Anime #12- D.N.Angel

Introduction

Basically, this is how the story goes: Boy likes girl. Girl doesn't like boy. Boy is heartbroken, and mopes around when POOF! Boy turns into attractive angel dude, who catches attention of girl, but falls for twin girl's sister who falls for boy who falls for HER and-

Confusing? That's what this story's about.

Niwa Daisuke is just another ordinary 14 year old boy who has a crush on Haruda Risa, his classmate. Naturally, Risa doesn't think of him as more of a friend. Daisuke is rejected on his 14th birthday, and on the same day, he turns into the legendary phantom thief Dark Mousy whenever he feels emotions of love.

Unfortunately, Daisuke's family is far from normal. Niwa-kun has been subjected to maiming and torture, like kaitou training sessions, and random attacks from his mother and grandfather since he was very young. Thanks to a rather odd childhood, Daisuke's specialty is picking locks. All of his training that he received so far was to prepare him for this particular day-his 14th birthday, when he first turns into Dark.

Apparently, all the Niwa men suffer from this ... heritage while they grow up, Daisuke being no exception. Thus starts the concurrence of two COMPLETELY different people with the same physical space and squabbling over a set of identical twins, who are anything BUT identical.

Daisuke, or should I say Dark's mission is to go around stealing famous artwork that were created before the cultural revolution - art pieces which hold a special power within them. How and why Dark is connected to the Niwa family is unknown, not to mention no one has a clue where he originally came from, and why he's after the artwork. Surprisingly, only one person(besides the Niwa family) really knows Dark.. None other than Hiwatari Satoshi, who isn't as normal as he appears.

Characters [Contains Some Spoilers!]

Niwa Daisuke : 14 years old, and is attending Azumano No. 2 Junior High School. He's currently in the 8th grade, and is as normal as you can get - somewhat shy, hard-working, gentle, nice to about everyone. Basically, he's the typical cute boy next door. He's very athletic, but isn't prone to showing it. He can jump from heights with no fear, and can pick locks with a somewhat unsettling ease.
As a Niwa male, Daisuke is doomed to turn into Dark whenever he feels emotions of love. Although Daisuke and Dark share the same body, they're two COMPLETELY different people. Whenever Dark is wreaking havoc and making a huge scene, Daisuke is RIGHT there in the back of his mind protesting, howling, and freaking out. Dark seems to enjoy this QUITE a bit (xD).
When Risa-chan rejects Daisuke (poor BABY! xO), it sends him into an emotional distress the entire day thereafter. To make matters worse, Risa falls for Dark, Daisuke's alter ego. Through twists and turns, things start lifting, and Daisuke then realizes that the real object of his affections is none other than Riku, Risa's older twin sister.
Even though Riku has returned Daisuke's feelings for her, Daisuke continues to change into Dark. Dark explains that this is because Riku must accept the fact that Daisuke IS Dark and Dark IS Daisuke - something that was VERY hush-hush because 1. well, nobody's supposed to know, and 2. Riku. HATES. Dark. (She thinks he's a big pervert, which really isn't too far off... xD)

Dark Mousy: He last appeared 40 years ago, disappeared suddenly, and now he's out wreaking havoc around the Azumano District of Tokyo as he did for centuries. Nobody knows where he's from, nobody knows who he really is, and nobody knows what his real purpose is behind stealing all the artwork from various museums. Dark is the legendary phantom thief that haunts (?) the males of the Niwa household - they are fated to change into him when they hit 14 years of age, and whenever they feel emotions of love. Heh, and Daisuke is no exception. And, much to Daisuke's dismay, Risa falls instantaneously for Dark (she confesses, but he rejects her on the spot o_o), and Dark, in return, develops a crush on Riku. Who hates him. Check that, Hates him. But behind the face of a celebrity, there lies a personality that nobody comprehends. Who is Dark, really? And what does he feel, every time he's sealed away into the Niwa blood as the object of *his* own affections become one with his alter ego (or host, if you will)?Perhaps it's taking the story a little too far to say that Dark is something of a tragic figure. But he's not exactly a happy-go-lucky oblivious I-am-so-hot-and-you-know-it playboy that he makes himself out to be.And of course, there's the tension between the Niwa family and the Hikari family, highlighted in the animosity between Dark and the mysterious Krad, who is the perfect opposite of our beloved phantom thief...

Hiwatari Satoshi: Hiwatori Satoshi is, quite possibly, one of the most attractive 14-year-old boys around (NOT in my eyes. That's just gross xD). He's calm, composed all the time no matterWHAT happens, cool to the point of being cold, and silent. Basically a very "kakkoii" (cool) guy who is the target of millions of hopelessly swooning middle schoolers from all around the area. But if Satoshi's personality is exceptional, *what* he actually is might be a bit more of an o_O inducer. Let's see.
1. He is the commander ("soushirei") of the investigation behind Dark, and is COMPLETELY bent on capturing the phantom thief. As in obsessive. He'll do anything.. Except hurt Daisuke. Hmm..
2. He has a college degree. (supposedly he graduated valedictorian of Oliver College [?] ) And he's still in Junior High.
3. He wears glasses that he doesn't need - his eyesight is extremely good, not to mention his observational skills are almost scary.
4. Data boy - he records everything and anything into his pocketbook.
5. His real last name actually ISN'T Hiwatari - his real name is Hikari Satoshi, but since he is the last of his family/clan, he was adopted by a 26-year-old man with the last name of Hiwatari. And he lives alone in a posh apartment.
6. And, possibly the biggest spoiler of all, Satoshi changes into Krad, the homicidal blond who's out to get Daisuke and Dark.
As already stated, Satoshi is cool and calculating all of the time, and is probably a bit of a threatening presence to poor Daisuke who knows that Satoshi knows that he's Dark. (Make any sense?)
Satoshi does a little change of personality - he begins to show emotions, especially where Daisuke's safety is concerned. This isn't good. As a descendant of the Hikari family - who, incidentally, created all the art pieces that become Dark's targets - Satoshi was never to hold anything close to his heart, or else he would release the 'curse' and become Krad.

Harada Riku: She's 14-years-old, somewhat of a tomboy, outspoken, and cute. She holds an INTENSE dislike for Dark, and unwittingly has a crush on the other half, Daisuke. Target of her ultra-feminine younger twin sister Risa's sibling rivalry, but probably doesn't really mind it much. In short, Riku's a cool girl ^^.
Riku has her own worries, though. She knows of Daisuke's previous crush on her sister, and is still insecure about his feelings for her - heck, they're identical TWINS after all, no wonder Riku still worries if Daisuke likes her only because she is "the same as Risa." T_T
Yet Riku is pretty mature for a 14-year-old, and handles things pretty well. That is, she probably will until she finds out that Daisuke *IS* Dark. Whenever that will be (xP).

Harada Risa: Harada Risa.. Okay, it's going to be difficult for me to be objective about this girl -_-' but I'll try. Here we go.
Risa is, eh, the typical 14-year-old 8th grader. Worries about her looks (o-o), is ultra-feminine (o_o), feels strong rivalry towards her older twin sister, Riku (typical), sees Daisuke as "only a friend" because he's too "normal" to be a boyfriend (O-O), and has a big crush on Dark, although recent developments are starting to show something with Satoshi, as well. -_-# Don't go there, Risa..
I can't say I honestly *dislike* Risa, because she's (baby) cute, granted, but sometimes she acts like the world revolves around her, and should stay that way >_>.
But Risa has her moments. She confesses her crush to Dark and gets promptly rejected, and she's starting to feel somewhat uneasy around Riku and Daisuke when they're together, and she seems to know that Satoshi is a bit.. Obsessed over Dark. I wonder what'll happen if she finds out that Daisuke - the boy she rejected - is actually Dark - the guy who rejected *her*. Whoooo.

With: Yes, I said er.. Typed "With". It's prounounced "wizu", by the way (xP). You're probably wondering what the heck With has to do with the plot. Well, that's what I'm here for. Every attractive angel dude needs a furry, cute sidekick. At first glance, With looks like a rabbit/dog hybrid - cute, fluffy, white, infinitely plushy and NORMAL. But, as everything in the Niwa household goes, he's not. ^^;.
Yes, With can function as a typical househould pet. But more important than that, With is something of a companion to Dark. When Dark needs him, he turns into a black, winged animal who doubles as Dark's black wings themselves. With also has the ability to change his form - when the situation calls for it, he can take on Daisuke or Dark's form. He also develops the ability to speak - With normally runs around saying "Kyuu!" but Daisuke decides that teaching him how to speak would be of great use, so now he can say some elementary things. ^^ With is generally shy around people he doesn't know, but is very affectionate to those he is familiar with. He has other quirks as well - apparently With *hates* water. And while he doesn't hate other beings, there *is* one person he shows (hissing, spitting, ATTACKING) animosity to... and that would be Krad. Another odd point. With has been with the Niwa family for centuries, meaning he's more than 100 years old o_O.

Krad: Here's the biggest mystery guy of them all, Krad. And if you haven't noticed yet, yup, you just take Dark's name, and flip it. There you go. (And you thought "Dark Mousy" was a weird name xD)
Krad is to Satoshi as Dark is to Daisuke, only in the physical sense - when Satoshi manages to seperate Dark from Daisuke, something triggers his transformation into Krad. *remember, if Satoshi holds anything close to his heart, it'll release the "curse" and Satoshi will turn into Krad*. We can only speculate that it's his feelings for Daisuke that causes the transformation. And we have enough evidence for that. (=P)
Krad, interestingly, has a VERY formal (aristocratic, even) tone of speech, long blond hair, white wings, and icy blue eyes - a near opposite of Dark, and very appropriately so. As soon as he appears, he claims that he should show reverence to Daisuke, the Wing Master (or 'teima-,' as he says it). And promptly proceeds to thwack an attacking (!!) With away (o_o;) and loses no time in going after Daisuke's throat. Homicidal blond indeed.
Not to mention Dark and Krad seem to be ancient enemies of sorts. Ahh, the bloodshed to ensue >_>.