Ranked #23

NANA

After watching for a second time, I am now DEAD sure that this series is by far one of the most deeply moving, fascinating and touching anime series that won't be easily surpassed by any of the aired or upcoming anime series with the same genre... And i must admit that there were lots of astounding moments that I definitely will remember in awe forever, be it a saddening, sorrowful or, a joyful, entertaining moment...

Well, most of you are at least familiar with the story after reading the summary above, but there are some points i need to make clear.The plot might not catch most of the average viewers attention as a rare one, but a mediocre TV drama which contains meaningless and temporary love stories, but I assure you, NANA is much more than that! Additionally, this series succeeds in making the audience believe that there really is a world or a place where NANAs and their friends are sharing a life and this thought involves you in the story where you will laugh or cry with them thoughout 47 episodes. NANA's story has lots of twists, suprising moments and character developments especially Hachi(Komatsu Nana)'s growing up throughout the series or Osaki Nana's struggles in her way of making a live off of music. Then the things they need to sacrifice to make their dreams come true... Story-wise, Nana does not have a thought-provoking way of telling things, and prefers to tell the viewers in an easy and straight way which, to me, is the best choice... 10/10..

Art is a really unique one by Ai Yazawa as most of you know which is in a harmony with nature of NANA, getting used to it might be hard for most of you, but once you do, you will likely love it. Rarely does it seem plain or a little inelaborate but most of the time it very well reflects what it is supposed to. Also, chibi forms of the characters are really suited for the funny moments and they are definitely cute... It is absolutely great considering the time it was produced as well ^^. So with some little flaws, it's almost perfect.. 9/10

There really is nothing to say about the the music in NANA which is way better than most of the albums out there in the markets. NANA is basically a music-related anime, thus it is normal that it has astounding sound and songs performed by great singers who are also well-known in Japan and in the world. Moreover, all of a sudden, i found myself a Trapnest(Houjou Ren's second band in the anime) fan which even doesn't belong to the genre of music i mostly listen to xD Anyway, seiyuu and music wise, NANA is top-notch. 10/10...

Characters are what make the audience get closer to the anime and its world. NANA provides a large range of characters and makes you feel attached to at least one of them instantly. Especially the main characters thoughts and the way they react to the things happening around them are very well portrayed, most of them have development as the story progresses but what's important is that all of these are given in a consistent manner, characters do change, but that's only natural after confronting with certain situations throughout the story. All of the characters are really unique and presented very nicely, also have major developments and play significant roles in the progression of the story, hence it's again a 10/10...

Enjoyment differs from one person to another as it is a subjective matter. In my opinion, if you watch a TV series 47-episode-long for a second time, and still hurry to watch the next episode after watching 20 episodes consecutively and as a result finish it in less than two days, then this show is definitely something else... My own decision is 100 out of 100...

All in all, NANA is one of the best series I have ever watched and absolutely the best in its genre, I am planning to watch it again for a third time right after the news of it getting a second season^^ It is a must-see anime, definitely recommended! read more

One of the things I like to see the most in anime is how they portray relationships. I’m a sucker for romance, but I hate the cheesy stuff you usually see in typical shoujo anime. Sometimes you’ll find an anime with realistic characters, with the typical flaws of human nature, and usually people love them. We can identify with them. Like in Evangelion many people who have dealt with depression could identify with Shinji (in some levels…).

For those of you who have watched your share of anime about love/relationships, I bet you could identify somehow with “Bokura ga Ita”, “Kimi ga Nozomu Eien” or “Kare Kano”. Or at least you felt connected with its characters. I have watched them all and know what I’m talking about.

Recently, I finally sat down and watched “Paradise Kiss”. It’s a short (12 episodes) anime that, to make it short, is about relationships and growing up. I was impressed by its maturity. The art style took a while to get used to, but afterwards I loved it. After watching it, I decided to watch “Nana”, which is by the same author and deals with similar issues.

Synopsis:
“On board the train to Tokyo to meet her boyfriend Shoji, Nana Komatsu ("Hachi") happened to sit beside Nana Osaki who was traveling to Tokyo to fulfill her dreams of becoming a musician. The vocalist for her punk band "Blast", Nana aims for a major debut for "Blast" in Tokyo where her boyfriend, Ren, is the guitarist for a popular band "Trapnest". Sharing the same name "Nana", both girls quickly form a bond of friendship. Their paths cross again when they encounter each other while searching for accommodation in Tokyo. Eventually they decide to live together in the same unit and this further strengthens their bond as the two "Nana(s)" go through their love lives and career.” – AnimeNewsNetwork


Story (10/10)

I almost have no words to express how it made me feel. It’s amazing. Incredibly realistic and moving. I started watching it without knowing a thing about it (not even synopsis), though the title “Nana” sounded familiar as something popular among anime fans. The anime was broadcasted in 2006, lasting 47 episodes, but the manga first came out in Japan in 2000 and is still ongoing.

The concept itself isn’t anything too extraordinary. People living together, people falling in and out of love, people trying to make it in showbiz and other stuff. You could say it blends many overused ideas, then twists them around and reinvents them, transforming itself into a completely original and brilliant idea. And it contains romance, drama and comedy, but the transition between them is really well done, so it doesn’t feel weird.

What really makes “Nana” shine is the incredible character development. The evolution of each character’s personality and relationships with other characters. The things we watch them go through seem so real, like we’d probably make the same mistakes and choices as they did. No one is perfect – that’s a fact. We often think to ourselves “If I was [him], I wouldn’t have made that choice”, but the truth is we are lying to ourselves. We are insecure, emotional beings, that often ignore rational thought and make reckless decisions. “Nana” is so realistic that it’ll blow your mind away.

This is a long series, but it’s not hard to watch. In the first episodes, the action often switches between the actual time and many flashbacks, but they really are important to understand a character’s background. At some point you might get the feeling that they’re repeating the flashbacks, but don’t worry. This isn’t a filler-filled series.

In the end I felt that the story was really well told. But they leave you in a sort of cliffhanger… because the manga isn’t finished yet. But they made it more than obvious that at some point there’ll be a second season of Nana, so don’t worry. In fact, I loved watching this and the way it ended wasn’t too frustrating because I’d just experienced an awesome series.

Visuals (8/10)

The way the characters look might be a little hard to get used to (at least imo), but I really like the art style. I don’t think there’s anything too impressive or revolutionary about the visuals here… which is a good thing. I think the plot alone would be enough to hold the audience and maybe if they’d done something too extravagant visually (*cough* Air *cough*) the viewer would get sidetracked from the story itself. I think the animation was very fitting for the anime.

The animation studio is Madhouse, which was also responsible for “Beck”, “CardCaptor Sakura”, “Paradise Kiss”, “Death Note” and a bunch of others.

Audio (9/10)

I watched the episodes with the original Japanese voice actors and English subtitles. As for the actors, I think they were perfect for their roles. KAORI gave her voice to Nana “Hachi”, which suited the character perfectly with the childish and girlish tone (but thankfully not an annoying high-pitched voice). For the tough rock singer Nana Osaki we have Romi Paku, who also voiced Edward Elric in Full Metal Alchemist. They knew that “Nana” would be an instant success, so they gave it a cast of famous actors and spared no expense.

At first this seems like an anime about music, but it doesn’t play that much of a part here. I mean, we hear lots of songs, but the story isn’t focused on showing us the making of the songs in detail. Compared to “Gravitation” or “Full Moon wo Sagashite”, music wasn’t as important here.

I loved the songs. The fictional bands’ songs are used as openings and endings. OLIVIA is the singing voice of Reira, and we hear many songs from her. My favourite was “A little pain”. It was the first Ending, and since each episode ended on a relatively sad tone, the song fit perfectly. When I heard the first words of the lyrics (“Travel to the moon…”) it almost made me want to cry.

Characters (10/10)

As I’ve mentioned, the characters are the best thing about the anime. We get the chance to know a bit about each character’s history, motivations, thoughts and desires. They are so realistic that we just can’t help but being sucked in by them.

As the anime progresses, the characters gradually grow. This is a very “slice of life” genre of anime, so we watch them growing up. I love how they all interact and deal with their decisions. I love how they aren’t perfect… but as flawed as humans should be.

Overall (10/10)

I loved this anime and it will definitely become one of my favorite series of all time. I feel like watching it again and again, but since it is 47 episodes long and makes me very emotional, maybe it’ll have to wait until I have more time.

I don’t feel like reading the manga for the sole reason that it is too damn long. If it weren’t for that, I would have already ordered all the volumes. But I gained new respect for the mangaka Ai Yazawa.

There are 2 live-action movies for “Nana”. I haven’t watched them yet, but will soon. I’m curious as to how they squeezed all that plot into 2 movies (I’d say they have enough material to make a whole 11 episode drama or maybe something even longer).

The anime will have a second season… I’m sure of that. But for that to happen, we’ll have to wait until the manga is finished. Hurry up!
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