When I first read the outline for the series, I figured it was an action adventure series with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. This turned out to be just the opposite of the case since it was a romance series with some action tossed in but I plowed through it nonetheless and what I found wasn't a bad show, just limited by the genre and intended audience. In a nutshell, the show centered on a young man named Daisuke Niwa. He appeared to be an average kid on the surface but was actually a skilled thief as that was the family profession. Raised by his mother and grandfather, he hits puberty with a vengeance on his fourteenth birthday and falls head over heels in love with a cutie named Risa Harada. This wouldn't be a big deal except he also transforms into a legendary super thief, Phantom Dark, after a series of dreams. The catch is that both Daisuke and Dark are actually two separate entities stuck in the same body and the only way to split apart will be for Risa to fall in love with Daisuke. Since this is an anime series though, you can kind of see it coming; she falls for Phantom Dark instead, potentially sealing the guys into their fate for all time.

Making matters more complicated is that Risa's twin sister Riku Harada does fall for him but as far as love triangles go, it won't work to break the spell. The other complications involve Dark himself. He has a mind of his own and when he assumes control of Daisuke's body, the youngster gets to witness everything, including Dark's playboy attitude towards "his" woman. Making matters even worse is that Dark engages in a series of high profile thefts of magical art objects, going so far as to notify the authorities ahead of time due to his ego. This routinely lands him in hot water in the early part of the series, although Daisuke's family eventually reveals all the secrets behind this odd genetic duality. His grandfather, Daiki Niwa, had been linked to the thief decades prior and his mother, Emiko Niwa, seems to prefer Dark over himself since Dark can accomplish a series of needed tasks for the family. Given his already precarious state of mind over the usual changes of puberty, this puts Daisuke in a bad position (and makes him even more insecure with his place in life).

As with any story about thieves, there are those who try to catch the protagonist. In this case, that means just about all the authorities but also a special young genius named Satoshi Hiwatari. His father is the Chief of Police for the city and he himself is already an accomplished member of the police force, even though he's still Daisuke's age and has graduated from college. Exactly why he's back in Junior High was never really explained all that well but he holds a few secrets of his own, including a genetic background similar to Daisuke's. Without spoiling the story too much, suffice it to say they tangle more than a few times on one level or another, initially leaving the question of how much does Satoshi know a mystery.

The series had a lot of ups and downs as the Dark versus Daisuke thread played out. There were some interesting moments where the duality of nature and secrets were handled especially well, particularly in the dubbed track (some things didn't seem to translate as well as others). There was also a lot of the usual clichéd pining for lost love going on too though and that weakened the show for me more than a little bit. While it never exactly lived up to the potential of the material, there was enough to appreciate the series as a whole more than how it must've been as a series of months-apart releases. The ending had some interesting ideas too as Dark's destiny came to the forefront and most of the threads were tied up nicely. I'm going to rate it as a limited Recommended for those who enjoy anime romance sagas with a bit more action than usual (unlike more traditional shows like Sakura Diaries where the romance is all you get). There were many funny moments as Daisuke tried to avoid being captured or found out and the quirks elevated it up just enough to win me over but I can see why John was less enamored with it in his reviews. For those wanting to know what the original box covers said, as provided by the ADV Films website, here's what was offered up, followed by a listing of the episodes:

"Being a teenager is rough enough, but young Daisuke's got more troubles than any ten normal guys. Due to a strange quirk of genetics, Daisuke's been cursed with an ancient family affliction that's sure to put some major kinks in his relationship with the opposite sex. You see, whenever he becomes… enamored… with the object of his desires, Daisuke finds himself transformed into the legendary thief Phantom Dark! Unfortunately, the only way to return to his true form is for his true love to love Daisuke for himself; but when she's only got eyes for Dark, how can Daisuke compete with himself? Stealing the heart of one's true love has never been as complicated… or intriguing… as in The Dawn of Dark, the first scintillating volume of DNAngel!

Love is never easy, but that goes double for Daisuke Niwa. The only way Daisuke can rid himself of the phantom art thief residing in his DNA is to have his love returned. The problem is Daisuke has fallen for his classmate Risa, who is obsessed with his alter ego, Dark. It's Risa's twin sister Riku who seems to have eyes for Daisuke himself! It's not a simple task keeping track of the criss-crossing paths of these people's affections. One thing is for sure – watching the situations these four get themselves into will always be twice the fun!

Poor Daisuke Niwa is just a regular kid with some extraordinary DNA. As if growing up wasn't hard enough already! Now he has to carry out super secret thefts as the Phantom Thief Dark too. He's got plenty of obstacles along the way as well. The girl he loves is in love with his alter ego… His classmate is set on destroying the Phantom Thief, in other words…him. His Dad jumps back into his life after being gone for years…And on top of all that he has a lovesick rabbit!

How much can one kid handle? In the fourth exciting volume of DNAngel poor Daisuke Niwa finds himself in some precarious situations. After the souls of Risa and Saehara are locked away in a stone he travels to the future with the help of a new friend, Towa, to save his classmates and Dark. Daisuke has to deal with Mio Hio, a crazy new student in his class who has decided that Daisuke will be hers…whether he likes it or not. And if that wasn't enough, Daisuke finally gets a day off and somehow the Harada sisters and Mio end up at his house! So much for relaxation...

Daisuke Niwa is not a normal junior high student. However, for the next 6 days he gets to act like one! Daisuke and his classmates head to the seaside for a week of fun and studying. While there, Daisuke finally realizes his true feelings and gives his heart to a young lady. Which girl is it? Yet paradise can't last forever and it couldn't get any worse back at home. He was cast in his school play but as a girl! His maid and pet are going bonkers! And then there's Mio…

Things are not going well for Daisuke Niwa. Besides dealing with his usual school and girl problems he also has to deal with Dark. The Cultural festival is coming up and Daisuke painted a beautiful snowscape for the festival. Everything seems fine until Daisuke is suddenly pulled into the world of his painting! Dark runs to the rescue and brings Riku and Risa along for the ride! However, when they have the chance to save him, Daisuke decides to stay. Daisuke's world gets turned upside down in this next exciting volume of DNAngel. Why not come along for the ride?

Daisuke Niwa's life is already rough, but it's about to get even harder. After finally learning the truth about his family's fate and Dark's origins, Daisuke comes to the realization that Dark may not be around forever. That's not good, because as Daisuke's confrontation with the ultimate evil approaches, he's going to need Dark more than ever. Even with their family and friends behind them, will Daisuke and Dark be able to overpower Krad? What about The Black Wings? And will Daisuke ever see his love again? In this last thrilling volume of DNAngel, a foe becomes a friend for the good of all."

1) Dark Revisited
2) Rekindled Feelings
3) Whisper of the Unicorn
4) Between the Light and the Darkness
5) Double Cooking
6) White Memories
7) Adonis in the Garden of Vows
8) Menou's Warning Letter
9) A Little Romance
10) Portrait of a Musician
11) The Temple of Neptune
12) With Rutile…
13) Eternal Guide
14) New Rival
15) Barbeque Panic
16) I Found Her…
17) A Summer Without Dark
18) A Couple Under the Shooting Stars
19) Beautiful Heroine
20) Because I Wanted to See You
21) An Icy Voice Calling
22) Ice and Snow
23) Second Hand of Time
24) Snow Falls in the Heart
25) The Black Wings
26) Eternal Dark

Picture: DNAngel: Complete Collection was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was shot in by director Nobuyoshi Habara for broadcast in Japan. It was bright, cheerful, and had some reasonably decent animation going on although it wasn't one of the bigger budget (going by looks) productions of recent years. There were some minor issues with certain types of scenes, particularly involving patterns causing noise, but I saw no compression artifacts and the overall impression I had was it was well done.

Sound: The audio was offered up in ADV Film's standard choice of the original 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese track or the more detailed 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English language dub. As is almost always the case, the dub offered better separation, better audio effects, and a fuller music track but the vocals were a mixed bag. Most of the characters on the dub were well handled but a few went over the top in a way only fans can appreciate. Contrast this with the typically subdued manner in which the original voice actors handled their role and you'll see why I found each to have some high points and low points worth exploring. If you prefer dubs over subtitles (which were handled nicely by the way), you'll be able to hold your own in a debate over which was better but the same could be said for those who like the original tracks.

Extras: As a value packed boxed set, DNAngel: Complete Collection did not have the extras provided by the original releases. For what I understand, the majority of the series extras were a single audio commentary on each disc, a few interviews, and the usual clean openings and closings. Instead, you get a few trailers and save a ton of money (the MSRP of the seven individual volumes is $29.98 each while the boxed set goes for $89.98; you do the math). I can live with that tradeoff.

Final Thoughts: DNAngel: Complete Collection was a romance anime spiced up with some magical action of a genetic nature tossed in for good effect. The themes explored might've been handled better but the target audience will have something worth thinking about if they evaluate the premise and the way in which the characters handled the relationship angles. As a value priced boxed set it was a decent buy for fans of the genre and the technical aspects were handled in a reasonably professional manner. In general, I'd have to say that DNAngel: Complete Collection was a quirky romantic comedy that explored some new territory for the genre. Give it a look and you'll see what I mean.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003 and Best Of Anime 2004 article or regular column Anime Talk