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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:631#1552] |
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(Rent-/ Watch+) Mixed bag and wasted potential are the major things flowing through my mind upon completion of DN Angel. Focused on Niwa, his alter ego Dark and their family of thieves, the series focuses on Niwa and Dark collaborating together in the theft of valuable artwork that is enchanted with various magical properties. The mystery of Dark's origins and the paintings were the major hook of this series for me as hints are dropped of who created them and a connection that one of Niwa's friends may have to them. The series does dabble into cliches and character archetypes related to shoujo and collect-them-all style titles, where the results tend to vary. Many of the major characters are fleshed out enough where there is more dimension to them than the archetype they are tacked on with and the series doesn't dabble heavily into the melodramatics that a number of shoujo titles like dipping into. However, the series does get stuck in a "artwork of the day" style plot for much of its first half as Dark goes about trying to steal various pieces of artwork in each episode and occasionally having to overcome the magical effects of the artwork before successfully stealing it. Also, the show implements a romance subplot (something many shoujo titles love to add to their titles) involving Niwa and the twin Harada sisters that is decently handled, though not as engaging as seeing Dark and the mystery surrounding him and the artwork. Also for villains, Krad and another notable character are rather shallow in their motives and personality. The second half to the series is where many of the revelations concerning the origins of Dark and the magical artwork are revealed. The latter is decently handled, but the former is sloppy in its handling where brief and sudden details get revealed at points in the second half of DN Angel without any foreshadowing or solid buildup. This is mainly because DN Angel's manga source material was still ongoing at the time of the anime's airing (and still ongoing as of this review), thus the series cobbled together a poorly-written ending to resolve its dangling plot developments, for better or worse. Visually, DN Angel is of standard quality for a 2003 anime having nicely designed scenery shots, conventionally drawn character designs and CG animation that is roughly rendered and sticks out like a sore thumb from the regular animation. Music consists of upbeat and moody tracks that do their part to enhance the mixture of comedy and serious moments that DN Angel gives off, but don't really do much to stick out or be memorable. As it is, DN Angel has some interesting ideas for its premise that did engage me yet fall flat into later episodes thanks to the shoddy development of the villains and some sloppy writing in revealing the origins of Dark and the magical paintings. The series is still worth a watch since it avoids being too cliched and overly dramatic with its storytelling. But I wouldn't be tempted to give it a second watch anytime soon. Last updated Wednesday, September 18 2013. Created Wednesday, September 18 2013. | ||||||||
| Watch | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
 lucy-san
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[series:631#2510] |
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To me D.N Angel is ok. The series did catch me at first but, during the middle it got quite repetitive with Dark going around stealing artifacts.It wasn't until the 24th episode that the story started to move and we learn more about Dark. The good thing about this series is the bond Daisuke has with Dark and Riku. Overall, D.N Angel is worth watching. Last updated Saturday, April 14 2007. Created Saturday, April 14 2007. | ||||||||
| Watch | 8 | 7 | 10 | 8 |
 Kanami
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[series:631#2425] | ||
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This had the potential to be a really good anime. The overall story was excellent, and it was really interesting in the beginning. But after several episodes, it just starts to get boring. With the introduction of several new characters who were just thrown into the story to give the writers something to focus on, it just gets pointless and uninteresting. But I did love the way they decided to end the series. I would definetly recommend watching this one, but I don't think I would rent it or buy it.
Last updated Tuesday, January 09 2007. Created Tuesday, January 09 2007. | ||||||||
| Watch | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
 Violet D
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[series:631#1393] | ||
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This is a twist of fate for Daisuke. He loves Risa and her sister has eyes for him. His transformation however Mr. Dark goes out with Risa and she falls for him hard. He ends up telling her he can't see her anymore because she reminds him of her grandmother. Someone he was deeply in love with. I had been trying to rent this from Hastings and I finally got to. I wasn't disappointed and I want to watch more.
Last updated Tuesday, August 23 2005. Created Tuesday, August 23 2005. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Forbin
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[series:631#1573] | ||||||
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Drama : Med Comedy : Med Action : Med SciFi : High Ecchi : Low At first this anime was running full steam and had me totally hooked. As it is finally winding down in R1 (Disk 6 I think) it's starting to run out of steam. If you asked me during the first 4 disks, it was a buy but the last 3 episodes (Involving some kind of painting) it looks like to me the writers ran out of material and just decided to make it up as they went. So what was a BUY became a RENT. I'll review it more when it closes. Last updated Wednesday, July 27 2005. Created Wednesday, July 27 2005. | ||||||||
| Rent | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
 Iceman_Aragorn
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[series:631#1517] |
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While this anime did catch my interest at first, it really did get tiresome after a while. As someone else already said, this anime could have done just as well with 13 episodes. The episodic nature of the anime, combined with its very predictable episode-by-episode story definately was its downfall. The intersting "Who's the bad guy, the dark thief or the one trying to catch him" was an intersting thing to try to figure out, and there was, surprisingly, a fair bit of character development, expecially of the twins, who seemed pretty one dimentional at first. This is definately an anime that is worth watching, but not quite at the "Buy" level. Last updated Thursday, July 29 2004. Created Thursday, July 29 2004. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
 bordem
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[series:631#1311] |
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This show is worth your time if you have alot of free time, but most importantly dont expect the manga!!! they are almost completely different. My biggest gripe does not have any thing to do with the show, but with the people who watch its' inability to grasp the importance of the twins, especially Risa, even though she only really matters in the first and final episode,and for the only time i must tell the rabid yaoi fanfic authors that if the chars were gay it would kill the anime, besides the last scene is interesting because it finally reveal both the importance of risa, and the fact their twins. sorry if i went overboard but i hope they make a short ova to wrap up the remaining loose ends, especially between Risa and Satoshi. wow i just wrote a huge spoiler but the end really is the best part(episode 17-26)i really hope they finish the entire story with a short ova.
Last updated Tuesday, April 06 2004. Created Tuesday, April 06 2004. | ||||||||
| Watch | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
 Kaali
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[series:631#1285] | |
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[I have watched this series once, and most propably will not watch it again.] In the beginning this series was reeaally boring to me, just filler after filler, and i really don't like fillers. Well, ofcourse the fillers did introduce, grow the characters and our feelings towards them, but i almost stopped watching the series because it just seemed that there weren't anything interesting happening. Yes, there were some angelic powers and stuff going on, but there weren't any special powers usage climaxes that would have keepen me interested on that topic, it just was about stealing stuff that didn't have any effect on the main storyline and seemed way too easy for our protagonist. At about half the way(at about ep. 17 if i remember correctly) to the series the main story-arcs switches to the second gear and it got moderately interesting. After a while another sub-plottish storyline got into the play and it was really great, so for that i raised the score for the story(still can't give high points as the sub-plot is really just that, and without it the score would have been near nil). It might have been a top series if it would have been 13 episodes long, not 26. I almost gave this series "Avoid" rating but the last half of the series saved it. So it's between avoid and watch. - Art: It had nice art, except for the hair highlights. Some 3d-scenes needs some refinition but it's good enough. - Animation: Nothing wrong with it. - Character design: There were some really nice characters. I especially liked the twist between the antagonist and it's tamer. They didn't give enough motivation for the antagonists. - Music: "Dark" music played with piano and strings, what can go wrong? Lowered the score because it got old really quick as they used the same songs over and over again. - Story: Reduced to 13 eps it would have been good. The side-plot in the end (which tied to the main plot) was really good. Last updated Thursday, March 25 2004. Created Thursday, March 25 2004. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
 Jan-Chan
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[series:631#967] |
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(review posted March 2004) D.N. Angel is a very entertaining series with a total of 26 episodes (I am reviewing the fansub pre(R1)release). Daisuke Niwa 's 14th birthday is the worst ever. First the girl, Riza Harada, on whom he has a crush, told him that she only considers him to be a very good 'friend', which dashes his hopes of giving her a love letter. Then he finds out that he has been set up by his mother and grandfather to be the host of the spirit of the Dark Mousy! He learns to his horror that if he stares at Risa (or a picture of her) for too long, he will loose control of himself and transform into Dark, an eighteen year old very magical winged phantom thief, who last made an appearance some sixty years ago. Instead of a birthday party, his mother proceeds to set him up by transforming him into Dark, and tells him that if he does not steal a special artifact, then he can never return to normal. And when returning from the theft, Niwa happens to see Risa on an outdoor balcony which prompts a transformation into Dark, who suddenly takes control and swoops down to steal a kiss, not from Risa, but from Riku, her twin sister. Oh, what a dismal birthday! DN Angel is a story about a young man caught up with his familys curse in which the male son is called upon to be the host to a mysterious thief called Dark Mousy. His family has a special responsibility to collect and seal away a number of strange cursed and dangerous magic artifacts, and how his mother and grandfather call upon the skills of Niwa/Dark to steal/seal them away. This series succeeds in pushing forward and developing a number of different story lines within each episode; such as Niwa's relationship with the two twins - Riku and Riza, his love interest in Risa (or is it Riku?), the familys goal to protect the city from a number of dangerous situations, the troublesome relationship between Niwa and the phantom thief Dark having to share one body, and a larger mystery as to why the Dark Mousy is bound to Niwa's family bl.ood line. This is a very un-Japanese series. Niwa and his friends live in what looks to be a medieval European coastal village and all the magical artifacts that Niwa/Dark encounter derive in origin from the western occult or the European mythos. Niwas mother and grandfather are dressed in black as they cast spells in the basement alter in a shower of sparks. Riza consults a tarot deck to learn if her fate is intertwined with Dark, and a unicorn makes an appearance to kidnap young ladies to an uncertain fate. What charmed me about DNAngel is that it tries to break out of the standard mold of many anime series. While Niwa is awkward and uncertain in his youth, he is not a wimp or victim of his circumstances. Niwa was raised in a fatherless family, but unlike many other anime series, his dad is not dead and actually shows up later on. In fact, it is not even clear if his mother and father are even married. His mother is very extreme person, showing an absolutely maniacal fixation for Dark and she almost evil in how she keeps setting up her son on the different jobs', but she does let her son know how much she loves him. Even Satoshi Hiwatari, the adversary to Niwa/Dark appears as an unclear and uncertain opponent, until the specifics of his circumstances are explained. And there are a number of other interesting plot twists that keep the story fresh and interesting. But dont be deceived by the title of this series, which appears to suggest something very different than what it really is. (It actually is a cute word play on Daisuke Niwa (DN) and Angel refers to the winged phantom thief.) This is really a very fun series with strong elements of romance, adventure, magic and mystery that will keep most every viewer entertained. Last updated Friday, April 15 2005. Created Thursday, January 29 2004. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 |
 Slacker
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[series:631#960] | ||||
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Very nice character design and animation. i can't say much more about it yet though since I havent seen past the first eps.
Last updated Tuesday, September 09 2003. Created Tuesday, September 09 2003. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Anshii
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[series:631#810] | ||||||
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What happens when you take the "mahou shoujo" concept and change one little detail ... making the "shoujo" a "shounen"? You get D.N.Angel! The anime series is adapted from a manga by Yukiru Sugisaki. The traditional elements of "mahou shoujo" are all there: lots of wings, LOTS of bishounen, romantic elements, plenty of drama, a cute sidekick (With is adorable!), and a villain who is not always antagonistic (Satoshi Hiwatari). This series is still airing in Japan, but the conclusion is coming up fast! When the series ends, an evaluation will be forthcoming. Last updated Friday, August 22 2003. Created Friday, August 22 2003. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
|---|---|
| OFFRAMP | http://dnangel.neutralred.org/ |
| the quintessential DNAngel site, with character descriptions, manga translations, and a nice image gallery (Click on the OFFRAMP in the middle right) | |
