D.N.Angel is a shoujo anime series, based off the manga by Yukiru Sugisaki. While this series isn't especially popular anymore, it was pretty popular in the 2000s, especially with young teenage girls. NO, WAIT, COME BACK! I'M NOT DONE YET!
I personally believe that just because a show has a...erm, vocal fangirl fanbase, does not automatically make it a bad show. In fact, most of these shows are pretty mediocre and harmless. Is D.N.Angel a mediocre shoujo franchise, an underrated masterpiece, or a piece of garbage that only the most impressionable of teenagers can enjoy? Let's break it down and find out.
Story
This series has a pretty interesting concept, and the story itself is pretty okay. Since this is a fantasy show, it's hard to criticize the story for being "unrealistic." That being said, this anime does have filler episodes that add nothing to the story. It's expected from a show with 26 episodes to have some filler for the most part, Most episodes are for character development, but saying that is somewhat generous. There's an episode where the animal sidekick falls in love with another animal. Now that I think of it, didn't Tokyo Mew Mew, another shoujo anime from the same time period, do something similar with cats? Weird. Other than that, I don't have too many complaints about the story itself. It's execution is okay, and it's pretty easy to follow
Animation
The animation was done by Xebec, a subsidiary of IG Port, the holding company of PRODUCTION I.G, I kid you not. Xebec also worked on shows such as Love Hina, Shaman King, Negima!: Master Negi Negi, To Love-Ru, and many other series. There isn't too much to say about the animation, other than it's pretty good. The action scenes look pretty good, while the calmer scenes look...good enough. It's not a strain on your eyes or anything. It does definitely look like a 2003 anime, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Sound
The opening theme song is called "White Night -True Light," performed by Shunichi Miyamoto. The opening song is actually a really good song, and the opening animation is really good as well. There's also an official English version performed by Vic Mignogna, Dark Mousy's English voice actor. That version is actually just as good as the Japanese version, a rarity for dubbed anime songs. There are a few ending songs, but they are ultimately forgettable and do not stick around in your head for long. The BGM is fairly decent, but the show does like to repeat certain pieces like...every episode, pretty much. If that doesn't bother you, then the soundtrack is decent.
As for the Japanese dub, I cannot say if it is actually good or not, because I do not speak Japanese and I'm not an expert on Japanese voice acting. The only thing I can say about it is that it sounds good from an English speaker's perspective. Now let's talk about something that doesn't sound good AT ALL.
The dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever sat through, up there with Higurashi and Elfen Lied. The casting itself isn't that bad, however. It's just irritating. Thankfully, we also have some half decent performances. Hilary Haag did a good job with Riku's character. No, it's not the best performance ever, but it's still good enough for what it is. The best performance has to go to Vic Mignogna as Dark. He captured the sarcastic tone and attitude of Dark very well, and he brings emotion to the character, like he does in most of his other roles. It's not as good as his performance in FMA, but he's still fun to listen to. Thank god for him, because he's the only saving grace in the English dub. If you are going to watch this anime, please watch the Japanese version, for your ears' sake.
Character
The protagonist is a typical love-struck teenage boy. Yes, he's very obsessive over Risa, but he's not the worst of this archetype. I suppose he has a "good heart," but in all seriousness, he's just an average character who's not very interesting. Risa Harada is your typical fangirl. She loves Dark to pieces, watching him on T.V, trying to meet up with him as much as possible and always talking about him. She's just as annoying as she sounds, and she gets in the way of Dark's schemes. I know she's supposed to be cute, but she's really not. Her sister is the polar opposite. She's probably the most relatable character in the whole show. She feels insecure about her feelings for Daisuke due to her tomboy-ish attitude, and she cares about his happiness much more than Risa does. She also worries about her sister and has a very close bond with her.
Dark Mousy had a lot of potential as a character, but does not develop into later in the series. He's just there for two reasons:
1. To steal stuff
2. To provide eye candy for both Risa and the target audience
All of the other characters are pretty forgettable, with Hiwatari being the typical cold teenager and Krad being the typical bad guy. However, the characters are actually pretty fun to watch if you forget about their flaws. The interactions and different relationships are all very entertaining.
Enjoyment
If you don't think too much about how good the show actually is, it's surprisingly enjoyable. I had a lot of fun making fun of the show's silliness at times. I 'm sure teenage girls will go crazy over Dark and enjoy that aspect of the show as well. I don't care about that, but hey, to each their own. I personally had a blast watching this anime. It's definitely guilty pleasure worthy.
Overall
As a whole, D.N.Angel is a fairly decent series. It's not anything special, but it could have been a lot worse than it is. I have heard that the manga is better, so if you are unsatisfied with the anime, the manga is probably worth checking out. The characters are decent, the story is decent, the animation is decent. The best word to describe this series is "decent." I would recommend this series to someone who has just started watching anime or someone who likes romance/action series. To answer the question asked in the beginning; D.N.Angel is indeed a mediocre shoujo franchise.
