D.N. Angel
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- Not to be confused with the bishoujo comedy DNA2
D.N. Angel is a manga which was later, turned into an anime by Yukiru Sugisaki (杉崎ゆきる).
Yukiru Sugisaki's wildly popular DNAngel manga, inspired a hit 26-episode anime show, and began its manga run in Japan in Asuka Magazine in 1997. Although at times an action series, its artstyle, character design, and romantic context identify it as shoujo. The manga is published in English by TokyoPop.
The television series was produced by ADV Films, aired from April 3-September 25, 2003. ran for 26 episodes, and 7 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD.
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Background story
Daisuke Niwa is a fourteen year old boy who has a "special condition" due to his genes: whenever he has feelings of love or thinks of his crush, Risa Harada, he turns into his alter-ego, Dark, who is a Legendary phantom thief. However, when Dark sees his crush, Riku Harada, Risa's twin sister, he turns back into Daisuke. The only cure for his "condition" is for him to get his crush, Risa, to return his love.
Characters
Names are written in Eastern order, with the surname before the given name.
Niwa Daisuke
The 14 year old hero of the story, a typical school boy who has a crush on his friend, Harada Risa. However because of the Niwa family heritage his special DNA merged with that of the phantom thief Dark, when he was rejected by his love, Risa. He can turn into Dark's body whenever he experiences feelings of love. Very cute and shy, he is the opposite of Dark and is always trying to stop Dark from doing crazy things. Later on, he falls in love with the older twin sister, Harada Riku. Even if he doesn't look or act like it, Daisuke is very athletic, and can jump from heights that a normal boy could never be able to do. He also has the ability to pick any and all kinds of locks.
Dark Mousy
The bishounen of the story. He is the entity passed on from the Niwa generation to each new male once he reaches the age of 14 and experiences love. He was gone for 40 years due to the fact that Daisuke's grandfather (who was Dark before Daisuke) had a daughter, Emiko Niwa. Being female, it was impossible for Dark to appear once more. He is the phantom thief who constantly steals art pieces made by the Hikari family. Unlike Daisuke who likes Risa, Dark fell in love with Riku, the older twin sister. He uses Wiz as his wings.
Harada Risa
The younger twin sister, Daisuke is in love with her. However she rejected him when he confessed on his 14th birthday. She sees him nothing more as a friend, and fell in love with Dark Mousy when she first saw him on the television. She is supposedly cuter than her sister Riku and also has a rivalry with her sister. She wears her hair longer and is more feminine than Riku.
Harada Riku
Risa's older twin sister; she is tomboyish, cute, and outspoken. Unlike her sister, Riku's hair is cut much shorter, and she holds an intense dislike for Dark Mousy. She falls in love with Daisuke and is very insecure about her feelings for him. She is very independent and sticks up for herself or anyone close to her.
With
He is the family pet of the Niwa family and serves Dark Mousy. It is unknown how old With is. However, he can turn into a black, winged creature that serves as wings for Dark by clinging to his back when he goes out to steal some art. With resembles a hybrid of a dog and a bunny - the closest animal Daisuke could compare it to was a lop-eared rabbit. With can also turn into Dark or Daisuke when the time calls for it. With hates water and afraid of scary movies. With also hates Krad.
Hiwatari Satoshi
Always calm and composed, never showing much emotion, Satoshi Hiwatari is a very distant, cold and silent character. He is extremely intelligent and has a college degree. However, he attends Daisuke Niwa's Junior High School. He acts as the police commander in charge of capturing Dark, and due to his family legacy, he is almost obsessive in his attempts to capture Dark. He is the last living member of the Hikari family, whose artworks are almost always Dark's targets for stealing. He was adopted by a police officer by the name of Hiwatari, and so his named was changed to reflect his adoption. During the course of the story, he begins to care more about Daisuke's safety. It appears that Daisuke is the trigger for Satoshi's other personality, Krad, to appear. Satoshi opposes Krad taking control of his body greatly, and has taken on an uncaring personality to 'seal his heart,' and thus, Krad. Krad is Dark's "evil twin", or opposite, a homidical blond whose only motivation seems to be getting rid of Dark.
Niwa Emiko
Daisuke's mother, she is extremely hyperactive and does NOT act her age. She makes unusual clothing for Dark when he goes out to steal artwork. She is also responsible for sending out the notices to the police which tell them what, when and where Dark's next target will be. Emiko is very much in love with her husband, Daisuke's father Kosuke.
Niwa Kosuke
Emiko's husband, the shy and thoughtful Kosuke Niwa. He married into the Niwa family and adopted the surname meaning he himself is not a Niwa male. He knows a lot about magic and had been journeying, not having seen his son for many, many years until he returned when Daisuke is 14. He is searching for the secrets between the Hikari and the Niwa family. He is very serious when he needs to be, but generally he seems clumsy.
Niwa Daiki
Daisuke's grandfather and Emiko's father. He was Dark 40 years ago. Unlike Daisuke, he took the task of stealing as though it was a job. He appears more in the manga then he does in the anime and is more than often goofy and silly.
Saehara Takeshi
Daisuke's best friend in school, he serves as comedy relief at times and is the son of Police Inspector Saehara, who pursues Dark under the command of Hiwatari Satoshi. He is very excitable, friendly, rude and irresponisible. He is an enthusiastic reporter or journalist and hangs around with Satoshi from time to time.
Krad
The complete opposite of Dark (with even Dark's name spelt backwards) and also Dark's worst enemy, Krad is the homicidal blond of the series who is the alter-ego of Hiwatari Satoshi. Apparently Daisuke was the reason that Satoshi first transformed into Krad. With absolutely despises Krad and always tries to attack him on sight. Krad can be called insanely obsessive as he attempts to kill Daisuke after their first accounter because he is very possessive over his host, Satoshi, and does not let him get close to anyone. He affectionately calls him, "My everything". Satoshi, however -- like his whole family generation -- despises Krad. On a side note, Krad does not care whether he hurts Satoshi's body physically by using his wings or using his energy.
External links
- D・N・ANGEL (http://www.dnangel.tv/) Anime Official Homepage (Japanese)
- Summer Night's Dream (http://daisuke.volaticus.net/) Daisuke Niwa Shrine
- Purchase DN Angel from Indigo (http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/default.asp?Lang=en&Section=books&Ntt=D.N.Angel&Submit_Search.x=0&Submit_Search.y=0)es:D.N.Angel