by F.A.I.T.H on August 30th, 2006, 2:56am

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User rating of this review - 4.33 out of 5
Story/Plot - 4.2 out of 5
Characters - 5 out of 5
Drawing Style - 5 out of 5
Enjoyment - 4.4 out of 5
Overall - 4.4 out of 5

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Plot/Story 4.2/5
14 year-old Daisuke Niwa was just like any ordinary high-schooler-Attending high school everyday, having a crush on a classmate and attending club activites. On his 14th birthday, everything changed. After being rejected by the girl he liked, Daisuke would change into another personality called "Dark Mousy", the legendary thief of priceless art pieces and artifacts, and the transformation comes to him automatically whenever he thinks of the girls he likes! What's going to happen to him from now on?

At first glance, it seemed like a typical storyline: Boy reaches coming of age, alter-ego comes and turns his life upside down and hilarity ensues. It's not all about humor, though. The storyline slowly and surely unravels the threads of mystery as it progresses, giving us a better idea of the concept of co-existence between the two male leads and what Dark really could be. The more the story continues, the more you would wish to find out about him. Of course, romance, humor and angst are all mixed in together with fantasy. Sometimes the things they talk about can be really complicated, but it goes to show the depth of this manga, that it's not just some sappy romantic comedy at play.
Characters 5/5
Obviously, the main character-Daisuke Niwa. He's one of those typical main characters nowadays-Bumbling, emotional and clueless most of the time. He does mature as the manga progresses, a sign of his growth as he takes on a darker destiny with his counterpart, Dark Mousy.
Dark, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of him-Daring, obnoxious, skilful with his hands at stealing artifacts as well as the hearts of any girl who saw him. Dark has a mysterious past, and some of it is revealed as the story unravels. Occasionally, he would be shown as a gag character, which makes up part of the novelty for the manga.
Another male lead would be Hiwatari Satoshi, the protagonist of the story. He has an alter-ego as well, named Krad, who was not so friendly with the former as Dark was with Daisuke. Both seemed to have some sort of grudge against Daisuke and Dark, though that kind of relationship changes when Daisuke helps Hiwatari out instead....
For the female leads, it would be Harada Risa and Riku, the twin sisters with personalities as different as night and day. While Risa liked fanciful dresses and "girly stuff", Riku loved sports and preferred the comfort of shorts and jeans. Of course, both will play the love interests of Daisuke and Dark, which just makes things more complicated. ^^''

The character development was pretty good, especially into the later volumes of the manga. The issue of co-existence comes up many times, and dilemmas on the side of Daisuke seem to make him mature gradually. The mangaka did a great job by not rushing it, it seems. Everyone slowly changes as Dark enters the life of Daisuke, and vice versa. It's a nice change, especially when it is known that the enmity between the Hiwatari and Niwa families has continued for generations, and yet Daisuke wants to make Hiwatari his friend. Development doesn't come across as rushed, definitely, and even the focus switches to side characters as well.
Drawing Style 5/5
Beautiful artwork worthy of its storyline and characters. I like the way how the mangaka drew the hair and eyes for each character. Every single one of them didn't seem too skinny or too fat, and definitely *ahem* Not too busty for the females. HArdly an inconsistencies as well.
Enjoyment 4.4/5
I really enjoy it a lot, though frankly speaking, sometimes I don't even understand what they are talking about and would spend some time trying to piece things together. Other than that, I love everything about it.
Overall On the whole, an extremely enjoyable manga series, though there are some hiccups along the way. This is highly recommended for not only fans of the romantic-comedy genre, but for all as well, though you might want to skip the more sophisticated dialogue occasionally coming up.

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