Name: Jen's review of Nana by Ai Yazawa
Item: Nana
Rating: 5
Author: Jen

Ai Yazawa

Allison Wolfe

When two twenty-year-old women with the same first name meet and become best friends despite their different personalities, they experience a world of music, fashion, sex, gossip, and all-night parties.

Nana

Nana.

Sarah Sammis

Back in July I reviewed the first volume of the shojo manga, Nana by Ai Yazawa. I had been interested in it since Amazon had recommended it to me but I didn't start the series until Dewey also recommended it.The series is rapidly becoming one of favorite "guilty pleasures." I plan to review more in the series over the course of 2009.

Nana Volume 2 finds both Nanas on the train to Tokyo. They expect to go their separate ways but fate (or the demon lord if you ask Nana Komatsu) brings them back together in a most unexpected way. They both want the same apartment. It's in an ideal location and though still very expensive, very cheap for Tokyo prices. The only way to get the apartment they both want but can't afford is to share the lease.

Most of volume 2 centers around the apartment and the difficulties they have with it. The apartment is old and they are novices at renting, especially Nana K. There is the lack of power, lack of heat, and the need for cosigners. The other half is divided between Nana K's new job (at an awesome looking retro furniture and clothing store) and the growing friendship between the two Nanas.

Every apartment and now our home has been something we could only afford because it's been old and somewhat funky. I was laughing at the problems the Nanas were having with their new home, the shock of expense of living in the middle of a booming city and all the fiddly bits of setting up a home.

The summer of 2008 I got into reading the shojo manga series, Nana by Ai Yazawa. I tore through volume 1 and volume 2 and volume 3. Unfortunately for posting reviews, my reading for fun often takes a back burner for challenges and books sent for review. I am trying now to change my priorities to bring the fun back into book blogging.

Nana is the tale of two young women both named Nana. Fate has brought the together to share an apartment in Tokyo. One Nana is in a rock band and the other one wants to be an art student. They both have had rocky love lives and part of their moves is a means of escape from those memories.

In Volume 3, things are starting to gel for the girls. Nana Osaki has teamed up again with the guitarist and drummer from her old band. They've found a new bass player and are ready to play some gigs again.

Nana Komsatsu isn't faring quite as well. She's still troubled by the "Demon Lord" whom she blames for her own bad luck and poor decisions. She's found a job but it's not what she expected. Instead of being an up and coming editor, she's basically now Ugly Betty.

In fact, it's the similarity in many ways to Ugly Betty that keeps me coming back to this series. I am reading volume 4 now and have volume 5 waiting in my to be read soon pile.

Nana Volume 1 by Ai Yazawa is a shojo manga and quite a departure for me from my usual manga choices. I saw this volume reviewed on my of favorite book blogs but it was months ago and I can't remember where. Anyway, the cover art appealed to me as did the title and I was looking for a change.

There are actually two young women named Nana: Nana Komatsu, who is introduced on pages 3-104, and Nana Osaki who is introduced on pages 105-176. The first volume comes to a close with a coda dedicated to a character named Junko but her role here is more as a source of "coming attractions" than anything else. Both Nanas are drawn to Tokyo but the paths they take are very different.

Nana K. is an emotionally scarred girl who is looking for love in all the wrong places, including having an affair with an older married man. She goes to Tokyo to follow a pair of men: the married one and a young artist who has transferred to a university there. Her time in Tokyo will probably be a rough one; she's unprepared for the big city and lacks the confidence to make the move work.

On the other hand, Nana O., a member of rock band, goes to Tokyo to follow her lover when he is offered a better gig. Although she is hurt by the break up she is strong enough and stubborn enough to charge into Tokyo and claim her piece of it.

The two Nanas will obviously meet in the future but in this volume they lead separate lives. There are enough similarities in their lives and in how they look that it is easy sometimes to accidentally confuse one for the other. In this regard, their parallel lives reminds me of a wonderful French/Polish film: La Double vie de Veronique / Dvojnaja zhizn Veroniki (1991).

Tragedy strikes as the Search Weekly team takes their snooping too far! Hounded to the limit by remorseless reporters, Ren spins his car off the icy road in a horrible accident that will change the course of everyone's future... -- VIZ Media

that kind of work that tears your heart apart

Camilla

samira 

SO GOOD !!! immediately i really liked this manga and i desperately want volume 2 :(

to keep this review straightforward i'll bullet point some aspects of this series that kept me satisfied as a reader

- aesthetics (beautiful art, each character seems to have a unique but visually pleasing sense of style, a nice touch of punk to a lot of things, tons of vivienne westwood refs)

- realistic characters (characters' strengths and weaknesses are much like the strengths and weaknesses we see in everyday people in the real world)  

- upsetting (this is a personal preference and of course a lot of people don't like sensitive content and that's totally understandable but i think that i enjoy a series that can really mimic the real world and its cruel side more than something that waters down the brutality and sadistic aspects of a society because it can teach us some important lessons and give us a bit of an exercise on using empathy) 

and finally, i like how it doesn't solely focus on one character's life and problems, now that's definitely not some unique and exclusive aspect of the series, but i just appreciate that we get to look into some of the other characters minds and get a real understanding of what each character is genuinely like! 

to keep this review straightforward i'll bullet point some aspects of this series that kept me satisfied as a reader

- aesthetics (beautiful art, each character seems to have a unique but visually pleasing sense of style, a nice touch of punk to a lot of things, tons of vivienne westwood refs)

- realistic characters (characters' strengths and weaknesses are much like the strengths and weaknesses we see in everyday people in the real world)  

- conflicts (characters would have deeper more realistic conflicts with each other compared to other mainstream manga/anime series)  

- upsetting (this is a personal preference and of course a lot of people don't like sensitive content and that's totally understandable but i think that i enjoy a series that can really mimic the real world and its cruel side more than something that waters down the brutality and sadistic aspects of a society because it can teach us some important lessons and give us a bit of an exercise on using empathy) 

and finally, i like how it doesn't solely focus on one character's life and problems, now that's definitely not some unique and exclusive aspect of the series, but i just appreciate that we get to look into some of the other characters minds and get a real understanding of what each character is genuinely like! 

Diana_Ioana

** spoiler alert **
           I thought the train (how they met scene) would also be in the manga at first. Just like in the anime. I really love the dynamic between Nana and Hachiko

** spoiler alert **
           4.5 🌟
Takumi is such an asshole! "A dream and being happy are different things" Bruh I get it but just because he said it, makes u feel depressed. 
Also the way Nana and the band found out about Hachiko and Takumi is meh.

** spoiler alert **
           So disappointed Hachiko kissed Takumi before breaking up with Nobu. 
Also, Miasto doesn't use her real name?? She just became 10x more interesting. 
Also holy grail Nana is really calling dibs on Hachiko.

Hachi keeps making the wrong choices and it kinda annoys me. 
The plot kinda irks me so I'm giving it 2 🌟

** spoiler alert **
           Is she really going to have the child with Takumi!! SMH

Being an engaged woman isn't as wonderful as Hachi thought it would be. She has a trendy new apartment, but she's isolated from all her friends and Takumi is hardly ever home. When scandal hits Blast hard, Trapnest (and her fiancé) flee to Europe and Hachi is left to watch Blast suffer in the scandal rags and tabloid shows.

** spoiler alert **
           I still don't like Takumi but at least he's buying Hachi a diamond ring 😂

I completely forgot how funny this Manga is at certain times. Junko is a delight.

** spoiler alert **
           I got goosebumps when they went to the concert!

Both Nana and Hachiko are the definition of friends' soulmates. ❤️

** spoiler alert **
           Yasu is so bold!
But on the other hand Shinji's story is so messed up.

sophie <3

I honestly don’t know how to explain how I feel

Nana Komatsu is a young woman who's endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she's hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She's looking for love and she's hoping to find it in the big city. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo's underground punk scene. She's got a dream and won't give up until she becomes Japan's No. 1 rock'n'roll superstar. This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties. -- VIZ Media

donna 

nana vol.1 is the first volume out of 21 volume series written by ai yazawa. vol 1. introduces to us, nana kumatsu and nana osaki. this volume helps us to get to know and better understand our characters before diving into their stories. 

although we are presented two very different characters with very different journeys, there is one thing that remains similar through theme.

coming of age. 

a quick read, that will engross you into the entire series in a heartbeat. 

Jennifer S

As a quick summary: the plot is split between two nana's (Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu) whom lead completly different lives, each with their own struggles. I have to admit I prefered Nana Osaki (Komatsu was an emotional rollercoaster, for someone with anxiety that reminded me too much of myself at times lolol).

There's 47 episodes (omg) so I am unsure wether I will finish reading this manga.
Just because I tend to read them aside my usual tbr.

But who know's... maybe I"ll read a few more and then switch to the anime...

Candyce Kirk

This was so much fun! I need to get Vol. 2 really soon!

Grâce à un emploi du temps surchargé, Nana Ôsaki s'immerge dans son travail afin d'éviter de penser à son anniversaire. De son côté, Nana Komatsu se prépare avec joie à partir rejoindre son amie en compagnie de Ren, quand elle apprend une nouvelle bouleversante.

my_bookalicious

C’est mon avis général sur la série Nana. Dès le premier tome j’ai bien aimé les deux Nana, je trouvais l’histoire original et comme je n’ai pas beaucoup lu de manga, c’était un manga tout doux pour commencer. Mais quelques tomes plus tard l’histoire et certains personnages me perturbaient énormément et j’ai pas trop apprécié ma lecture…
Mais le dernier tome était excellent, terriblement triste mais trop bien écrit.

Elaine

This was a bit of a slow start, but as I know what's to come due to have seen the anime I ca't wait!

This is what I loved about the anime so much! The characters feel real, yet a bit over exaggerated. The story begins to pick up and you begin to learn more about the characters backstories.

The story really picks up i this volume. Especially the latter half was really good writing and lots of drama, just how I like it ;) I'm really keen to know what's gonna happen next.

Jen &
Nana by Ai Yazawa

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