Review on D.N.Angel...

I first heard this anime 3 years ago, but never tried it out until now. A friend had told me this was a good anime, but i didn't know why. I had watched the first 24 episodes about 2 months ago, and never finished the last 2 episodes. Now that i had my holidays, i had decided to watch the WHOLE THING OVER, & Review it... & despite the long journey, D.N. Angel is one of the very few animes around that Has an Extremely Beautiful Ending... T_T


Info on D.N. Angel from AnimeNFO.com...
Title : D.N. Angel
Japanese Title : D.N. Angel
Total Episodes : 26
Genres : Drama, Love-Romance, Magic, School Life
Year Published : 2003
Studio : XEBEC


What D.N. Angel is about...
On Daisuke Niwa's fourteenth birthday, Risa Harada, the girl he tried to give a love letter to, told him, "You're a good friend". That day, when the heartbroken Daisuke thinks of Risa, he suddenly transforms into the legendary great phantom thief, Dark Mousy. Daisuke's mother, very much aware of this, asks Daisuke to constantly turn into Dark to steal valuable works of art for a purpose unkown to Daisuke. How will his Life turn Out? How will he Get over his Heartbreak?


Characters...
There are MANY Characters introduced throughout the anime as the show progressed, so I shall only write about the main characters.

Also. Even though in Japanese, the Last name is in front of the First Name? However, In D.N. Angel, it follows the English Way, where the first name is before the last name. However, they still follow the Japanese custom of calling the last names of those whom they are not very close to...


Daisuke Niwa, your typical fourteen year-old teenage boy who seems average and unlucky, heart broken & rejected by Risa Harada on his fourteenth birthday. However, he had never knew about the secret his family had, Daisuke has the ability to become Dark, the legendary Phantom thief who had been known for constantly stealing valuable works of art without ever getting caught. How will his life turn out now? Can he get over his Heartbreak?


Dark Mousy, the Legendary Great Phantom thief who had constantly stolen valuable works of art without ever getting caught. Without appearing for 40 years now, he suddenly makes his appearance again by stealing the "Holy Maiden". In the body of Daisuke Niwa, Dark comes out when Daisuke's love genes start activating and this causes trouble for Daisuke whenever he sees Risa...


The Elder of the Harada Twins, Riku Harada is responsible, sporty, active and reliable, and a little tomboyish. She constantly watches over her little twin sister, Risa who goes off trying to get Dark's attention without thinking things through.


The Younger of the Harada Twins, Risa Harada is more feminine and attractive who does a lot of fortune telling. She told Daisuke "You're a good friend." before Daisuke could give his love letter and has now fallen in love with Dark Mousy?!


My Review on D.N. Angel...
D.N. Angel is kind of like the shorter version of Full Moon wo Sagashite. Sadly, it's not as great, but it's a Really Great Show & D.N. Angel is one of the Very Few animes around that Has an Extremely Beautiful Ending...

Firstly, The animation for a 2003 anime is pretty decent. Well, of course, technology has not advanced yet, so its animation is easily beaten by modern animes these days, but nevertheless, for an anime from 2003, The 3d Effects and Sceneries were Well Done, & the 3D effects of the Buildings & the Works of Art were Very Nicely Done, even though they might seem unnatural. There were sometimes when the animation was just so-so, or looked weird, but they can be overlooked. The character designs were pretty well done too. However, there were some clothes that could have been more interesting, but weren't... =/

The Sounds? Very Well Done. The Opening theme Was a Very Nice Song, & The Ending themes were Very Soothing & Great Songs. I Really Love the Theme songs, SO Definitely Thumbs Up for that. ;) The Seiyuus did a REALLY GREAT JOB~! & The Sound Effects were pretty well done too, some sounded a bit weird and maybe a bit over, but still, the background Music was Really Nice. & The Music Aspect of D.N. Angel was Really GreaT~! =D

The Story? Well, the story kind of reminded me as though it was a shorter version of Full Moon wo Sagashite, One of the Best animes around, in my opinion. =)

It Starts off Happy-Go-Lucky, with seemingly filler-like episodes, but i didn't mind. Starting off with Dark's Challenging Adventures to Steal Pieces of Art & Solve Problems of People, showing what the Job of a "Kaitou" (Phantom Thief) is, and also, with other random troubles or events. They are probably the kind of episodes which many people will find boring, but i didn't think so, and enjoyed them quite a bit, because they had comedy value. Almost Every Episode Made me Laugh out Loud & it Lightened up the Serious Mood of D.N.Angel from time to time. x)

Then As the series progressed, The story starts getting Serious, and for those people who had given up watching D.N. Angel before even reaching the half of it probably missed out on a Really Great Series. Because by the time it reaches Episode 13, things starts getting Serious, & Climax-es start forming. More Characters get introduced, More Characters get Explored, More Characters get Developed, & More Closer Relationships & Complications are Formed... It Wasn't Just as Simple as Dark's Easy-Peasy Art-Stealing Adventures anymore, It started getting deep and revolving around the Relationships of Daisuke & Dark's Past Life...

I Really think that the Characters were well made, & were Well Developed along the way. Daisuke who seemed soo carefree & weak, i had grown more and more attached to him as the series progressed and as he faced each and every one of his adventures and challenges, his character had developed a WHOLE LOT, becoming a stronger & MUCH MORE Mature Person. Dark's Past was explored and he starts to get along with Daisuke as time passes. Risa who was like a spoilt brat princess at first, had developed and become a more understanding person along the way.

As the Whole Series Progressed, Hearts were Broken, but at the end, the Hearts were healed & the Ending was seriously, One of the Very Few Beautiful Endings that I have ever seen in an Anime. Because of the attachment i had grown onto the characters throughout the Story of D.N. Angel, The Ending was Just Simply Beautiful & Made it Extremely Worth Watching D.N. Angel...

What More Can I Say? The First time i watched this, I had cried a bit when i watched those climaxes. However, the second time, i felt unsatisfied that i couldn't cry when i watched those episodes again. =( But then, the Ending was Just Marvellous, I HAD to Shed a few Tears. T_T

However, sadly to say, despite how well D.N. Angel's story was spaced out, & how Well the characters were developed, It tries to Excel in Everywhere possible, but for some reason, it ends up being just "very good", but not "excellent" as it could have been. Maybe it was because it was a bit of a drag to have a number of those "filler-like" episodes... Who knows.

But Anyways, D.N. Angel is A Very Well Done Anime & Should Deserve a Watch if you have free time & are into some Magical Boy & Teenage Drama. =)


My Rating...
8.75/10


Animation: 9/10
Comment: Very Well Done Animation. The 3D Effects of the Buildings & Works of Art were Very Well Done, however seemed unnatural. There were times when the animation was just so-so. But Overall, Animation was Pretty Well Done & the Character Designs were Great. =) However, some costumes were a bit bland and not enough "interest"... =/

Music/Sounds: 9.5/10
Comment: Theme Songs WERE REALLY GREAT~! LOVE THEM~! Background Music Was VERY GREAT TOO~! The sound Effects were good but sometimes sounded a bit "over". The Seiyuus did a Very Great Job, but sometimes their cries & screams were a bit unnatural and weird. =/

Story: 9/10
Comment: Paced out Nicely. Starting off with Happy-Go-Lucky Episodes and Just Dark's Challenging Art-Stealing, & as the series goes on, Things start getting More Challenging and the Opponent's Magic Starts Getting Tougher. More Characters, More Complications, With Very Well Done Balance of Drama & Comedy that lightens up the mood from time to time. =) The Climax-es were Great & The Resolutions were Great too. The Ending was Just Amazingly Beautiful. T_T However, the dragging "filler-like" episodes toned this aspect down. =(

Characters: 9.5/10
Comment: Very Well Done Aspect. All the Characters that were introduced, the Main ones & Supporting Ones were All Given Enough Screentime for Development & they each had a good role in bringing some comedy into D.N. Angel. =) The Characters' pasts were explored, & they were developed, in every episode. Hearts were Broken, but Everything Went Well at the end. =)

Tear Factor:

Comment: There was Quite a Bit of drama, & I Cried a Few tears when i first watched it. I couldn't cry the second time i watched D.N. Angel, But the Ending was sOoO Beautiful that I Had to shed a few tears. T_T However, D.N. Angel probably isn't the kind of anime that would make you cry buckets, but it's Really Powerful enough to Touch you & Affect your emotions at least. =)

Comedy Factor:

Comment: There was a Great Balance of Comedy that lightened up the Serious Mood of D.N.Angel from time to time. It probably wasn't meant to be a full-blast comedy anime to make you Laugh like Mad, but Almost Every Episode were light-hearted and happy and made me Laugh Out Loud~! x)

Excitement/Suspense/Surprising Factor:

Comment: D.N. Angel wasn't exactly all thaaat unpredictable. There were times when they probably gave out too much clues, but then again, Most of the time, I was Pretty Surprised and Shocked at How the Things turned out in the End. (O_O)... So there's a Pretty Decent Surprising Factor too. =)

Meaningful Factor:

Comment: Probably, the main Message that D.N. Angel tries to give out is, Hearts Move, Love Changes. Love isn't something one can predict from the start, & Friendships are Extremely Important. Don't Choose Death to protect the person you Love, Live To Protect them. There Was A LOT of Meaning in D.N. Angel, & This Factor is Very Well Done. =)

Despite how Well the Animation, Sounds, Story & Characters were done, as seen from the values, the values were just "good" and not as excellent. =/ which is why the rated score was toned down quite a bit. Despite that, D.N. Angel is a Pretty Decent Watch & If you have Free time & are into Magic and a little Drama, Check D.N. Angel Out~! It's One of the Very Few Animes out there That Actually Gave me an Ending that I'm Satisfied & Happy with... =)

Click Here to See Legend...


Screenshots...
To show the Splendid Animation of D.N. Angel, here are a few screenshots showing the Scenery, Character Design & Artifact's Beauty... =)

Beautiful Scenery Like as if it was painted with Water Colours. Very Well Done...


A Beautiful Artifact. There are Many Other Artworks that were designed & Done Really Beautiful. & D.N. Angel Really Emphasised the Meaning of "Beauty" in Artworks. =)


One of the characters that Appeared. Very Well Designed I Must say, however, a flaw might be, that her hair is like floating, cause there wasn't any wind blowing at all. =/


Amazing Animation over Here. (O_O)


Yeah, D.N. Angel is a Pretty good Anime, & I'm still Attached to the Characters and Still Want MORE~! T_T. But the Ending was Great & I'm happy with that ending. Oh Well, if I'm still attached to the characters of an Anime, it Just Shows HOW GREAT That Anime has Explored the Characters. T_T

Until My Next Review,
JoeL Un... =)