Chapter 1: Warning of Trouble (and Romance) is the first chapter of DNAngel, featured in volume 1 of both the tankōbon and New Edition.
Summary[]
Guards shout in disbelief as they find a note stating “As I warned, I have taken the painting” and signed “Dark”. Throughout history, artworks that were stolen under mysterious circumstances were blamed on phantom thieves (kaitō). In Japan, there is a real phantom thief whose identity is unknown.
A teen girl, Risa Harada, returns a letter with her name on it to a blushing boy named Daisuke Niwa. Today is his fourteenth birthday and his declaration of love has been rejected.
In classroom II-B of Azumano Middle School, Risa’s friends ask why she turned down their cute classmate - to which she replies that her type is a hot guy who will help her social standing! She glances at her older twin sister, Riku Harada, mentally swearing to defeat her.
Two boys, Takeshi Saehara and Masahiro Sekimoto, approach Daisuke at his desk, where he stares dully into nothing. Tired of it, Takeshi grabs Daisuke’s head and drags him away, happily declaring that big news is happening at 11pm tonight. Bribing him with another photo of Risa, Takeshi shirks his cleaning duties onto Daisuke so he can prepare for the event.
Daisuke laments his constant bad luck as he tries to enter the Art Room. He realizes he has brought the wrong card to open the door and cries harder. From behind, a handkerchief is offered by another classmate, Satoshi Hiwatari, and Daisuke’s sadness is replaced by embarrassment and determination to open the door. He opens the control panel for the card slider and in very little time unlocks it.
Satoshi silently takes notes on a black notebook that he carries around and asks how Daisuke unlocked the door. Extremely nervous at having exposed his unusual skill, Daisuke lies that he has the same brand of lock at home.
As the end of the day approaches, Daisuke finally returns home where he is immediately greeted by a trap door in the entryway. He nimbly pulls himself back up and assesses the hallway, which is full of trip wires. As he reaches the final door, he opens it with a shoe, and his paranoia is wariness with a burst of electricity that fries the shoe. His mother, Emiko Niwa, is on the other side of the door and pulls him into a delighted hug, praising him. His grandfather, Daiki Niwa, also declares that Daisuke has passed his final test of training. Unfortunately Daisuke is still too sad to pay attention and goes to his room.
The television states that the Esviel Art Museum in the Azumano district of Tokyo has found a note attached to the Saint of Tears statue, which is part of a large and extremely valuable collection of modern art.
Daisuke transforms for the 1st time.
In his room, Daisuke apologizes to his pet rabbit, With, that he didn’t bring him to school. He rips the letter that was returned to him, but Risa’s smiling face appears in his mind. Something is happening. His body begins to burn and and he hears a voice in his mind asking whom he loves. His face and hair have changed; there is another “him”.
In front of the museum police are stationed everywhere on the perimeter and inside. Police Inspector Saehara laughs confidently that Phantom Thief Dark will never be able to steal the statue. His commander approaches, a boy in a middle school uniform, who states the security isn’t good enough.
High in a tree, Takeshi prepares his video camera to record the first appearance of Dark in forty years.
In the Niwa home, Daisuke screams in terror and asks his mom what happened. She admires him and listens happily as he explains his strange transformation. Emiko tells her son that his destiny is to be Phantom Thief Dark, as his ancestors have when they too turned 14. He refuses to become a thief, but Emiko and Daiki give him no choice; he must steal the “Sacred Maiden” to return to normal. They instruct him how to trigger the transformation of With: putting a hand on his forehead will change the rabbit into a large black creature who will then serve as his wings.
As he flies overhead, the clock chimes, announcing that the 11th hour has arrived. Daisuke, flying as Dark, is late because his mother spent too long preparing his outfit. Reporters and police excitedly watch as he flies overhead.
Riku Harada tells her sister that it’s time for her bath, but Risa is preoccupied by the television, especially the handsome thief she sees on it.
And suddenly, Dark disappears from the sky. No one knows where he went, but Daisuke had actually fallen into a bush with With.
Inside, the lights go out and Dark descends, draping a cloth over the statue. A guard shouts that the Saint of Tears has been stolen and the security becomes chaotic as alarms are set off in the panic. Daisuke, disguised as the guard who started this, pulls his cap lower and tells Inspector Saehara that he will stand watch. Saehara wonders who that was as he runs away to reset the alarms.
Dark says that he will take over now.
Alone, Daisuke begins to disable the locks, but before he can imitate the museum director’s voice, another person appears. Satoshi Hiwatari smiles, glad to have a chance to meet Dark in his generation. Daisuke can’t believe his classmate is here to stop him, but tries to play it cool as Dark. Satoshi sees through the deception and deduces that the Saint of Tears hasn’t been stolen yet. Immediately, he throws “Dark” to the ground and confesses that he cares about nothing besides catching this thief. Shiny handcuffs appear out of nowhere on Daisuke’s wrist and he struggles, silently begging someone to save him. A blinding light appears and a voice in Daisuke’s head says that it will take over now.
As the light fades, Satoshi is shocked to see that there are two Darks, one in front and one behind him. They dare him to figure out which Dark is real.
A police guard rushes into the room to find Satoshi standing alone in the moonlight, the statue is gone and the teen questions why the men left this room. When they say there was no point in staying, Satoshi smiles and thinks to himself that his battle with Dark will be fun.
Perched on a high pillar, Dark refuses to transform back into Daisuke. Unfortunately, he turns behind him and sees Riku looking up. She screams at the “peeping tom” and her younger sister runs to see.
In the water below, Daisuke has changed back into his normal self and ponders all the strange things that have happened to him in one night.
Emiko hugs and praises her tearful son when he returns home with the Saint of Tears. Even though he protests about continuing his thieving, he’s told that he will still transform until his “Sacred Maiden”, Risa Harada, returns his feelings.
Trivia[]
- In his first appearance, Satoshi Hiwatari is studying floor plans of the museum at his school desk.
- Azumano Middle School’s classroom locks are Debac Z1GII.
- Despite Daisuke being the one infiltrating the museum, he does not recognise Inspector Saehara’s name.
- The Niwa family has been a family of art thieves since the Edo period.
Quotes[]
- “My sworn enemy… My twin sister, Riku!! Hmph, just because she’s five minutes older, I have to call her big sis… At least I’m the cute one!!” - Risa Harada
- “It took everything I had to give Harada-san that letter… I know I’m a huge klutz, and I’m not really that smart, but I thought I could change my life…” - Daisuke Niwa
- “I love… I love her… This voice… It’s coming from inside of me. Is there another me… in my blood… in my DNA…?” - Daisuke
- “The truth is, I couldn’t care less about the statue. You see, I’ve devoted my life to finding and catching you! For me, nothing else matters. As the last member of my clan, I must capture you and put an end to this.” - Satoshi Hiwatari to Daisuke/Dark
Gallery[]
