Spotlight Anime: Nana MAL Anime Information Page: Nana MAL Score – 8.72 (by 21405 users) Ranked - #27 Popularity - #106 For the next week I would like to have a discussion about the anime that focuses on the key elements that we here on MAL use to critically rate an anime: Animation, Sound, Characters, Story, and Enjoyment. I would like everyone to approach this thread as if you were going to write a review and structure your initial post like this: Animation - insert rating Sound - insert rating Characters - insert rating Story - insert rating Enjoyment - insert rating Animation - discuss any pros and cons of the animation styling used in the series, try to include some specifics. Sound - describe any of the things you liked or didn't care for in regards to the music and sound effects used in the series etc... If you are having trouble writing up a review or coming up with specific pros and cons, please don't worry. Just do the best you can with it and if you can only write two or three sentences about any of the 5 elements then that's OK. Not everyone here is currently at a level which will allow them to articulate their thoughts and opinions. After your initial post is made you can feel free to civilly discuss issues of contention. I am sure there will be many opinions expressed here that some of us will disagree upon and criticise and it is for that reason that this entire club exists. So I hope everyone has fun and I am really looking forward to watching this discussion unfold. RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL Nana was NOT inducted into the club Anime list: 26 Yes - 56.5% 20 No - 43.4% 41 Don't know this anime - 45.5% of the total number polled 3 Abstained - 3.3% of the total number polled |
santetjanJan 27, 2011 6:07 PM
| You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
| Ah NANA. Nee....Nana First episode was great, then entered second episode. From there onwards it is nothing but drama drama drama. Let me quote this review from iamjoe, he pretty much summed it up for me. iamjoe said: NANA is good, but is it GREAT, like everything thinks? Now, let's discuss this, shall we. We have a decent story. It's any little emo poser punk artsy girl's dream--go out to the big city, make rock music with your band, soak up the fame, fortune, drama. Now, I like the characters. There are two Nanas: one is a whore, but she's a sweet girl, and is called 'Hachi', and then we have the second, Nana, who is normal, not a whore, but exudes cool. Then we have ten billion good-looking male characters who either have sex with or dump or play instruments with the Nanas. The music is good, but I honestly thought the songs sucked. Sorry. The art is unique and has a great style. NANA was nice. It didn't need to drag on for that long. It may even be revolutionary. Girls being sexy without being tramps (well, we can't really count Hachi...), what a stretch. What a change! It was good, but not worth the hype. Especially after 20-something episodes, it started to drag on for me. Unfabulous. |
| Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone |
| So, are we going to have some actual in-depth discussion about Nana? About how it towers above every other romance/slice of life manga/novel/movie/theater play/comic book/song/opera/whatever ever made? About it's unmatched emotional maturity? About how it can create the most gripping atmosphere with a mere monologue? About it's deepest knowledge of the female soul? Don't tell me I'm the only person in the entire club who sees Nana for what it is... |
| I'm a bit tired of studying (already) so I'll use this time I'm in the library to comment a bit on NANA. I will be voting No. This was a hard decision, but I'll explain why in this moment. I liked this anime exclusively for the characters. They are absolutely realistic representations of what happens in our society and of what we see. I can identify my friends in them. I can identify myself in them. That's why I voted yes on Takumi, not sure if Hachi was up already. But besides the characters, the series is pretty much empty. The story is just another soap-opera. I swear that if this was with real people and if those people were all Brazilian, people around it would be all over it. The art is regular, nothing amazing. Sound is regular, nothing amazing. All the songs are pretty much overrated. And the love for Oliva Lufkin is undeserved, because - reallu - she is nothing special. Or maybe it's my way of rating that's too biased. As for enjoyment, that was nice. Because of the characters, it gave me long nights and long dinners with my grils friends, talking about which boy we would like to date, and which girl was the most stupid, and how Nana-Hachi was dumb but was not really abnormal compared to us and to our friends, and so on. I talked about this before. xD I watched it in an instant, but as it came, it went. The final veredict is yes for most characters, but no for the whole composition. |
 Waratte Oemashou Sore ha Chiisana Inori |
| I can't believe all the negativity over this series, which is easily one of the best series I've seen. Sure, the best thing about the series is the characters with Hachi's development being one of my favorite character arcs. But, the music, writing, and general atmosphere is handled so well that it boggles my mind that someone could say no to this series. I'll also agree with Dozer about the monologues, excellent stuff. |
| "Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
ladyxzeus said: The art is regular, nothing amazing. If I may: Did you ever notice that the girls look a tad different without makeup on them? |
ladyxzeus said: Sound is regular, nothing amazing. All the songs are pretty much overrated. And the love for Oliva Lufkin is undeserved, because - reallu - she is nothing special. Or maybe it's my way of rating that's too biased. You must be biased because NANA's soundtrack is by far the most successful anime project that I can think of to date. It is the only series that I actually own some of it's many soundtracks. Both Olivia, "Trapnest" and Anna Tsuchiya," BlackStones" achieved something that most other slice of life music series did not, and that was quality music. The music was good enough as to not make the premise of either of these bands making it big seem possible therefore avoiding a point deduction. Honestly the music was so good that it actually makes up for some of the series other flaws that occurred mostly in the second season. Both Olivia and Anna shared in the huge success of NANA and it helped fuel their musical careers in Japan. I wish I could rate this series based upon its' first half solely but since that is impossible I do have to agree that this series began to walk down the road of every other over dramatic soap opera. Even so, the drama was set up so well in the first half that it's completely forgivable because I was already completely invested in the characters. While the first season of the series is easily one of my favorite animated creations ever, the second is unfortunately a stain on the series that is probably fueling a lot of the negative comments. The series is at times too true to life and that doesn't always make great entertainment. I thought it was a little funny to see comments about the series not following the manga. Even though I haven't read the manga, I mostly have not done so because among the hard core fans, there seems to be a consensus that the anime followed the Ai Yazawa's original work and captured the essence she was going for. I know popularity doesn't hold much weight in this club, but the fact that NANA's manga sold over 22 million copies is a testament to it's legacy. The pressure that placed on the backs of the animation team was monumental in the industry and it allowed for the series to be able to attract talented musical artists to help make the animated version come to life. Art: For it's time, NANA's art was exceptional. To this date the animation is still fluid and up to industry standards for similar soft water color styled series. When I purchased the series in the R1, I never got the feeling that it's animation was dated. The character designs were original and did a good job continuing the the mangaka's stylistic 'punk' approach. Carl Kimlinger[/quote said: NANA isn't about events, it's about people and experiences. Its purpose lies not in constructing a neatly cresting narrative, but in capturing the reality of life and the poignancy of change at the cusp of adulthood. And it does so with the multifaceted perfection of a fine gem. @Dozer: It is inevitable that people are going to bash such a widely loved title. Backlash is an unfortunate repercussion that occurs with series that are so successful and loved by so many, so much so that it still has a cult following today. I would recommend this title almost anyone, anime fan or not. For that reason you can definitely expect a yes out of me for this title. Writing/Story: 8 Art and Animation: 7 Music: 10 Voice Acting: 10 (You really can't get much better than this when it comes to voice acting performances.) Character Designs: 10 Overall Enjoyment: 9 |
Orion1Jan 21, 2011 3:55 AM
| @Orion1 When you say that Nana has the best music among slice of life anime, you make me suspect that you haven't watched that many slice of life shows (I prefer not to think about the other option). Just listen to the lyrics and the engrish forced into Nana songs. Then go get yourself Honey and Clover's sound track CD and listen to the lyrics of Suga Shikao's songs. I hope that you can hear the difference between quality music and something trying too hard to sound cool and hip. One more thing is that i wouldn't go as far as calling Nana slice of life (even though you'd see the tag on MAL. But MAL does crazy things most of the times). It's a romance shoujo drama that tries to be a josei but uses too much shoujo elements. Seems like the mangaka and Hatchi both refuse to grow up. That's what I disliked the most about Nana. So called grown ups with teenagers' mind sets , behaviors and drama topped with lots and lots of cheesy monologues done by Hatchi (ne, Nana). |
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| @ Kokuro Strange... it seems to me that Hatchi choosing to abandon her own happiness to be stuck in a possibly loveless marriage because it would be more beneficial for her child to be the very definition of "growing up." Also, what about the monologues of Honey and Clover. Admittedly I love that series equally, but it would be very easy to consider Takemoto's monologues to be cheesy I do believe. What makes that series any different, as both of them do the exact same thing. I'll give you that H&C's soundtrack was great, but I'm pretty sure that "cool and hip" is exactly what the type of music was supposed to be like in Nana. Maybe it's just a musical preference thing, but I can assure you that it's music was high quality whether you want to believe it or not. |
| "Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
insan3soldiern said: @ Kokuro Strange... it seems to me that Hatchi choosing to abandon her own happiness to be stuck in a possibly loveless marriage because it would be more beneficial for her child to be the very definition of "growing up." Also, what about the monologues of Honey and Clover. Admittedly I love that series equally, but it would be very easy to consider Takemoto's monologues to be cheesy I do believe. What makes that series any different, as both of them do the exact same thing. I'll give you that H&C's soundtrack was great, but I'm pretty sure that "cool and hip" is exactly what the type of music was supposed to be like in Nana. Maybe it's just a musical preference thing, but I can assure you that it's music was high quality whether you want to believe it or not. Here is what I think about Nana: It's one of the better shoujo anime I've watched but that doesn't say much since I consider the genre to be pointless. But that's my personal opinion and I won't try to change your or anybody's mind if you like the genre. I think Hatchi didn't choose Takumi based on selflessness. Nobou failed to open the door and she basically wasn't offered a better option. Not that she didn't like Takumi or a secure lifestyle or Nobou was begging her to marry him but she refused to because of her child. At any rate I don't think a discussion for or against Hatchi is what this thread needs. In regards to music: Let me give you an example. Lets imagine Al Pacino is the best match for a role in a movie. Now if we make somebody like Will Ferrel cosplay as Al Pacino and force him to play the role it'd suck for sure. Nana needed a cool rock sound track but if something tries to be cool and hip it doesn't necessarily mean it'd end up that way. As I said the music in Nana, in my opinion, tries too hard to be cool and hip and forgets about the more important aspects of a good rock music and therefore fails to be as great as some people claim it to be. It's not at the bottom of the pit but it sure isn't near the top either. In regards to Honey and Clover, again I don't think this thread needs a post about the quality of that anime. I just pointed out the music aspect of it in response to orion's post regarding the music of slice of life. I have no intention of comparing the two anime with each other as I don't consider them comparable much. And the comparison wouldn't really serve a purpose in this thread. Also if you tag title "A" as crappy it doesn't make it OK for title "B" to be crappy. Even if one agrees (I don't) with your notion of H & C monologues to be cheesy , it doesn't make it OK for Nana or any other title to have cheesy monologues. So if you wanna defend Nana it'd be better to try a better way in my opinion. |
|
Dozer said: ladyxzeus said: The art is regular, nothing amazing. If I may: Did you ever notice that the girls look a tad different without makeup on them? That makes art amazing? O_O |
Waratte Oemashou Sore ha Chiisana Inori |
| @Kokuro: First I'll apologies for the sloppy coding, next I'll point out that you took me out of context. Orion1 said: Both Olivia, "Trapnest" and Anna Tsuchiya," BlackStones" achieved something that most other slice of life *music* series did not, and that was quality music. You forgot that I mentioned "Music Slice of Life" series. Honey & Clover has absolutely nothing to do with music as a subject mater, or even a sub plot. I enjoyed H&C's soundtrack, but it wasn't created as vocals for any characters, it was simply a soundtrack. Olivia, "Trapnest" and Anna Tsuchiya," BlackStones" were more than just background soundtrack artists they were up and coming music recording artists. Beck would be a much better comparison, because it's music was seriously lacking, but it's evolution was what was great. NANA has this similar evolution, a path too success you could say. I really just don't agree with your rock musical tastes. I thought that both Anna and Olivia created some great music. Perhaps I'm just not as much of a rock music snob, but I thought the music created by both these artists were well written and executed. The singing was hauntingly beautiful for some scores and ruff and grungy on others. As for the comment about the engrish, I thought the blend between English and Japanese was tastefully done and I'll add that the instrumental scores were good. If your an expert on music I'd love to here why you felt it was generic. I didn't get that feeling at all. I was more so shocked at it's quality. It's not The Romones or The Stooges, it's closer to Evanescence. It's a sound that blends punk with a more poppy sound. NANA is also yet another example of a series that doesn't fit the shoujo classification very well if it means little girls compared with young women. It seems more suited to Josei but was published in a Shojou magazine hence it's shoujo labeling. However it appears to be aimed at a cross demographic of women and young women. It earned an "R" rating from I'm assuming the MPAA. ANN has this little disclaimer "Intense (graphic depictions of sex, drug use, or bloodshed)." Not really typical material most Japanese parents would want their little girls reading? I'm still waiting for someone fluent in Japanese to explain the age crossover between Josei and shoujo. Continuing further, there is another entirely different aspect about NANA that makes it a really notable series. I thought I exemplified this with Mr. Carl Kimlingers quote.... But it appears I'm going to have to dissect this statement since you've decided to focus your distaste for the series on your "belief" that the music in NANA was mediocre and the characters were out of just another silly old shoujo manga. Much of NANA's exceptional features stem from the realistic writing that depicts the angst and frustrations of becoming an adult. "The reality of life". The music really does take second stage to the quality of character analysis, plot pacing and interesting narrative. It had a Rockumentary feel that was delivered in a slice of life format. I've already admitted to the second half of the series going overboard with the Romantic drama aspect, but they had already successfully ended the poignant fictional behind the music arc during it's first season. The second half basically changed directions towards a traditional romantic drama that digs into the despairs of reality. It's ending was so full of emotion, well I cried, I'm a cry baby I guess. All the raw emotion and experiences, shared successes/failures and memories of youth, came pouring back into my heart in those closing moments. I am willing to fight for the series induction because of it's significant achievements in both half's because of these many themes this series does exceptionally well, which includes the music and yes even the drama. I think the second half was necessary to expand the character development to a point that made me any millions of other people really care at end. @ladyxzeus: I'm curious what makes the animation unexceptional? Dozer actually pointed out a specific detail about the art design in which the art team made a point to differentiate between character facial coloring by adding make-up, another layer of detailed complexity to the animation, which is almost never done. We are talking about Anime here anyway, not Van gogh. The animation, character deigns and artistic execution of the series was good, right down to the specific fashions involved. |
Orion1Jan 21, 2011 2:54 PM
| Watching some clips again, I must commend (something I didn't say before) the dialogues are written really well in the dub. They flow so naturally that it's quite thought out. However there were some cliche moments like "If I die, would you die with me?" that I found very dreadful. |
| Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone |
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