D.N. Angel
Publisher
ADV Films
Director
Nobuyoshi Habara
Production
Dentsu, TV Tokyo, XEBEC
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 Episodes/25 Min Each
Year
2003
DN Angel vol 1: The Dawn of Dark (eps 1-4)
By John Huxley
29th Jun 05  The hero of DN Angel, Daisuke Niwa, really wants little more from life than the object of his affections, Risa, to return his feelings in kind. Unfortunately for him, he’s a clumsy, absent-minded dork who finds great difficulty even talking to girls. He’ll have to work hard if he wants Risa to think of him as anything but a good friend. Worse yet, the Niwa family carries a rogue gene which is activated on his 14th birthday - causing the mild-mannered Daisuke to transform into the legendary thief Dark whenever he thinks of the girl he loves - namely Risa. And to compound matters further, Risa has fallen not for Daisuke but his alter-ego Dark, who appears to be intent on interfering with his love life as he chases after both Risa and her twin sister, Riku. As if all this weren’t enough for the average teenager to deal with, Daisuke must also ward off the unwanted attentions of mysterious fellow student Satoshi who would appear to harbour a grudge against Dark. What’s a poor boy to do? Though it encompasses elements from several popular genres, DN Angel is very much a romantic tale at heart. Sweet in a Kimagure Orange Road mould, this burgeoning romance may not offer the kind subtlety and elegance used to great effect in the likes of RahXephon, yet its broad strokes are better suited to the more comic approach favoured here. The lighthearted highschool romance is an age-old favourite in Japanese comics and animation, and the tried and tested formula has been put to good use here. Yet despite the comforting warmth of such familiar characters, it’s difficult to feel so involved in this relationship at such an early stage. Should this element of DN Angel blossom into something more substantial once the series has had a chance to establish itself a little better, only time will tell. As with Lum and Kimagure Orange Road before it, Daisuke’s turbulent love life forms the basis of most, if not all, events featured throughout these early episodes. Daisuke’s inability to confront the girl he loves and Dark’s uninhibited approach to romantic encounters is an obvious source of humour, something which hasn’t gone unnoticed by DN Angel’s canny writers. During some of its better moments the relatively predictable script does manage to raise a few smirks, but the lack of genuine belly laughs would place this somewhere below Rumiko Takahashi’s best, if a comparison is fair. What Maison Ikkoku can’t offer, however, is the kind of action and adventure that has fast become a staple of DN Angel’s episodic routine. And I say adventure, because in all honesty the action isn’t worth shouting about. Constrained by average animation and unimaginative direction, the action lacks the kind of spark that helped set Mahoromatic apart. It’s still a welcome change of pace from the romance/comedy that fills the rest of the episode, yet it’s a far cry from the standards laid down by other, equally conventional series. I feel the word adventure, then, is much more appropriate when talking about DN Angel’s excursions into the fanciful. Each episode Niwa’s amusingly eccentric family set poor Daisuke, as the legendary thief Dark, a task that inevitably involves stealing a precious piece of artwork in order to harness its hidden power. Why exactly the Niwa family needs all these magical items hasn’t exactly been explained yet, but we’ll go with the flow for now. Dark is often pursued by the police (the Niwa’s actually send out invites as if to taunt the law) and a typically sullen character called Satoshi who, in an entirely expected revelation, reveals himself to be the antithesis and nemesis of Dark’s anti-hero, the white-clad Krad. This more dramatic storyline lends a little weight to proceedings as a classic battle between good and evil is waged in the midst of an otherwise lighthearted highschool romance. While these sequences may be entirely perfunctory, they’re so overblown and melodramatic you can’t help but enjoy yourself. And with the majority of the series yet to come, I’d imagine we’re in for plenty more of these theatrics. Worth mentioning is DN Angel’s ambiguous European setting. While there’s nothing particularly outstanding about the location itself, the impressive implementation of CGI is really quite astonishing regardless of the average animation. While most backgrounds remain static backdrops, there are several instances in which these are transformed into beautiful computer generated models, allowing the camera to pan across the scene with an eerily smooth motion. A great technique that really helps to build atmosphere. Now, the secret here is not the 3D model itself but the painted textures which are a perfect match for their static cousins, creating a seamless transition from one scene to the next. It’s simplicity itself yet the results speak for themselves. Let’s just hope it’s not something that becomes heinously overused by the end of the series! While it’s easy to feel a certain amount of sympathy for Daisuke’s bumbling character, at this point in time it feels as though Dark is merely performing a function as a plot device with which to further the story. Again, DN Angel is very much in its formative stages so I remain hopeful that we’ll come to see Dark developed into a more individual character as the series progresses. The rest of the cast do fair a little better than Dark, although very few are able to entirely escape the various cliches associated with the genre. They’re still likeable characters for the most part, but those of you after fresh and invigorating experiences had best look elsewhere. Which is pretty much DN Angel in a nutshell, to be honest. Everything here is perfectly enjoyable, yet besides the excellent implementation of CGI, nothing really stands out as being particularly memorable. Hopefully DN Angel will gain some momentum as the series reaches its stride, although I fear there’s not nearly enough raw quality here for it to make much difference. If you’re a fan of the genre or simply after something a little more lighthearted, by all means pick up the first volume of DN Angel. However, everyone else would do well to check out Mahoromatic and Fruits Basket before they consider this.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, clean open/close, voice actor commentary. The creation of an opening theme, promos and TV spots
Release information: UK: 15 August 2005, ADV
Notes: With the enigmatic Dark gracing the cover of this first volume, DN Angel is sure to attract the attention of a few female viewers. While quite stylish, Dark’s deadpan expression and his subdued surroundings fail to convey the tone of the series with any degree of accuracy. It’s a stylish cover no doubt, although it’s not quite as successful in this respect than the alternate cover. Featuring a brightly coloured Risa, her radiant appearance really alters the tone of the cover design despite sharing an almost identical background. The DVD isn’t packed full of extras, but there are a few here that are well worth your time. Along with the standard clean open/close, there’s an ADV voice actor commentary, a few promo trailers and a relatively lengthy featurette documenting the creation of the opening theme. Following the rising star responsible, this revealing documentary makes for entertaining viewing between episodes and should give you new appreciation of the already likeable song. Not ADV’s best in recent months, but not a bad little package either.
-- John Huxley 29th Jun 05
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