Nana | Manga - MyAnimeList.net

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Japanese: NANA

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 21

Chapters: 84

Status: On Hiatus

Published: May 26, 2000 to May 26, 2009

Genres: Award Winning, Drama, Romance

Themes: Adult Cast, Love Polygon, Music

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Cookie

Authors: Yazawa, Ai (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.78¹ (scored by 40,091 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #36²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #81

Members: 126,483

Favorites: 10,606

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8.78

Ranked #36Popularity #81Members 126,483

MangaCookieYazawa, Ai (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /21

Chapters: /84

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Synopsis

Nana Komatsu is a naive, unmotivated girl who spends her high school days chasing one crush after the other. Despite continually facing failure in her quest for love, her spirits have never dampened. At the age of 20, she finds herself on a train to Tokyo with hopes of reuniting with her current boyfriend.

Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is feisty and prideful. After joining a local band during her high school days, she falls in love with music and one of the band members. However, when faced with the choice between her relationship and her musical career, she chooses the latter and separates from her boyfriend. On her 20th birthday, she boards the same train to Tokyo, like her namesake, where she aims to become a top vocalist.

The two girls with the same name but very different aspirations find themselves sitting together on their journey to the city, and, as fate would have it, eventually share the same apartment. A deep and unique bond is then forged, where they will support each other in this saga of love, music, friendship, and heartbreak.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Nana has been published in English by VIZ Media under the Shojo Beat imprint since December 6, 2005; in Spain by Planeta Cómic since 2007; and in Argentina by Editorial Ivrea since 2009.

The series was placed on hiatus since the July 2009 issue of Cookie due to the mangaka's sudden illness.

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Adaptation:

Nana

More characters
Characters

Osaki, Nana

Main

Komatsu, Nana

Main

Okazaki, Shinichi

Supporting

Takagi, Yasushi

Supporting

Terashima, Nobuo

Supporting

Honjou, Ren

Supporting

Ichinose, Takumi

Supporting

Serizawa, Layla

Supporting

Shinoda, Miu

Supporting

Saotome, Junko

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

Aug 8, 2012

RainSpirit

Recommended

NANA is definitely one of the best mangas that I've ever read. There's something about it that makes it very different from other ones, so I personally think it's a must-read. Anyways, my review may contain some spoilers, but I'll try my best not to reveal too much.

Story- 10
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of NANA is how incredibly realistic it is compared to many other mangas. It starts out very normal like any other shoujo/josei manga; introducing the two main characters who both happen to have the name Nana. It pretty much follows the life of these two girls as ... they meet on a train to Tokyo, and then later decide to share an apartment. It may sound a bit dull and boring, but the story always draws you in and makes you wonder what would happen next. Personally what I think is best about the story is the realistic aspect of it, since I've always loved serious and realistic mangas/animes. After reading so many silly mangas with unrealistic story plots, I found it very refreshing to read something completely different. In fact, it's so realistic to the point that I find myself wishing that it wouldn't be so realistic, since NANA definitely isn't your happily ever after story.

Art- 7
Well, I hate to say this but the art of NANA isn't the best. It's not that the mangaka is a bad artist or anything, but the style of NANA just doesn't appeal to me very much. I also don't really like how some of the backgrounds seem as if they are a completely different style of art. Sometimes it looks as if the characters are standing in front of some wallpaper rather than in the actual place so that kinda bothers me. On the other hand, I love how much detail the mangaka puts in the characters and their clothes.

Character- 10
I'm not giving this section a 10 because I think all the characters are perfect and love them all to death, but rather because there is at least one thing I don't like about almost all the characters. That may sound weird, but the reason why I like it is because of how realistic it makes them and how it makes you able to relate to them very easily. I can easily imagine all the characters being real people, and almost all of them are very well developed. Another thing I like about the manga NANA is how the mangaka isn't afraid to put in traits like selfishness and possessiveness and have the characters realize those traits in themselves. I don't think I've ever read another manga that had that, so I was pretty impressed when I first read those parts.

Enjoyment- 9
I really don't have much to say here...all I have to say is that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

Overall- 9
Okay, I'll just be repeating myself here if I say how much I enjoyed it, so I'll just add a few things here that I didn't put up here. So another thing I like about NANA is how it makes you think a bit about life in general. The things that the characters say sometimes made me realize some stuff, and now because of NANA I think I can understand people a bit better. :3

Recommendation-
I recommend this manga to people who like realistic plots that have a bit of humor in it. But if you're someone that likes fairy tail plots, happily ever afters, perfect princes/princesses, or couples that have no problems then this definitely isn't the manga for you. And it's also for an older audience so please don't read it if you're really young. o3o

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Jun 10, 2013

lady_ribbon

Recommended

The longer we live, the more weight we carry in our hearts.

A sentence that truly summarizes and embodies the manga of Nana. The tale follows the lives of two very different girls who share the same name of Nana, and not much else. After a fateful meeting on a train bound to Tokyo, they manage to become friends and their lives weave closely together from that moment forwards. Written most nostalgically by one of the Nana’s from sometime years in the future, the story is a remembrance of the friendship between two girls and all the people who surrounded them who all rushed into life ... with the vigor, innocence and optimism of youth; and returned so tragic, weary and worn by circumstance and choice.

While wrongly categorized as a Shoujo series, Nana is very much a Josei in its explicit content, realistic storytelling, and maturity, so it is far better to be read by an audience who can handle such things.

★ Story (9) – Like longing letters written to the past, Nana unfolds in remembrance and nostalgia from the point of view of one of the Nana’s many years into the future. A simple meeting between two girls of the same age and bearing the same name quickly evolves into a tangled web of many lives with romance and betrayal; long distance relationships and unhealthy romances; cheating scandals and underage prostitutes; unplanned pregnancies and family secrets; obsession and desire; sex and rock n’ roll…All of which is set against the backdrop of a very modern, very fashionable, very young Tokyo where debauchery and youth go hand in hand reigning supreme, and friendship deeper than anything remains the unbreakable link between people lost in the modern world, and in themselves.

Punctuated with ambience throughout, this series is littered with an aching yearning for the past, and a wish to relive life and avoid all the mistakes that brought the story to a vague, but seemingly unhappy future.

★ Art (9) - The artwork of Nana is incredibly distinctive, stylish and highly unique and in so is an absolutely acquired taste. Very artsy and drawn in high style, the characters of Nana are all skin and bones (almost disgustingly so) and always sporting the very latest in fashion. The photographic backgrounds add a touch of realism to the artwork, and yet another sense of style to this very stylish series. Everything is drawn painstakingly well, and in detail from strands of hair to eyelashes. While the style will not be liked by everyone, the art still remains a high scorer for the unique style and the high and consistent quality.

★ Character (10) – This is a series where I really dislike the majority of the cast. So why did I rank the characters so highly? Simple – they are so realistic. Every single character is a three dimensional person unto themselves, with very distinctive personalities and traits unique to them. Not one character can be boxed and labeled as a cliché or a stereotype and indeed, their characterizations are deconstructed time and time again in the course of the story. No matter what choices the character makes or does not make they are given insight and depth throughout. Complex and layered, these characters function and fumble along like real people, constantly shedding and growing new sides to them while remaining themselves in their entirety. While the characters are rather difficult to like on the whole, it is very easy to come to terms with them, and to reach out and understand them on a different level.

They are difficult and contradictory; prickly and sweet; unlikable and loveable – they are completely and utterly human, and in this humanness they are defined.

★ Enjoyment (9) – This is a series for people who want to read about the joy and pain of youth; of the good choices and terrible mistakes which haunt lives years afterward. This is a slice of life story of the most realistic and raw degree with all the twists and turns of life, and the bumps and bruises of stumbling through them.

★ Overall (9) – This beautiful, mature Josei series is a real page turner, and highly recommended for those mature enough to handle it.

This is a series that shows how even the most simple and mundane of choices in our day to day lives can have an effect on those same lives, and can spiral into something much larger in time. It shows us how youth can be the most precious key given in life, with the most painful doors and secrets to unlock.

It shows how life gives us such fond, wonderful memories – but also chokes and tears us apart with those same remembrances. And it shows how friendship is the most wonderful gift to have, and how it is also the heaviest burden to carry.

How very true it is then: that the longer we live, the more weight we carry in our hearts.

Hey Nana...

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Jul 7, 2008

zethras

Recommended

Preliminary (76/84 chp)

NANA is a great romantic/dramatic manga. NANA also have some funny moments. The manga is about two girls with the same name, Nana, and they meet by fate and eventually become best friends. Even though they are best friends, their life take a twist and they are separated by fame, husband, boyfriend, and work. This manga shows the world of the entertainment industry and it focus it on bands and music and a bit of adult movie but that its later on the manga.
NANA starts out as people trying to pursue their dreams. What's more important for an singer/band/model: Follow their dreams or their loved ...

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Recent News

Current Condition of Manga NANA's Author Revealed

According to J-Cast, Josei Jishin magazine caught and interviewed Yazawa Ai when she returned home from the hospital. She said she is getting a lot better than befor...read more

Apr 25, 2010 9:42 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (119 comments)

Publication of Manga NANA Suspended Due To a Sudden Illness of the Author

The new thread on this topic is below. Current Condition of Manga NANA's Author Revealed #========================================== According to Oricon, Yazawa...read more

Jun 28, 2009 11:48 PM by dtshyk | Discuss (94 comments)

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