Nana is the latest series by Yazawa Ai, a well-known manga-ka who circulates her work mainly in Ribon's publications. Having made a name for series' such as Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai and Gokinjo Monogatari, Yazawa-sensei has returned with yet another hit series, Nana. Published under Ribon's new label, Ribon Mascot Comics Cookie, this new line seems to cater a little more for older teens and adult women.

So how did I come to know about Nana? Well, to be honest, though I have heard of Gokinjo Monogatari and Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, I never really was interested in purchasing the manga because of Yazawa-sensei's weird style. It takes a bit of getting used to perhaps but after reading Nana - I think Yazawa-sensei is inching her way into becoming one of my favourite manga-kas. Oh - back to how I found out about Nana - strangely is was an intuition that told me that this manga would be good when I first saw it on the shelves of Kinokuniya (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). The cover art is really good (see covers below) and at that point, there were 3 volumes sitting on the shelf. All very nice, although a bit wary about how the story would turn out, I grabbed a copy of the first volume and headed towards the cashier. And it really did turn out to be a good buy after all - next time I will try and do what Emily-chan does (check out Emily-chan's Random Shoujo Manga Page).

So what is Nana all about? Basically Nana is about two women and how they came to Tokyo and how they met. Coincidentally both of these women are named Nana. The first volume is basically a prologue about the two Nanas.


Koumatsu Nana hails from a town that's 2 hours away from Tokyo. A town located amongst the mountains. A town that is neither big nor small. Not a town that is scattered with rice fields or skyscrapers. Not a town where tourists would come to either. Just a town where Koumatsu Nana lives with her family. Nana is an arts student at the local Naruse Art School. It's been sometime after her first relationship ended. The relationship with a much older man (she was then in high school), Asano Takashi, whom she could not forget. He left after his company transferred him to Tokyo. Not even knowing whether he was a married man or not, what he does for a living and which company he worked in, still Nana loved him deeply. And now in art school, Nana and her best friend Junko still look out for love. And they stumble across a pair of bishounens, Shouji and Kyousuke. Nana is completely taken by Shouji but somehow, her inability to forget Takashi affects her relationship with Shouji. Their relationship cannot proceed until Nana can take that step to cross that barrier. This Nana is easily excitable, overly emotional, extremely cute and sometimes, rather annoying.

Oosaki Nana is one tough cookie. She is the lead singer in the band Black Stones (or Blast for short). This Nana has no family. She does not know who her father is and has never seen him. She does not remember what her mother looks like, the mother who left her in a seaside town when she was only 4 years old. Nana has no choice but to grow up and be strong and independent. This chain-smoking Nana has erratic fashion tastes - rather Gothic style. One day, Nana attends a concert where she meets the love of her life, Honjou Ren, a bass guitarist. Taken by Ren, and Ren by her, they became lovers. Nana moved in with Ren and eventually Ren formed his band - Black Stones, together with drummer Yasu, guitarist Nobu and Nana as the lead vocals. A famous band in their own locale but not in the country, Ren makes a decision that will take him to big time in Tokyo but it would mean having to leave Nana. I like this Nana more actually - she has a certain style and cool exterior about her. But despite her toughness, Nana goes all soft when she's being loved by Ren. Ren and Nana are, so far, my favourite couple and this Nana being my favourite character in the series.


The second volume is when the story really begins. The meeting of the two Nanas and how they became friends in Tokyo, a city where neither of them are familiar with. And a city where they find the need to rely on each other no matter how opposite they may seem to be in character and styles. This is where the story really gets interesting. Nana has a great storyline and very very nice artwork. It depicts 20-somethings in the current society as it is like now. Casual sex comes into play. And how relationships become a lot more complicated than just me and him and happy ever after. Though third parties do appear in the series, there is none of the dramatics normally portrayed.

Volume 4 was released in December 2001. Hopefully Volume 5 won't be too long away. If you are interested in picking up copies of the manga, here is the information of each volume.


Volume 1
ISBN:4-08-856209-7
Price: ¥390


Volume 2
ISBN:4-08-856248-8
Price: ¥390


Volume 3
ISBN:4-08-856286-0
Price: ¥390


Volume 4
ISBN:4-08-856338-7
Price: ¥390