Written and drawn by Ai Yazawa (author of Paradise Kiss, among others), NANA contains some of the most authentic human beings I have so far encountered in manga. Yazawa’s characters are rich and complex, each just a little bit (or more than a little bit) broken as most of us humans are, and because of this, their relationships with each other and their choices, both good and bad, feel so real, they could come straight out of the reader’s own life. It would be so easy for a story like this, which focuses mainly on relationships, to fall into soap opera-like melodrama but the intensely real characters save it from doing so, time and time again. This is especially surprising in a manga where a good portion of the characters are rock stars." -
I've fallen back into that hole where I want more NANA manga. After finding the anime steaming on Netflix and finishing it I found where the anime left off in the manga then started reading again. The first time I ever got the glimpse of the manga was in Shojo Beat in
2005 but now compared to back then the punk clothes and crazy story is just as addicting. The drama in the love relationships, friendships and the struggling to be something big is now a part of my own life. I can relate to both Nana's in more ways then one so it's really made a difference re-reading it now.
The thing is...it never ended. After reading till I couldn't find anymore chapters I quickly researched and found out what had happened. The mangaka Ai Yazawa had fallen ill in 2009 and had never picked it back up.So... I was put through a emotional roller coaster.......and don't get any closure! It's crazy because Yazawa totally had the whole story planned out because while reading the manga we often get to see the future which seems to revolve around Nana Osaki being missing but hint towards finding her, while Hackiko has her daughter and the remaining BLAST members at apartment 707. It's a teaser that haunts me because the story is left with a gap of "What the hell happened?!"
Some of those teasers I mentioned the flashbacks that hint towards this story being told by the future Hackiko through scenes where she voices over (in the anime) or where there are reflective drawings. These heart breaking "Dear Nana" scenes in both the anime and manga have a big impact on me. Hackiko is trying to get her feelings out but it's always on such a sad, forgotten note which leaves me with chills....why is she saying "Dear Nana"?! Where is Nana?! What..?
What if the plan for the manga was that only one of them can find happiness while the other disappears?
It really kills me to know that all that wonderful character development and the understanding I started to get with each member of the story is wasted. The sense of an unclosed world drives me crazy about NANA. There are so many arcs and issues that need to be resolved to get the story done, what I really want to know is....does anyone end up finding that happiness?
~
On a better note?
Since the story revolves around rock bands the anime actually features their songs played by real life artists. Anna Tsuchiya sings BLAST's (stands for Blackstones which is the band the main character Nana is in) hit, Rose which is sung by Nana in the manga and now in the anime! It's the first opening and is just perfect. I really wish they would have created more NANA albums of songs that they would have wrote. It's pretty cool to sit around and listen to BLAST when you are reading. Ohhh...! There are NANA live action movies...I should go watch those and try to see if there are any major differences. Soon Nana live action...soon. Plus there actually are a lot of NANA merchandise out there so I'm going to fill this void by buying things for my unrequited fandom.
To hopes for the perfect ending one day...
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