The appeal and reviews of "NANA": A moving story and deep characters

The appeal and reputation of NANA

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

comics

■ Broadcast period

April 5, 2006 - March 28, 2007 Nippon Television Network
April 5, 2006 to September 27, 2006 (Episodes 1 to 26) Every Wednesday 23:25 to 23:55 *Includes compilations
October 4, 2006 to March 28, 2006 (episodes 27 to 50) Every Wednesday 23:55 to 24:26 *Includes compilations

■Broadcasting station

Nippon Television

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 47

■Original Story

Ai Yazawa

■ Director

Morio Asaka

■ Production

Animation Production: Madhouse Production: NANA Production Committee (Nippon Television, VAP, Shueisha, Madhouse)

■Works

©Yazawa Manga Production/Shueisha, VAP, Madhouse, NTV

■ Story

On her way to her boyfriend's house, Nana Komatsu sits next to Nana Osaki, who is moving to Tokyo to become a musician. The two "Nanes" hit it off and decide to live together in Tokyo. The innocent Nana and the cool Nana. The two seem to be complete opposites at first glance, but they sometimes clash as they deepen their bond.

■Explanation

This is a TV animation adaptation of Ai Yazawa's "strongest" shojo manga, which was released in 2005 and has had a huge hit with the live-action movie, games, CDs, and other related goods, and has sold over 34.5 million copies of the book.

■Cast

・Nana Osaki/Romi Park ・Nana Komatsu/KAORI
Ren/Hidenobu Kiuchi・Yasu/Yoshihisa Kawahara・Takumi/Tomoyuki Morikawa・Nobu/Tomokazu Seki・Shin/Akira Ishida・Layla/Aya Hirano・Kyosuke/Junichi Suwabe・Junko/Takako Honda・Shoji/Hiroki Takahashi・Sachiko/Megumi Kojima・Misato/Mika Kanai・Naoki/Anri Katsu・Ginpei/Fumihiko Tachiki

●Singing cast: Nana Osaki, Anna Tsuchiya, Leila, OLIVIA

■ Main staff

・Original work: Yazawa Ai・Director: Asaka Morio・Assistant director: Ishizuka Atsuko・Series composition: Konparu Tomoko・Character design, chief animation director: Hamada Kunihiko・Clothing design: Kitao Masaru, Konno Akiko・Prop design: Murata Mutsumi, Konno Akiko・Art director: Shimizu Tomoyuki・Color design: Kakumoto Yuriko・Director of photography: Masumoto Yukihiro・Sound director: Mima Masafumi・Music: Hasegawa Tomoki・Music producers: Sengoku Kazunari, Asada Hideyuki・Animation producers: Yoshimoto Satoshi, Nakamoto Kenji・Producers: Nakatani Toshio, Tamura Manabu, Maruyama Masao・Animation production: Madhouse・Production: NANA Production Committee (Nippon TV, VAP, Shueisha, Madhouse)

■ Main Characters

・Nana Osaki
One of the main characters. Vocalist of the punk band "BLACK STONES" (also known as Blast). Tomboyish. Moves to Tokyo and vows to succeed with the band, but struggles.
・Nana Komatsu
One of the main characters. Nicknamed Hachi. She has a cheerful and easily influenced personality. She follows her boyfriend to Tokyo on the condition that she becomes independent, but...
・Ren Honjo
Guitarist for the popular rock band "TRAPNEST" (commonly known as "Tranes"). He grew up alone in the world.
・Yasushi Takagi
The leader and drummer of Blast. He is like an older brother and protector to the band. Despite his shaved head appearance, he is a sensible person. He works at a law firm.
・Nobuo Terashima
He is the guitarist and composer of Blast. He gave up his dream of becoming the successor to the inn to pursue music.
・Shinichi Okazaki
Bassist of Blast. Grew up in a complicated family environment. Moved from woman to woman.
・Reira Serizawa
Vocalist of Traness. A diva with a clear, high-pitched voice.
・Takumi Ichinose
The leader and bassist of Trane's band. He is in charge of arrangements. A talented musician.
・Naoki Fujieda
The drummer of Trane's. His trademark is his blonde hair, and he has a boundless cheerful personality.
・Misato Uehara
A mysterious girl who has been an enthusiastic fan of Blast since the band's formation.
・Kyousuke Takakura
Junko's boyfriend and living together. She attends art school with Junko. She is very sweet towards Hachi.
・Junko Saotome
A student at an art school who lives with Kyosuke. Hachi's best friend. He's so mature you wouldn't believe he's the same age as Hachi.
・Sachiko Kawamura
A student attending the same art university, she meets Shoji at her part-time job.
・Shoji Endo
Hachi's ex-boyfriend. The man who inspired Hachi to move to Tokyo. He attends the same art college as Kyosuke and Junko.

■Subtitle

・Episode 1/Prologue・Nana and Nana(2006/04/05)
・Episode 2: Love? Friendship? Nana and Shoji (2006/04/12)
・Episode 3: Nana and Shoji, the fate of love (2006/04/19)
・Episode 4: Nana's Love, Nana's Dream (2006/04/26)
Episode 5: Ren's Dream, Nana's Thoughts (2006/05/03)
・Episode 6: Snowy trip to Tokyo! Nana and Nana (2006/05/10)
Episode 7: Yasu appears! Room 707 (2006/05/17)
・Episode 8: Strawberry Glass and Lotus Flower (2006/05/24)
Episode 9: Nobu Goes to Tokyo! Nana's Song (2006/05/31)
Episode 10: Beautiful boy Shin appears! (2006/06/07)
Episode 11: Sachiko, are you doing this on purpose? (2006/06/14)
・Episode 11.5/Junko's Room (1) (2006/06/21)
Episode 12: Shoji and Sachiko are getting closer! (2006/06/28)
Episode 13: Sachiko's Tears, Shoji's Decision (2006/07/05)
Episode 14: The Family Restaurant in Disarray (2006/07/12)
Episode 15: Blast's first live performance (2006/07/19)
・Episode 16: Nana's Love (2006/07/26)
・Episode 17/Tranes, Live (2006/08/02)
Episode 18: Hachi's Prayer, Nana's Feelings (2006/08/09)
・Episode 19: Nana's Reward (2006/08/16)
Episode 20: Sudden turn of events! Hachi's fate (2006/08/23)
Episode 21: Dream of the Suite Room (2006/08/30)
・Episode 21.5/Junko's Room (2) (2006/09/06)
・Episode 22: Tanabata Wish, Hachi's Love (2006/09/13)
・Episode 23: I don't want to hand it over to anyone (2006/09/20)
Episode 24: Hachi's confused heart (2006/09/27)
Episode 25: A Capricious and Selfish Man (2006/10/04)
Episode 26: Hachi and Nana Pass Each Other (2006/10/11)
Episode 27: Hachi's Desired Future (2006/10/18)
Episode 28: Hachi and Nobu get closer (2006/10/25)
・Episode 29: Problems with expressing affection (2006/11/01)
Episode 30: Nana's heart on the brink of collapse (2006/11/08)
Episode 31: Hachiko is pregnant (2006/11/15)
Episode 32: Don't let go of my hand (2006/11/22)
・Episode 33: Hachi's Choice (2006/11/29)
Episode 34: Broken Strawberry Glass (2006/12/06)
Episode 35: Layla's Loneliness (2006/12/13)
・Episode 36/Blast's new song!! (2006/12/20)
・Episode 36.5/Junko's Room (3) (2007/01/10)
Episode 37: Hachi, Shiroganese (2007/01/17)
Episode 38: The Trigger of Destiny (2007/01/24)
Episode 39: Hachiko, Watch Me! (2007/01/31)
Episode 40: Blast makes his debut! (2007/02/07)
・Episode 41: Blast Training Camp (2007/02/14)
Episode 42: Nana's Sudden Seizure (2007/02/21)
Episode 43: Blast's Guerrilla Live (2007/02/28)
Episode 44: Blast vs. Traneth (2007/03/07)
・Episode 45/First appearance on Blast TV (2007/03/14)
・Episode 46: Reunion! Hachi and Shoji (2007/03/21)
Episode 47: Fireworks Festival, Hachi and Nana (2007/03/28)

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・Period: 1 to 21
・Rose
・Lyrics by ANNA
・Composer: Ayumi Miyazaki
・Song: ANNA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES)

・OP2
・Period: 22-36
・Wish
Lyrics: Chaze, OLIVIA
・Composition: OLIVIA, rui
Arrangement: rui, kansei
・Strings arrangement/Tomoyuki Togawa ・Vocals/OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

・OP3
・Period: 37-47
・LUCY
Lyrics: Rie Eto
・Composition: COZZi
・Song: ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES)

・ED1
・Period: 1-18, 41
・A little pain
Lyrics by Masumi Kawamura; Music by Hiroo Yamaguchi; Arrangement by Tomoji Togawa; Singer by OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

・ED2
・Period: 19-29, 42
・Starless Night
Lyrics: Space Critter, OLIVIA
Composer: OLIVIA, Jeffrey Lufkin
・Arrangement: Tomoji Togawa ・Song: OLIVIA inspi' REIRA(TRAPNEST)

・ED3
・Period: 30-40, 47
・Black Tears・Lyrics by Megumi Takeuchi
・Composer: Hiroki Nagase
・Song: ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES)

・ED4
・Period/43, 44
・Winter sleep
・Lyrics by A Critter
・Composition: OLIVIA, rui
・Song/OLIVIA inspi' REIRA(TRAPNEST)

・ED5
・Period: 45, 46
・Stand by me
・Lyrics by ANNA
・Composer: Katsumi Ohnishi
・Song: ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi'NANA (BLACK STONES)

・IN1
・Period/4
・zero
・Lyrics by ANNA
・Composer: Katsumi Ohnishi
・Song: ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi'NANA (BLACK STONES)

・IN2
・Period/18
・Recorded Butterflies
Lyrics: OLIVIA, Masumi Kawamura
・Composition: OLIVIA, rui
・Song/OLIVIA inspi' REIRA(TRAPNEST)

・IN3
・Shadow of Love
Lyrics: OLIVIA, Chazne
・Composition: OLIVIA, rui
・Song/OLIVIA inspi' REIRA(TRAPNEST)

■The appeal and reputation of NANA

"NANA" is an anime series based on the manga of the same name by Ai Yazawa, and was broadcast on Nippon Television from 2006 to 2007. This work is a story about music, friendship, and growth, and its deep human drama and realistic character portrayal have attracted many viewers. Below, we will take a closer look at the appeal and evaluation of "NANA".

■ The appeal of the story

The story of "NANA" begins when two "Nanas," Nana Komatsu (nicknamed Hachi) and Nana Osaki, meet and start living together in Tokyo. Although they have different personalities and backgrounds, the story depicts them growing together while supporting each other.

Nana Komatsu is a love-obsessed, easily swayed character, but she develops her sense of independence through her life in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Nana Osaki aims to succeed as the vocalist of the punk band "BLACK STONES" (BLAST), and struggles with her passion for music. Their friendship and growth are at the heart of the story, deeply moving the viewer.

Music is also heavily involved in the story, and the realistic aspects of the music industry are depicted through the activities of bands such as BLAST and TRAPNEST. The relationships between band members, their passion for music, and the path to success are all depicted realistically, making it particularly appealing to music fans.

■Charm of the characters

Each character in "NANA" has a unique personality and a deep background. The two main characters, Nana, are particularly impressive because they are attracted to each other despite their contrasting personalities.

Nana Osaki has a cool and tomboyish personality, but she has a strong passion for music and love for her friends, and her struggles and growth resonate with viewers. On the other hand, Nana Komatsu has an innocent and easily influenced personality, but her growing sense of independence through her life in Tokyo is moving.

In addition, many other unique characters appear, such as Blast members Yasu, Nobu, Shin, and Tranes members Len, Layla, Takumi, and Naoki. Their relationships and growth enrich the story and draw the viewers in.

■ The appeal of music

The music in "NANA" is an important element in bringing excitement to the story. The opening and ending songs in particular are masterpieces that are deeply engraved in the hearts of viewers. Each song, such as "rose" and "LUCY" sung by ANNA TSUCHIYA, and "a little pain" and "Starless Night" sung by OLIVIA, enhances the atmosphere of the story.

In addition, the live performance scenes of Blast and Traness feature realistic musical performances, conveying the charm of music to viewers. The music for the anime is provided by talented artists such as Anna Tsuchiya and OLIVIA, and the high quality of the music has been praised.

■ Animation quality

The animation of NANA is characterized by the high quality production by Madhouse. The character designs, background art, color scheme, etc. are all carefully crafted, and the visual beauty is outstanding.

In particular, the depiction of the live performance scenes is realistic and powerful, conveying the sense of realism of the music to the audience. Additionally, the characters' expressions and movements are drawn in detail, realistically expressing the subtleties of their emotions. These elements combine to make "NANA" a visually appealing work.

■ Social impact and evaluation

"NANA" has been highly praised since it was first broadcast, and has gained many fans. It has been especially popular among young people, and has influenced music, fashion, and lifestyle. The original manga was also a big hit, and related merchandise and a live-action movie were also successful.

The show depicts universal themes such as friendship, love, and passion for music, and has resonated with many viewers. It has also been praised for the realistic portrayal of characters and the high quality of the music, making it a work that has had a social impact.

■ Recommendations and how to watch

"NANA" is a moving story about music, friendship, and growth, and is a work that can be recommended to a wide range of people. It is especially a must-see for music lovers and those who like youth dramas. It is also recommended for those who are attracted to deep human dramas with characters.

There are DVDs and Blu-rays available for purchase. You can also watch it on streaming services, which are convenient. Also, be sure to read the original manga. It contains detailed information about episodes and character backgrounds that are not depicted in the anime, allowing you to understand the story more deeply.

Conclusion

"NANA" is a moving story about music, friendship, and growth, and its deep human drama and realistic character portrayals have attracted many viewers. The high quality of the music and the beauty of the animation have also been praised, making it a work that has had a social impact. Please watch this work and be moved by the growth and friendship of the two Nanas.