DNAngel Volume 1: The Dawn of Dark - Zap2it.Com
- Zap2it.Com
- Hanh Nguyen
- 11/09/04
- click here
"a gently riveting series that balances humor with adolescent angst and the promise of darker, more dangerous stories to come."
"I wasn't able to get the catchy tune out of my head"
Based on the monthly comic 'Asuka' by Yukiru Sugisaki, the animated series 'DNAngel' wings its way to a promising DVD set by ADV Films. The first volume, 'The Dawn of Dark' introduces gawky Daisuke Niwa, who discovers he's inherited an inconvenient condition on his 14th birthday: whenever he feels amorous towards his crush Risa Harada, his body gets turned over to the legendary thief Phantom Dark.
As if his teenage years aren't awkward enough, Daisuke can't control Dark, whose dashing ways has Risa smitten and her twin sister Riku suspicious. Grandfather Daiku and mom Emiko aren't any help either since both encourage Daisuke to give in to Dark's penchant for stealing, even with the police out to capture him.
Clean and bright animation, crisp sound quality, Japanese with English subtitles and English-dubbed dialogue guarantee that the viewing and listening experience is effortless and enjoyable.
An original commentary on the first episode by English voice castmembers Kevin Corn who plays Daisuke and Vic Mignogna who voices Dark is a fun bonus, although not very informative since neither has seen the full episode beyond their own recorded parts. Much of the time they're awed by the action on screen or trying to puzzle out the storyline. Nevertheless, it's amusing to be part of the camaraderie and hear an actor's take on the experience.
A mini-documentary featuring 17-year-old Shunichi Miyamoto's efforts to record the opening theme 'White Night -- True Light' is intriguing and even endearing. The lanky pianist-singer is refreshingly humble -- agonizing over each line, digesting the producer's numerous notes and even thanking her for her patience with his lagging performance. An episode of 'The Ashlee Simpson Show' this isn't, since you're actually gunning for his eventual triumph over the song.
After viewing the documentary, I wasn't able to get the catchy tune out of my head and felt the folks at ADV missed out on an opportunity to create an original sing-along video, complete with subtitles spelling out the Japanese lyrics phonetically. Just follow the bouncing feather.
Overall, 'DNAngel' is a gently riveting series that balances humor with adolescent angst and the promise of darker, more dangerous stories to come. In a way, it's a metaphor for teenage ambivalence, especially with Daisuke torn between the two Harada sisters, thanks to Dark's interference. Of course, the centuries-old feud between Dark and his winged nemesis Krad -- 'Dark' spelled backwards -- promises more portentous problems than a mere schoolboy infatuation.
Posted on Tuesday, November 09, 2004 (Archive on Thursday, December 09, 2004)