D.N.Angel

A phantom thief steals treasures in the night. One Chief Commander of the special police force designed to capture him is always one step behind him. Dark vs. Light. Unrequited love. Handsome boys with secrets. It was the darkest of times for someone in love. Welcome to the world of D.N.Angel by Yukiru Sugisaki.

This TV series was released by ADV Films. My friend got me into it. I was floored by the music and the fine plot. Most anime I buy are slashable. The story revolves around Daisuke Niwa, a 14-year-old who has inherited a special DNA gene that allows him to transform into the phantom thief Dark when his feelings of unrequited love are felt. He's naive, a bit of a klutz and friendly to a fault.

His alter ego, Dark, is tall, lean and can fly with wings that transform into With, his familiar. His mission and reason for being is to steal the artworks of the Hikari family. Daisuke's family then seals the souls of these. When his night of work is done, he transforms back into Daisuke when his feelings of unrequited love are felt. But, for who?

Daisuke's love interest is one Risa Harada, a younger sister in a set of twins. She falls for Dark. Her older sister, Riku Harada, is the more serious of the two. She's also the one who discourages Risa from dating our Phantom Thief.

The Chief Commander of the Special Police force designed to capture Dark is named Satoshi Hiwakari. He's a fellow student at Daisuke's school. His demeanor is cold and he doesn't speak much to his classmates. He graduated from University at age 8 and has a college degree but just wants to try living as a normal 14-year-old.

These two boys' interaction with each other is very slashable. I think the creator wanted there to be something more than friendship between Daisuke and Satoshi. Satoshi even says to Daisuke, "I wanted some time alone with you." Satoshi tries to keep emotional distance from Daisuke to prevent his alter ego from appearing. He knows that Daisuke isn't a normal student as his training to be a thief allows him to unlock very hard devices. Daisuke seems to just want Satoshi to open up more. Satoshi has an adopted father who has raised him for the sole purpose of capturing Dark.

Satoshi's alter ego, Krad emerges when Satoshi's feelings of vulnerability appear. Satoshi hates Krad and will do anything to keep him from taking over his body. Krad just wants Satoshi's body to be his for ever. The transformation to Krad seems to be painful for Satoshi.

The music for this series is fantastic. The dub version is good in my opinion. This series rocks so hard. I just wish there could be an OAV of this series. It would be so much fun!!