D.N.Angel Review: A Boy Who Transforms into a Legendary Phantom Thief When He Thinks About His Crush

Quick Take

• A supernatural romance with a clever dual-protagonist structure — Daisuke and Dark are different people sharing a body, with different romantic interests and different agendas
• The art theft premise creates more interesting plot situations than typical school romance
• 15 volumes in English; publication has been extremely sporadic but the series has a dedicated following

Who Is This Manga For?

• Readers who enjoy supernatural romance with the phantom thief aesthetic
• Anyone who wants school romance complicated by a second supernatural identity
• Fans of early 2000s shoujo fantasy with elaborate art direction
• Readers who are patient with irregular publication schedules

Content Warnings & Age Rating

Age Rating: T (Teen) Content Warnings: Supernatural romance; phantom thief situations; love triangle between multiple people and a shared-body protagonist; magic and mystical art objects

T rating appropriate to the supernatural romance content.

Yu's Rating

Category	Score
Story Depth	★★★☆☆
Art Style	★★★★★
Character Development	★★★☆☆
Accessibility for Non-Japanese Readers	★★★★☆
Reread Value	★★★☆☆

Story Overview

Daisuke Niwa turns fourteen and confesses to Risa Harada, the girl he likes. She rejects him. He goes home devastated and discovers that his family has a secret: when his heart races with romantic feeling, he transforms into the legendary phantom thief Dark Mousy.

Dark is a different person — confident, flirtatious, and interested in Risa's twin sister Riku. He steals magical artworks that would cause harm if left in the wrong hands. The Harada family's guardian, Satoshi Hiwatari, is tasked with catching Dark and has his own complicated relationship to the situation.

The series follows Daisuke navigating school life, his feelings for Risa (and later Riku), and the phantom thief missions that interrupt both — while Dark navigates his own situation from inside Daisuke's head.

Characters

Daisuke — A protagonist whose earnestness and gentleness make him sympathetic; his relationship to Dark is the series' most interesting dynamic.

Dark Mousy — Confident and romantic where Daisuke is uncertain; his shared-body relationship with Daisuke is more complicated and eventually more meaningful than simple transformation.

Satoshi Hiwatari — The antagonist whose background connects to Dark's mythology in ways the series reveals gradually.

Art Style

Sugisaki's art is beautiful — detailed character designs with elaborate costuming, expressive faces, and a fantasy visual sense that suits the supernatural premise. The phantom thief sequences are drawn with cinematic flair. Dark's visual design is among the most striking phantom thief looks in manga.

Cultural Context

D.N.Angel ran in Monthly G Fantasy from 1997 onward, with the extremely irregular publication pace that has characterized its entire run. The phantom thief genre has a long Japanese tradition, and Sugisaki's contribution is to make the transformation a romantic trigger rather than a chosen identity — which creates the specific comedy and drama of Daisuke's situation.

What I Love About It

Dark argues with Daisuke. They disagree about what to do, who to protect, how to handle the same situations. They share a body but not a perspective, and the series treats that distinction seriously — having two different people in one body, with genuine disagreement about romantic interest and moral approach, is more interesting than a simple alter ego.

What English-Speaking Fans Say

Western readers describe D.N.Angel as a formative early 2000s experience — specifically noted for Sugisaki's art being exceptional, for the Dark/Daisuke relationship having genuine depth, and for the art theft mythology creating a more elaborate backstory than the school romance premise suggests. The irregular publication has frustrated some readers; others have found the wait worthwhile.

Memorable Scene ⚠️ Spoiler Warning

The sequences where Daisuke and Dark are in direct conflict about what to do — specifically when their romantic interests require different choices — show the dual-protagonist structure at its most interesting.

Similar Manga

• Phantom Thief Jeanne — Similar magical phantom thief premise with Tanemura's art
• Cardcaptor Sakura — Supernatural missions with school romance in similar register
• Absolute Boyfriend — Supernatural romance with complicated romantic geometry
• Shugo Chara! — Transformation romance with multiple personalities in similar mode

Reading Order / Where to Start

Volume 1 — Daisuke's confession, rejection, and first transformation establish the premise immediately.

Official English Translation Status

Tokyopop published 15 volumes in English. Publication has been extremely sporadic — the original Tokyopop release is out of print and the series remains technically ongoing in Japan.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Sugisaki's art is exceptional and holds up
• Dark/Daisuke relationship has genuine depth
• Art theft mythology creates interesting plot
• Formative for an era of supernatural romance

Cons

• Ongoing with extremely irregular publication
• Original Tokyopop volumes may be hard to find
• Romance geometry can be complex

Format Comparison

Format	Notes
Individual Volumes	Tokyopop (out of print); may require secondhand
Digital	Limited availability

Where to Buy

Read the first volume. If it doesn't hook you, put it down. It'll hook you.

Start with Volume 1 →

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