''Nana'' (stylized as ''NANA'') is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series written and illustrated by
Ai Yazawa
is a Japanese manga author. While most of Yazawa's manga is published in Japan by Shueisha, publishers of ''Ribon'' and ''Cookie'' (''Nana'' was serialized in the latter), series like ''Paradise Kiss'' have appeared in non-Shueisha magazines su ...
. It was
serialized in the monthly
manga magazine
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...
''
Cookie
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...
'' from May 2000 to May 2009 before entering a hiatus. The series is centered on Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu, two women who move to Tokyo at the age of 20, with the story focused on Nana O.'s pursuit for fame and Nana K.'s pursuit for romance, all while struggling to maintain their friendship.
The manga was adapted into a
live-action film
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
in 2005, with
a sequel released in 2006. An
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series adaptation by
Madhouse directed by
Morio Asaka
is a Japanese storyboard artist and director.
After graduating Osaka Designers' College, Asaka entered Madhouse. He was inspired to become a director by '' Phoenix: Yamato Chapter'' and made his debut as an episode director in episode 40 of ''Y ...
aired on
Nippon TV
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
between April 2006 and March 2007. All ''Nana'' media has been licensed for English language release in North America by
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
, which serialized the manga in their ''
Shojo Beat
''Shojo Beat'' is a manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Launched in June 2005 as a sister magazine for '' Shonen Jump'', it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese cult ...
'' magazine until the August 2007 issue, while also publishing it in the ''tankōbon'' format. They released both films in 2008, and their English dub of the anime was broadcast on the
Funimation Channel
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
beginning in September 2009.
In 2002, ''Nana'' won the 48th
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
for ''
shōjo'' category. As of September 2019, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the
best-selling manga series
The following is a list of the best-selling Japanese manga series to date in terms of the number of collected ''tankōbon'' volumes sold. All series in this list have at least 20 million copies in circulation. This list is limited to Japanese ...
.
Plot
On March 5, 2001, Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu (nicknamed Hachi) cross paths when they both move to Tokyo after turning 20 years old: Nana O. to pursue a professional music career with her band, Black Stones, on her own merit; and Nana K. to join her friends and move in with her boyfriend. Despite having different personalities and ambitions, the two women find commonalities with each other and, by coincidence, move into the same apartment. However, as they follow their dreams, troubles of fame and love begin to test their friendship.
As the two women continue their lives in Tokyo, Nana K. breaks up with her boyfriend after he cheats on her, while Nana O. reunites with her ex-boyfriend Ren, the guitarist of Japan's current top band, Trapnest. Nana O.'s relationship with Ren eventually leads Nana K. into starting an on-and-off relationship with Trapnest's bassist, Takumi, causing her friendship with Nana O. to become awkward, while falling in love with Black Stones' guitarist, Nobu, at the same time. Ultimately, when Nana K. becomes pregnant, she chooses to marry Takumi instead. Nana O. begins to suffer from panic attacks at the thought of losing Nana K., but she later resolves to win her back from Trapnest by using the popularity and success of Black Stones.
When a tabloid magazine exposes Nana O. and Ren's relationship, this causes Black Stones to skyrocket in popularity and formally debut. Nana O. and Ren, however, start facing troubles in their relationship due to Nana O.'s jealousy of Trapnest and Ren's drug addiction, even as they become engaged. As the tabloids continue to target Black Stones and Trapnest, Nana K. begins to learn secrets behind Nana O.'s family history, including her birth mother. Shortly before Black Stones begin their first tour, their bassist, Shin, is arrested, causing Nana O. to embark on a solo career in the meantime. As she begins to make a name for herself, Ren dies in a car accident. While recovering from his death, Nana O. begins to question her dependency on Nana K. as well as the change in their relationship.
Starting with volume 12, scenes that take place years later are interspersed in the series, showing that in the present, Nana O. is rumored to have died, but Nana K. and her friends learn that she fled to England and try to find her.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by
Ai Yazawa
is a Japanese manga author. While most of Yazawa's manga is published in Japan by Shueisha, publishers of ''Ribon'' and ''Cookie'' (''Nana'' was serialized in the latter), series like ''Paradise Kiss'' have appeared in non-Shueisha magazines su ...
, ''Nana'' first appeared as a
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
in 1999 in Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 of
Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's ''
Cookie
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...
'', a sister magazine of ''
Ribon
is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha on the third of each month. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are ''Nakayoshi'' and '' Ciao''. Its target audience is girls roughly 8–14 years old.
It is one of the best-s ...
''.
''Nana'' was later serialized in ''Cookie'', starting in the July 2000 issue (published on May 26), when it was relaunched as a monthly magazine.
''Nana'' ran in the magazine for 84 chapters, until the July 2009 issue (published on May 26), and the series was put on hiatus in June of the same year due to Yazawa falling ill.
Yazawa returned from the hospital in early April 2010, but it was not specified when or if she would resume the manga.
The individual chapters of ''Nana'' have been collected by Shueisha into twenty-one ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes, published under the Ribon Mascot Comics Cookie imprint, between May 15, 2000 and March 13, 2009. Its latest four chapters have not been published in a ''tankōbon'' volume.
''Nana'' is licensed for English-language release in North America by
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
. It was serialized in Viz's manga anthology ''
Shojo Beat
''Shojo Beat'' is a manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Launched in June 2005 as a sister magazine for '' Shonen Jump'', it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese cult ...
'', premiering in the July 2005 debut issue and continuing until the August 2007 issue.
They published all 21 collected volumes as of July 6, 2010.
Films
Two live-action film adaptations have been made for ''Nana''. The first, ''
Nana
Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname
* Nana ( ...
'', was released on September 3, 2005. The film stars
Mika Nakashima
is a Japanese singer and actress. Five of her studio albums, one of her mini-albums and one of her compilation albums have reached number one in Japan's Oricon album chart. She also embarked on an acting career, most notably as Nana Osaki in the ...
as the punk star Nana Oosaki,
Aoi Miyazaki
is a Japanese actress. She is known for her roles in ''Nana'' and '' Virgin Snow''.
Career
Miyazaki started working in the entertainment industry at the age of four. Initially she appeared mostly in commercials, magazine advertisements, and a ...
as Hachi (Nana Komatsu),
Ryuhei Matsuda
is a Japanese film and television actor. Matsuda's best known film roles include the young and desirable samurai Sōzaburō Kanō in ''Taboo'' and the rock star Ren Honjo in ''Nana''.
Early life
Matsuda was born on 9 May 1983 in Tokyo, to Yūsa ...
as Ren Honjou,
Tetsuji Tamayama
is a Japanese TV and film actor. He joined modeling competitions and was active in ''Checkmate'' and other fashion magazines. In 2001, Tamayama debuted in ''Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'' as GaoSilver. He continued to star in more movies and TV dra ...
as Takumi Ichinose,
Hiroki Narimiya
(born September 14, 1982), better known as , is a former Japanese actor.
Early life
He was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. His parents are from Okinawa Prefecture. His parents divorced when he was young, and in his third year of junior high sch ...
as Nobuo Terashima, and
Kenichi Matsuyama
is a Japanese actor. He is known for his affinity for strange character roles, and he is best known internationally for playing L in the 2006 films ''Death Note'', '' Death Note 2: The Last Name'' and '' L: Change the World'' in 2008, as well a ...
as Shinichi Okazaki. The DVD edition was released on March 3, 2006. The film did quite well at the Japanese box office, grossing more than 4 billion yen, and staying in the top 10 for several weeks.
A sequel, ''
Nana 2
''Nana 2'' is a 2006 Japanese drama film directed by Kentarō Ōtani and adapted from the manga by Ai Yazawa. It is the sequel to the 2005 film ''Nana''. Production for the movie began in mid-September and only one and a half month shootings fini ...
'', was announced right after the first film debuted. However, on August 4, 2006,
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
stated that shooting would begin mid-September and that the film was to be released on December 9, 2006. Miyazaki, Matsuda and Matsuyama would not be reprising their respective roles as Hachi, Ren and Shin; as such, their roles were assigned to
Yui Ichikawa
, is an actress and model from Tokyo, Japan. She is also known by her nickname, ''Yui-nyan''. As an actress she has appeared in several dramas (''doramas''), and in recent years she has concentrated more on her film career. She played a minor ...
,
Nobuo Kyo
is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency Cube. He graduated from Ichikawa High School.
Biography
Kyo was born with Korean nationality in Japan and later became a naturalized Japanese. In 1998, he won the photogenic award and ...
and
Kanata Hongō
is a Japanese actor, voice actor and Model (person), model. He is part of Stardust Promotion and has appeared several times in music videos, movies, TV series, and magazines. His major breakthrough role was as Ryoma Echizen in the The Prince of ...
, respectively. Some locations from the manga had been changed for the film, and many plot differences were introduced as well.
Anime
An animated adaptation of ''Nana'' was produced by
Nippon Television
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
,
VAP,
Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
and
Madhouse and directed by
Morio Asaka
is a Japanese storyboard artist and director.
After graduating Osaka Designers' College, Asaka entered Madhouse. He was inspired to become a director by '' Phoenix: Yamato Chapter'' and made his debut as an episode director in episode 40 of ''Y ...
, with Tomoko Konparu handling series composition, Kunihiko Hamada designing the characters and
Tomoki Hasegawa
is a Japanese composer and arranger of music from Osaka Prefecture, Japan, best known for his work on anime soundtracks. He has also done sound production work on albums for Mayumi Iizuka.
Works Anime
*''Pygmalio'' (opening and ending themes arra ...
composing the music. The series aired from April 5, 2006 to March 27, 2007. The first and third openings and third ending songs are sung by
Anna Tsuchiya
is a Japanese singer, actress and semi-retired model. Since 2005, she is primarily known as a singer.[Oricon pr ...](_blank)
, who provides the singing voice for Nana Osaki, while the second opening and first and second endings were sung by
Olivia Lufkin
Olivia Lufkin (born December 9, 1979), professionally known as Olivia, is a Japanese-American bilingual singer and songwriter. , who provides the singing voice for Reira Serizawa. The series was published and distributed on 17 DVD volumes by VAP from July 7, 2006 to November 21, 2007. The highest average TV ratings for the series was 6.3% in the Kanto region, which was unusually high for a
late night anime
In Japan, refers to anime series broadcast on television late at night or in the early hours of the morning, usually between 10 PM and 4 AM local time.
Overview
Late night anime is targeted towards Otaku from teens to adult audiences. One of the ...
. In 2007, Viz Media licensed the anime for release in North America and released it on four DVD box sets between September 2009 and April 2010, including an English dub.
Funimation
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
acquired the broadcast rights to Viz Media's dub and it premiered on the
Funimation Channel
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
on September 19, 2009. After Viz Media lost the rights,
Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...
re-licensed the series in 2021 and premiered on its
HIDIVE
Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is Sen ...
service on April 22 that same year.
The anime was intended to be equal to the manga, and adapted up to the first chapter of volume 12 to avoid filler. In April 2007, when asked about a continuation of the anime, Junko Koseki (editor of ''Nana'' in Shueisha) and Masao Maruyama (former managing director of Madhouse) stated that they had decided to wait until the manga ends before producing more material.
Tribute albums
''Nana'' has inspired several image and
tribute albums
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
, including ''Punk Night: From Nana'' and ''Nana's Song is My Song'' in 2003. ''Love for Nana: Only 1 Tribute'', an album released by
EMI Music Japan
, formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...
on March 16, 2005. Several famous artists contributed to it, including English musician
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only alb ...
of the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
, Canadian singer-songwriter
Skye Sweetnam
Skye Alexandra Sweetnam (born May 5, 1988) is a Canadian singer, actress, and music video director. She first entered the music industry in 2003 with the release of her debut single " Billy S." More than a year later, her debut studio album, ''N ...
, and various Japanese artists.
Video games
A ''Nana'' video game for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
platform was produced by
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
and released on March 17, 2005. A
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
game, was released on July 6, 2006. A
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
game, was released by Konami in June 2007. The voice actors for the PS2 game did not return to reprise their roles for the PSP and DS games, which instead feature the anime's cast.
Reception
Along with ''
Kaze Hikaru
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Taeko Watanabe. Set in the period, the story follows Tominaga Sei, a young girl who poses as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburō so she can join the Mibu-Roshi (Special Police; later known a ...
'', ''Nana'' won the 48th
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
in the ''
shōjo'' category in 2003;
and was also nominated for the 10th
Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award. The
Young Adult Library Services Association
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...
in the United States listed the series in its "Great Graphic Novels for Teens" in 2007. Deb Aoki of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
ranked ''Nana'' as the fifth "Must-Read" shōjo manga series in its "Top shojo Manga Must-Reads" list, with Aoki stating the manga is "a beautifully-drawn series that is filled with heartfelt drama, big city glamor, fabulous fashion, rock and roll sass and many unexpected twists." She also ranked the manga in its "50 Essential Manga for Libraries" list, noting its mature themes and "demonstrates the need for an adult collection." In a survey conducted by ''Goo'' in 2012 among 1,939 people, ''Nana'' was among the top favorite manga for women.
The first twelve volumes of the manga series have cumulatively sold over 22 million copies. As of September 2019, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation.
''Nana'' was the top favorite shōjo manga for
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
Style in 2005. Volume 18 was the second highest selling manga series of 2007. During 2008, volume 19 was the third highest-selling manga and volume 20 was the fifth highest-selling manga in Japan, selling 1,645,128 and 1,431,335 copies respectively. By the end of the year, ''Nana'' was the sixth best selling manga with 3,122,146 copies sold. As of 2008, the manga series has sold over 43.6 million copies. In the first half of 2009, Volume 21 ranked as the third best selling manga, having sold 1.4 million copies. In the United States, volume twenty-one debuted at number 9 on the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' Graphic Books list for the week of July 10.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
''Nana''at
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
*
{{Madhouse
2000 manga
Ai Yazawa
Anime series based on manga
Fiction set in 2001
Madhouse (company)
Manga adapted into films
Music in anime and manga
Nippon TV original programming
Romance anime and manga
Shōjo manga
Shueisha manga
Viz Media anime
Sentai Filmworks
Shueisha franchises
Viz Media manga
Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga