So, our story is about two girls with the same name as I mentioned earlier and they both are blessed with the name ‘Nana’. First, you have got Nana Komatsu- a ditzy, hopeless romantic who wants to head out to Tokyo so that she could be with her boyfriend Shoji and her other best friends. This Nana searches for happiness and love, but at the same time doesn’t have any particular goals and basically spends her time day dreaming like a little girl.
Then you have got Nana Osaki- my favourite Nana in case you don’t know- a badass, Goth chick who loves singing for her band Blast and someday hopes to be a professional singer. So, she too heads out to achieve her dream and get over her ex-boyfriend Ren Honjo- and I don’t blame her for that because getting over a guy that good looking ain’t easy! Nana Osaki searches for fame and success, but at the same time despite her attitude and pride- she is often portrayed as a sweet and caring individual, who is like the mother bear of the band Blast.
The two Nanas meet on a train ride and one thing leads to another and the two end up sharing an apartment with one another. After which, our real journey into their lives really begins!
Supporting characters from Nana Komatsu’s side include her boyfriend Shouji, her friends Junko and Kyoskei. And from Nana Osaki’s side we have got her band Blast which has Nobu, Yasu, Shinichi and of course Ren, who later leaves to join the band Trapnest which causes their break up.
Now, the show starts off rather slow and I dropped it after one episode. Not because it was bad per se, but Josei anime is not really my type- even though it is targeted towards the demographic I am part off. I mean, this type of anime was new for me- mainly because despite being a girl I am not a girlish person or not even mature enough to be interest in a show like this. So, I wasn’t sure it will be suited to my taste. However, I decided to you know step outside my comfort zone and watch it- and I’m glad I did.
Nana’s pacing at the beginning can be either seen as something bad or good. That being said, the show starts off in the present- but the next seven or eight episodes takes place in both of the Nanas’ past. And that kind of made me hesitant to watch the show again-as it slowly progressed because I just eagerly wanted to know what happens after they move in together.
I, however did enjoy the back story at the beginning. But, the show really did delay in starting off the actual story of the two Nanas.
After that, the pacing was flawless and just nothing to really complain about- but that’s only after they were done introducing the characters after giving their lengthy back story. One thing that kept me interested in the show was its narration. It sort of had this nostalgic feeling attached to it- making it sound and also seem as if the two Nanas share a very intense and beautiful relationship. Nana Komatsu keeps reminiscing about her past when she first met Nana Osaki and she paints a beautiful picture with words by describing the events and also about her interactions and first impressions of Nana Osaki. That is something I truly admired, and narration in general can often suck but in Nana’s case it was one of its strongest points. Towards the last twenty or so episodes, Nana Osaki takes the wheel from Komatsu and instead she starts narrating which was also executed equally well.
Now, I hate to say this and I know many of you don’t want to hear this, but I had some major issues with Nana Komatsu’s character- I mean I am not saying she is a bad character but as a main lead she doesn’t necessarily live up to expectations unlike her polar opposite Nana Osaki, who is just blowing off stereotypes!
Nana Komatsu, started off as this sweet, naïve girl who is dependent on others and can’t help but fall in love with the first cute boy she meets. Now, this is a very annoying trait- but I looked past it because I am not the type to be quick to judge. However, even by the end of the series she is more or less the same person- she is still dependent on others, she is very indecisive, and just unbelievably childish at times. It’s like she hardly got any character development despite all the shit that happened to her.
Also, there are times you feel bad for her because since this is a drama- everything isn’t sunshine and lollipops for her- but I feel like she never learns from her past experiences and keeps on making the same stupid mistakes over and over again. Her character is a good comic relief character, but as a main female protagonist she is just a failure at being that. I mean, if you can learn anything from her character, is that you shouldn’t be an idiot and keep going back instead of moving forward. Nana keeps talking about how she is aware of the fact, that she is stupid, but she never seems to do anything about it. And I think that’s worse than being a naïve, dependent and hopeless romantic girl.
The worst thing about her character is her indecisiveness. She doesn’t know who she is in love with or what she wants and just jumps from guy to other just to make things easier for her, especially towards the end which just brought her character down by several notches, which is sad because after fifteen or so episodes I thought she had the potential of being as great as Osaki.Nana Komatsu is a terrible role model for young girls, but yet for some reason I did enjoy her character because she did have some funny moments, none the less. I’ll give her props for that at least!
Now, Nana Osaki is one character I truly felt so sorry for. Her life was worse than Komatsu’s but yet she manages to be strong, independent and cool. You want to root for her type of character and see her succeed every step of the way. Now given the type of environment she was raised in and the way people generally perceive her, Nana Osaki could have come out as a bitch!
No, like seriously think about it, it’s usually people with such difficult lives who always end up being bitter. However, even though Nana Osaki seems that way, she doesn’t give off that vibe. From the moment, I first saw Nana Osaki and the way she acted, despite her sarcastic and couldn’t care less attitude- she was still a kind hearted and sweet person with a heart made out of gold. She might be punk, but at the end of the day she doesn’t let that label define her. And the development she also got throughout the series was amazing. I wish that the show gave her just as much importance and screen time they gave the other Nana.
Wow, I am losing my bananas saying Nana all the time. Wait, what? Moving on…
As for the supporting cast, some are fleshed out properly and contribute to Nana’s story just as our two titular characters do. However, some of them are still shrouded in mystery even towards the end of the show and you want to know more about them. The supporting characters in my opinion are given decent amounts of screen time and most of them seem to have made some sort of impact on the two Nanas.
The animation of Nana features very tall, skeleton like characters that is reminds me of Clamp’s designs for Code Geass. The characters are very well designed, making them look very detailed and not to mention very fashionable. The artstyle of Nana already gives us the feeling that this is going to be a Josei anime before the story can get the chance to unfold to the audience. It despite being about seven to eight years old still looks top notch and has this sort of elegance and chic vibe to it that I can’t really explain that well. In case you don’t understand what I mean by all of this, I am simply trying to say that this show’s animation is awesome!
As for the opening songs there are three but it’s only the first one that really stands out the most and is also one of my favourite anime openings of all time. It suits the show so perfectly, and not mention it manages to narrate both the Nana’s struggles in lives.
Now, for Nana, when watching the show I think the dub is better, mainly because the two actresses voicing the two Nanas do a great job of bringing their characters to life. I especially enjoy the performance of Rebecca Shoichet who voices Nana Osaki making her sound badass and sincere which is an amazing accomplishment on her part.
This show had the potential of being a shoujo ai, heck it was very close to becoming one. Not that I would have minded if this went that direction, but I am glad at the end of the day these two just remained friends. Also, the show does a good job of establishing a bond between these two which makes the show all the more great. The banter between the two is hilarious and the moments the two share can range from being heartbreaking to being downright hilarious.
The last few episodes of Nana felt rushed in my opinion as they tried to wrap everything up very messily. It just didn’t work in my opinion and still by the end, a plethora of questions were left unanswered about certain characters. Many consider it a disappointment, and I can’t help but agree with them.
The plot of this show might not be anything as exciting as something filled with aliens, time travelers and espers, hence this anime is not necessarily for everyone.
This show isn’t your average high school lovey dovey melodramatic romance anime, but is actually very realistic in the sense that it actually tells the story of two young women and their personal struggles in the world which many women can relate and or identify themselves with.
So, if you’re a teenage boy that enjoys explosions, guns and fight scenes, or a girl who loves sparkly backgrounds, teenage romance and bishounen catboys then you are not going to like this show. However, if you are willing to step outside your comfort zone and give this show a chance then maybe you’ll like it. I am not saying you will, but you might!
I am going to award Nana with an 8 and say that is definitely WORTH THE WATCH. I would give it a higher score if it wasn't for it's anti-climactic ending.
If you want to get into Josei anime I suggest you start with Nana, it’s the perfect gateway into this particular genre. It’s a mature show with great characters, a decent plot and amazing music. I surprisingly enjoyed this show a lot, and it is also a harsh reminder that life is unfair and hard, so yeah basically a bitch!
