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Alternate Titles: None

Original Japanese Release Date: 2006

Episode Length/Run-time: 47

Summary:

Nana begins with two girls named Nana who meet on a train.  The light haired Nana Komatsu, later nicknamed “Hatchi” (which will be her name here on out) is headed to Tokyo with little vision or goal other than going out to be with her boyfriend.  The dark, short haired rocker Nana Osaki is going to Tokyo with her band the Black Stones, or BLAST for short, to make it big.  Nana’s boyfriend (which is a complicated relationship) is the lead guitar out in Tokyo for a band known as Trapnest, she refused to go out with him in order to make it on her own.  They depart ways only to meet again when looking for an apartment, finding the seemingly perfect place at the same time they agree to move in together and split the rent.

Review:

The summary is really just the tip of the iceberg for this series.  Despite the series being named NANA the main character is really Hatchi (yes I know Nana is her name too but lets face it she is rarely called by it).  The series really follows her and the influence Nana has in her life.  She moves out to Tokyo with this childish notion that she’d get out there and her boyfriend and her would like happily ever after simply by being together.  Without considering things such as jobs, money, a place to live, and the fact that they are not even married.

The series really begins to turn as Hatchi’s heart is really broken for the first time.  (Minor spoiler fine, but it’s a long series)  After that Hatchi begins to find herself as a person.  Nana, on the other hand, is goal oriented and driven from square one, often feeling like an older sister to Hatchi.  She is clearly one whom Hatchi admires and looks up to.

The series has a genuine, and even gritty feel to it.  It’s definitely more mature than your standard Romance shojo series dealing with subjects like sex, drugs, premarital pregnancy, working for a living, love versus security.  A lot of the series is about the sacrifices we make for one thing, over another.  Be it people, or time, or wants, the series really shows that often times to have something you’ll have to forgo something else.

From start to finish it hooks you.  The characters are enjoyable, the series is deep while still possessing some comedic aspects.  There is some filler which could likely be cut from the main story, but it is not your standard run of the mill filler.  It’s filler which develops the characters in ways that are beyond your normal filler standards.

The art is Ai Yazawa who also did Paradise Kiss, so her style is notable and enjoyable.

The music is fantastic, it’s a show about rock stars so it better be! But they found some J-rockers to do all the music and it was very well done throughout the series.

This series is very good, one for a more mature audience and likely female given the heavy romance feel.  But when you really get past the first bit when Hatchi is very innocent then I think it’s something anyone could enjoy because the subject matter darkens a lot.  And a good plot and well developed characters also go a long way.