Nana (manga)

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox animanga/Header Template:Infobox animanga/Print Template:Infobox animanga/Video Template:Infobox animanga/Other Template:Infobox animanga/Footer Nana (stylized as NANA) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. First published as a two-part prologue in Shueisha's monthly Template:Transliteration manga magazine Cookie in 1999, Nana was later serialized in the same magazine from May 2000 to May 2009 before going on indefinite hiatus. Its chapters have been collected in 21 Template:Transliteration volumes. The series centers 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 in 2005, with a sequel released in 2006. A 47-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Madhouse and directed by Morio Asaka, aired on Nippon TV between April 2006 and March 2007. All Nana media has been licensed for English language release in North America by Viz Media, which serialized the manga in their Shojo Beat magazine until the August 2007 issue, while also publishing it in the Template:Transliteration format. They released both films in 2008, and their English dub of the anime was broadcast on the Funimation Channel beginning in 2009. The anime series was later re-licensed by Sentai Filmworks in 2021.

Nana won the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award for the Template:Transliteration category in 2003. By 2019, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

Plot

Template:See also On March 5, 2001, Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu, nicknamed Hachi,Template:Efn meet when Nana K. moves to Tokyo at age 20. Nana O. aims to establish a music career with her band, Black Stones, while Nana K. joins her friends and moves in with her boyfriend. Despite their contrasting personalities, the two decide to become roommates to save money on rent. Their friendship later faces challenges as they navigate love, ambition, and personal struggles.

After Nana K. breaks up with her unfaithful boyfriend, she becomes involved with Takumi, the bassist of the popular band Trapnest, complicating her friendship with Nana O., who rekindles a relationship with her ex-boyfriend Ren, Trapnest's guitarist. Nana K. also develops feelings for Nobu, Black Stones' guitarist, but upon discovering her pregnancy, she marries Takumi. Nana O., distressed by the growing distance between them, resolves to reclaim their friendship by elevating Black Stones' success.

When a tabloid exposes Nana O. and Ren's relationship, Black Stones gains widespread recognition and debuts professionally. However, their relationship deteriorates due to Nana O.'s jealousy and Ren's substance abuse, despite their engagement. As media scrutiny intensifies, Nana K. uncovers details about Nana O.'s family, including her birth mother. Before Black Stones' first tour, their bassist Shin is arrested, prompting Nana O. to pursue a solo career. Shortly afterward, Ren dies in a car accident, leaving Nana O. to grapple with grief and reassess her reliance on Nana K.

Later narrative segments reveal that years have passed, with rumors circulating about Nana O.'s alleged death. Nana K. and their friends eventually discover that she fled to England and attempt to locate her.

Media

Manga

Template:Main Written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, Nana first appeared as a two-part prologue in 1999 in Shueisha's Cookie manga magazine (volumes 1 and 2), a sister magazine of Ribon.<ref name="Mangapedia">Template:Cite web</ref> Initially, Yazawa was asked to create two one-shots to accompany the launch of Cookie, and she decided to make both stories related to each other so that they would be easier to read in case they were picked up for serialization.<ref name="yomiuri 2022-08-04">Template:Cite news</ref> Yazawa stated that while creating I'm No Angel in the early 1990s, she had wanted to draw a story centered on a rockabilly band.<ref name="yomiuri 2022-08-04"/> For Nana, she decided to focus on a punk band instead because she had already drawn one of the main characters for I'm No Angel with a pompadour.<ref name="yomiuri 2022-08-04"/>

Nana was later serialized in Cookie, starting on May 26, 2000 (July 2000 issue),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> when it was relaunched as a monthly magazine.<ref name="Mangapedia"/> Nana ran in the magazine for 84 chapters, until May 26, 2009 (July 2009 issue),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in June of that same year it was announced that the series would be put on hiatus due to Yazawa falling ill.<ref name="AiIll">Template:Cite web</ref> Yazawa returned from the hospital in early April 2010, but it was not specified when or if she would resume the manga.<ref name="AiWell">Template:Cite web</ref> During Yazawa's 2022 art exhibition, she expressed interest in continuing the series once she is able to.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The individual chapters of Nana have been collected by Shueisha into 21 Template:Transliteration volumes, published under the Ribon Mascot Comics Cookie imprint, between May 15, 2000,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and March 13, 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its latest four chapters have not been published in a Template:Transliteration volume.<ref name="Mangapedia"/> In addition to Nana, each volume features a short bonus comic called Template:Nihongo, featuring Junko as the owner of a bar, with characters from Yazawa's works making guest appearances.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nana is licensed for English-language release in North America by Viz Media. It was serialized in Viz Media's manga anthology Shojo Beat, premiering in the July 2005 debut issue and continuing until the August 2007 issue.<ref name="VizAnnounce">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 21 volumes were published between December 6, 2005,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and July 6, 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Viz Media added the series to its Viz Manga digital service in May 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On January 24, 2025, Viz Media announced that it will publish the series in a 2-in-1 omnibus edition starting in Q4 of the same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nana prominently features the brand Vivienne Westwood, as Yazawa herself is a fan of the brand. Some outfits featured in the series are clothing from her personal collection.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Films

Template:Main Template:Multiple image Two live-action film adaptations have been made for Nana. The first, Nana, was released on September 3, 2005. The film stars Mika Nakashima as Nana Osaki, Aoi Miyazaki as Hachi (Nana Komatsu), Ryuhei Matsuda as Ren Honjou, Tetsuji Tamayama as Takumi Ichinose, Hiroki Narimiya as Nobuo Terashima, and Kenichi Matsuyama as Shinichi Okazaki. The DVD edition was released on March 3, 2006. The film grossed more than Template:JPY at Japanese box office and stayed in the top 10 for several weeks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A sequel, Nana 2, was announced right after the first film debuted. However, on August 4, 2006, Toho 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, Nobuo Kyo and Kanata Hongō, respectively. Some locations from the manga had been changed for the film, and many plot differences were introduced as well.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Anime

Template:Main An anime television series adaptation of Nana was produced by Nippon Television, VAP, Shueisha and Madhouse and directed by Morio Asaka, with Tomoko Konparu handling series composition, Kunihiko Hamada designing the characters and Tomoki Hasegawa composing the music. The series aired on Nippon TV from April 5, 2006, to March 28, 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first and third opening song, "Rose" and "Lucy", respectively, and the third ending song, Template:Nihongo, were performed by Anna Tsuchiya (credited as Anna inspi' Nana), who provided the singing voice for Nana Osaki;<ref name="cast&staff"/> Tsuchiya also performed the ending song "Stand By Me" (for episodes 45 and 46). The second opening song, "Wish", and the first two ending songs, "A Litte Pain" and "Starless Night", were performed by Olivia Lufkin (credited as Olivia inspi' Reira), who provided the singing voice for Reira Serizawa;<ref name="cast&staff">Template:Cite web</ref> Lufkin also performed the ending song "Winter Sleep" (for episodes 43 and 44). The episodes were collected and distributed on 17 DVD volumes by VAP from July 7, 2006,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to November 21, 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2007, Viz Media licensed the anime for release in North America,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and released it on four DVD box sets between September 9, 2009,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and April 13, 2010,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including an English dub. Funimation acquired the broadcast rights to Viz Media's dub and it premiered on the Funimation Channel in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> After Viz Media lost the rights, Sentai Filmworks re-licensed the series in 2021 and premiered on its Hidive service on April 22 that same year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sentai Filmworks released the series on a SteelBook Blu-ray edition on February 22, 2022, and on a regular Blu-ray edition on May 17 of that same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 (the then managing director of Madhouse) stated that they had decided to wait until the manga's conclusion before producing more material.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Image and tribute albums

Nana inspired two image albums; Punk Night: From Nana, released by King Records on September 26, 2003;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Nana's Song is My Song, released by Momo & Grapes on November 6 of that same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A tribute album, Love for Nana: Only 1 Tribute, was released by EMI Music Japan on March 16, 2005; several famous artists contributed to it, including English musician Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Canadian singer-songwriter Skye Sweetnam, and various Japanese artists.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Video games

A Nana video game for the PlayStation 2 platform was produced by Konami and released on March 17, 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A PlayStation Portable game, Template:Nihongo4 was released on July 6, 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A Nintendo DS game, Template:Nihongo4 was released by Konami on June 21, 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Along with Kaze Hikaru, Nana won the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Template:Transliteration category in 2003.<ref name="ShogakukanAward">Template:Cite web</ref> Nana was the top favorite Template:Transliteration manga for Oricon Style in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was nominated for the 10th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Young Adult Library Services Association in the United States listed the series in its "Great Graphic Novels for Teens" in 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Deb Aoki of About.com 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a survey conducted by Goo in 2012 among 1,939 people, Nana was among the top favorite manga for women.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Independent stated that part of the appeal of Nana in Japan was how it was centered on the juxtaposition between a rebellious character and a character aligned to traditional values.<ref name="Independent article">Template:Cite news</ref>

The 18th volume was the second highest-selling manga volume of 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During 2008, the 19th volume was the third highest-selling manga volume, and the 20th was the fifth highest-selling one in Japan, selling 1,645,128 and 1,431,335 copies respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the first half of 2009, the 21st ranked as the third best-selling manga volume, having sold 1.4 million copies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the end of 2009, Nana was the sixth best-selling manga series, with 3,122,146 copies sold.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first twelve volumes of the manga had cumulatively sold over 22 million copies by 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 2008, the manga had sold over 43.6 million copies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 2019, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the United States, the 21st volume debuted ninth on the New York Times Graphic Books list for the week of July 10.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The highest average TV ratings for the anime television series adaptation was 6.3% in the Kanto region, which was unusually high for a late night anime; the record was broken by Nodame Cantabile at 6.6% in November 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Webarchive at Shueisha Template:In lang
• Template:Official website at Nippon TV Template:In lang
• Template:Official website at Viz Media
• Template:Anime News Network