D•N•Angel•, Vol. 1

Another one of my favorite mangas, also introduced to me by my friend, this one is nice because it hits a good, solid medium between shojo (female appeal) and shounen (male appeal).

Daisuke Niwa has been trained to be a thief ever since he can remember; his mother and grandfather have constantly drilled him in lockpicking, trap avoidance, stealth, and use of his wits. He doesn't really understand the purpose behind it, just that it's a "family tradition." And despite the fact that he knows how to pick a lock and disarm a booby trap, Daisuke can't get his crush Risa to notice him at all.

But then one day while looking a picture of Risa, something very strange happens. Daisuke transforms into someone totally different...the tall, winged, show more dark-haired, sleek phantom thief Dark, who has been striking across the city and stealing precious art museum pieces. No one knows who he is or is able to catch him. And now Daisuke realizes that this is the true family tradition...the Niwa men have harbored the soul of the phantom Dark for generations as an alter-ego, awakened by strong romantic feelings.

Now formerly ordinary 14-year-old Daisuke has a whole world of problems to navigate; his crush Risa, her tomboyish sister Riku, and his classmate Satoshi, who may also be harboring an age-old phantom being. Besides that, he's also being pressured to steal art pieces by night, carrying out Dark's calling. And his biggest problem may just the snarky, hot-tempered, arrogant, and stubborn Dark, who's inside Daisuke's mind and body to stay, whether either of them like it or not.

There's action, there's romance, a bit of humor, and fun characters that you develop affection for easily. Not the deepest or most layered manga out there, but one of my definite favorites nonetheless. show less

Daisuke Niwa is an ordinary middle school student who has inherited an interesting family condition, where the sight of the girl he adores transforms him into a phantom thief.

This manga is highly entertaining. I had an absolute blast reading it. There’s humour, mystery, and romance – sort of. I think it is an excellent representation of teen aged problems with an extra twist thrown in. The graphics are well done, too.

On his 14th birthday Daisuke Niwa discovers that he is the inheritor of his family’s illustrious destiny as the legendary Phantom Thief, Dark. The only problem is that he doesn’t want it at all. What even is worse than being a criminal is the fact that he has no control over his transformations, whenever he sees, Risa, his crush he becomes Dark, and whenever Dark sees Risa’s twin sister, Riku, he transforms back. But, the harder Daisuke tries to control Dark, the more Dark wants to control Daisuke and with his classmate, Satoshi near discovering their identity things are getting out of hand. What will happen to his family’s legacy if Daisuke is revealed as the legendary Dark and imprisoned for generations of art thefts?

I picked show more this manga up at the library on a whim, unsure if I would like the story. But, it was pretty good. The panels were clear and not confusing to me and I really rather liked all the characters, even Risa, who is a bit of a snot. Certainly a story I wouldn’t mind continuing on with. A manga that would be good for tweens and up. show less

On his 14th birthday, a young man discovers his family's ancient secret: they are art thieves, and he has been trained since birth to carry on the family legacy. When he experiences feelings of love (or sees his crush), he transforms into the Dark Angel, which helps him steal famous works of art. While he doesn't like the idea, Risa, the girl he's crushing on, has a crush on the Dark Angel-- and despite the moral dilemna he continues stealing art to impress her. The story line has a good plot foundation, but like most series manga this doesn't have a great deal of depth, and it is clearly aimed at early teens as there is very little interaction with adults. Suitable for mid-elementary and higher.

(Review for Volume 1-4) Amazing! So exciting. I actually watched the anime of D.N.Angel like 6 years ago (I think). And have loved it ever since. But I always held back from reading the manga. Well, what was I thinking? I'm just glad that I decided to go for it since I joined the Manga Reading Challenge. But yes, great series. And I've only gotten up to four books. And the cliffhanger at the end of the fourth volume.... too exciting. I want to go get the next volumes. But... I'll have to check my budgeting.
This story is about a boy, Daisuke, who transforms into a mysterious and charming art theif, Dark whenever he thinks about the girl he loves. So there's action and romance all at once. All the characters are awesome. Daisuke is so show more sweet and cute and sincere and clumsy. Dark is your bad boy who's just so smooth and awesome. Riku is your girl next door. Satoshi is cool and collected and conflicted. Daisuke's parents and grandfather are hilarious and so fun. Risa is.. well, a little shallow but she means well.
Great series! Definitely recommended. Go watch the anime as well. show less

D.N.Angel was an ok manga... Nowhere near my favorites- at this point at least. So basically this kid, named Daisuke, turns into this Handsome Super Amazing phantom thief named Dark. He turns whenever he starts thinking about his first crush/the girl he likes. I'm not sure which... There's 2 girls, they're twins, and that bit was confusing. But he DOES turn, and he steals priceless artifacts from museums an such that are all from a certain family... Not sure if they MADE the art or if they protect it or something? And for some reason, the commander in charge of the police is a boy in Daisuke's class. Daisuke also owns a rabbit fuzzy thing- not too sure how to describe it- named Wiz. It can transform into a ton of things including people show more and can talk in Daisuke-form. Wiz is also Dark's wings.

The whole things wasn't very well explained and over all not that great- which is why I gave it only 3 stars. It WAS interesting in some parts which is why it doesn't deserve any lower and I was bored so I DID in fact read a couple more volumes, which made me a bit more confused- oh well haha show less

Daisuke is a 14 year boy who got rejected by his lover.He now turns into the lengendary phatom thief,Dark.He nows have to get the love of his life to stop transforming in to Dark.