark and Daisuke eh? (Dark has the purple hair) I also realized that people's eye colour mataches their hair colour!
Sound: I'm pretty sure there wasn't any music, no there was, but not in penty that I can remember.
Character: I don't really see much character devolopment, there's more of a romantic developement. But Risa's still very obbesed with Dark until the end and Daisuke only matures in the sense that, "I can't get this girl so I'll go for the twin who's a bit more mature." And Dark is always just his lusty self.
Overall: Not a bad anime, it's a good starter one, for people who need to get used to the people having strange powers and supernature activities found in many animes. Also great for people who just fantasize about shounen-ai. Not a must watch, just a should watch.
Elfsire
I liked the idea but i was actually rather dissapinted, the plot seemed to drift and the character krad was barely seen. There needs to be more character developement i feel its to short. Great opening song and i love dark hes great. But after about 5 episodes although i stuck with it by the end i really didnt care what happened as the story seemed to come out of nowhere as though half way through the idea sparked up to have artwork contain power. I really feel more can be done for this anime as its a great concept.
