The manga premiered in Japan in the Kadokawa Shoten shōjo magazine Monthly Asuka in November 1997.

The story follows an average middle schooler named Daisuke Niwa, who, upon being rejected by his crush, unexpectedly awakens his phantom thief alter ego Dark Mousy.

He then realizes that the transformation he undergoes is an inherited trait shared by all the males in his family, and that his mission is to collect and purify the stolen pieces of art of which Dark seeks to maintain from evil.

Xebec adapted the manga into a 26-episode anime series which aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 3, 2003, until September 25, 2003.

At the story's opening, Daisuke declares love for his crush, a girl named Risa Harada, on his fourteenth birthday.

He is told calmly by his mother Emiko that, because of a strange genetic condition, all the males in Daisuke's family gain the countenance of Dark Mousy, a famous phantom thief.

Dark steals certain artistic objects of value, works made by Satoshi's ancestors, because they contain dangerous magical properties.

Written and illustrated by Yukiru Sugisaki, D.N.Angel premiered in Japan in the November 1997 issue of the Kadokawa Shoten magazine Monthly Asuka.

New chapters were serialized monthly until Sugisaki put the series on an extended hiatus after the August 2005 issue.

The series eventually returned to serialization, starting in the April 2008 issue of Monthly Asuka.

[4] The final chapter was published on the March 2021 issue of Monthly Asuka, released on January 22, 2021.

[9] However, Tokyopop announced that its North American division would close on May 31, 2011, leaving the fate of the manga's localization in question.

The series was originally licensed for release in North America and the United Kingdom by ADV Films.

There is another CD, "A Legend of a Vampire" that uses the same voice cast as the Wink dramas, though it doesn't relate to the manga.

It was hosted by Miyu Irino and Akira Ishida, who voiced Daisuke Niwa and Satoshi Hiwatari, respectively.