Nana

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NANA is definitely one of the best mangas that I've ever read. There's something about it that makes it very different from other ones, so I personally think it's a must-read. Anyways, my review may contain some spoilers, but I'll try my best not to reveal too much.

Story- 10
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of NANA is how incredibly realistic it is compared to many other mangas. It starts out very normal like any other shoujo/josei manga; introducing the two main characters who both happen to have the name Nana. It pretty much follows the life of these two girls as ... they meet on a train to Tokyo, and then later decide to share an apartment. It may sound a bit dull and boring, but the story always draws you in and makes you wonder what would happen next. Personally what I think is best about the story is the realistic aspect of it, since I've always loved serious and realistic mangas/animes. After reading so many silly mangas with unrealistic story plots, I found it very refreshing to read something completely different. In fact, it's so realistic to the point that I find myself wishing that it wouldn't be so realistic, since NANA definitely isn't your happily ever after story.

Art- 7
Well, I hate to say this but the art of NANA isn't the best. It's not that the mangaka is a bad artist or anything, but the style of NANA just doesn't appeal to me very much. I also don't really like how some of the backgrounds seem as if they are a completely different style of art. Sometimes it looks as if the characters are standing in front of some wallpaper rather than in the actual place so that kinda bothers me. On the other hand, I love how much detail the mangaka puts in the characters and their clothes.

Character- 10
I'm not giving this section a 10 because I think all the characters are perfect and love them all to death, but rather because there is at least one thing I don't like about almost all the characters. That may sound weird, but the reason why I like it is because of how realistic it makes them and how it makes you able to relate to them very easily. I can easily imagine all the characters being real people, and almost all of them are very well developed. Another thing I like about the manga NANA is how the mangaka isn't afraid to put in traits like selfishness and possessiveness and have the characters realize those traits in themselves. I don't think I've ever read another manga that had that, so I was pretty impressed when I first read those parts.

Enjoyment- 9
I really don't have much to say here...all I have to say is that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

Overall- 9
Okay, I'll just be repeating myself here if I say how much I enjoyed it, so I'll just add a few things here that I didn't put up here. So another thing I like about NANA is how it makes you think a bit about life in general. The things that the characters say sometimes made me realize some stuff, and now because of NANA I think I can understand people a bit better. :3

Recommendation-
I recommend this manga to people who like realistic plots that have a bit of humor in it. But if you're someone that likes fairy tail plots, happily ever afters, perfect princes/princesses, or couples that have no problems then this definitely isn't the manga for you. And it's also for an older audience so please don't read it if you're really young. o3o

The longer we live, the more weight we carry in our hearts.

A sentence that truly summarizes and embodies the manga of Nana. The tale follows the lives of two very different girls who share the same name of Nana, and not much else. After a fateful meeting on a train bound to Tokyo, they manage to become friends and their lives weave closely together from that moment forwards. Written most nostalgically by one of the Nana’s from sometime years in the future, the story is a remembrance of the friendship between two girls and all the people who surrounded them who all rushed into life ... with the vigor, innocence and optimism of youth; and returned so tragic, weary and worn by circumstance and choice.

While wrongly categorized as a Shoujo series, Nana is very much a Josei in its explicit content, realistic storytelling, and maturity, so it is far better to be read by an audience who can handle such things.

★ Story (9) – Like longing letters written to the past, Nana unfolds in remembrance and nostalgia from the point of view of one of the Nana’s many years into the future. A simple meeting between two girls of the same age and bearing the same name quickly evolves into a tangled web of many lives with romance and betrayal; long distance relationships and unhealthy romances; cheating scandals and underage prostitutes; unplanned pregnancies and family secrets; obsession and desire; sex and rock n’ roll…All of which is set against the backdrop of a very modern, very fashionable, very young Tokyo where debauchery and youth go hand in hand reigning supreme, and friendship deeper than anything remains the unbreakable link between people lost in the modern world, and in themselves.

Punctuated with ambience throughout, this series is littered with an aching yearning for the past, and a wish to relive life and avoid all the mistakes that brought the story to a vague, but seemingly unhappy future.

★ Art (9) - The artwork of Nana is incredibly distinctive, stylish and highly unique and in so is an absolutely acquired taste. Very artsy and drawn in high style, the characters of Nana are all skin and bones (almost disgustingly so) and always sporting the very latest in fashion. The photographic backgrounds add a touch of realism to the artwork, and yet another sense of style to this very stylish series. Everything is drawn painstakingly well, and in detail from strands of hair to eyelashes. While the style will not be liked by everyone, the art still remains a high scorer for the unique style and the high and consistent quality.

★ Character (10) – This is a series where I really dislike the majority of the cast. So why did I rank the characters so highly? Simple – they are so realistic. Every single character is a three dimensional person unto themselves, with very distinctive personalities and traits unique to them. Not one character can be boxed and labeled as a cliché or a stereotype and indeed, their characterizations are deconstructed time and time again in the course of the story. No matter what choices the character makes or does not make they are given insight and depth throughout. Complex and layered, these characters function and fumble along like real people, constantly shedding and growing new sides to them while remaining themselves in their entirety. While the characters are rather difficult to like on the whole, it is very easy to come to terms with them, and to reach out and understand them on a different level.

They are difficult and contradictory; prickly and sweet; unlikable and loveable – they are completely and utterly human, and in this humanness they are defined.

★ Enjoyment (9) – This is a series for people who want to read about the joy and pain of youth; of the good choices and terrible mistakes which haunt lives years afterward. This is a slice of life story of the most realistic and raw degree with all the twists and turns of life, and the bumps and bruises of stumbling through them.

★ Overall (9) – This beautiful, mature Josei series is a real page turner, and highly recommended for those mature enough to handle it.

This is a series that shows how even the most simple and mundane of choices in our day to day lives can have an effect on those same lives, and can spiral into something much larger in time. It shows us how youth can be the most precious key given in life, with the most painful doors and secrets to unlock.

It shows how life gives us such fond, wonderful memories – but also chokes and tears us apart with those same remembrances. And it shows how friendship is the most wonderful gift to have, and how it is also the heaviest burden to carry.

How very true it is then: that the longer we live, the more weight we carry in our hearts.

Hey Nana...

Do you think including sex in a story makes the story mature and for mature audience? Then might enjoy this manga, as that is exactly the target audience of this smut.

The only reason why I kept reading this manga is to try to discover why everyone seems to like this series. I regret to inform you I have failed in this task. For a manga that claims to be about romance and friendship, it surely doesn't have much of either of those. Sure, there are relationships, but actual displays of romance or friendships are scarce. Mostly it's just conflicts, harlotry and playboys - who slept ... with who, who got cheated on, break ups, new relationships... honestly if that's enough content for you, just ask the nearest teenage girl in your vicinity to tell you the latest gossip and you'll get exactly that. The problem with Nana is that all of it feels empty. We're supposed to feel like there are some feelings between those characters, but it lacks displays of actual affections, like it’s something that only happens off-screen and we only get to see the aftermath of unhealthy relationship. The reader constantly gets spammed by this youthful imprudence that only makes me want to shout "Just grow the fuck up already" at the pages.

The characters are unsympathetic and uninteresting. Trendy designs are the only thing they can offer, and even that is already outdated. Same as I don't need a manga to tell me that water is drinkable, I also don't need a manga to tell me that teenagers tend to not be exactly the best at making life decisions. Especially one that doesn't look like it has any conclusion or interesting overall meaning in mind and yet takes up so much volumes. Sure, some of the characters get their sob story and background info, but that still doesn't change that their present version is just not interesting. Reading Nana just feels like reading a generic chick lit. Well, now that I think about it, it is actually a chick lit, so it's nothing not something that should have surprised me.

There is one good thing about this manga though, and that is the art. Even as someone who generally doesn't enjoy the shoujo style of illustrations I liked it, and while it didn't make the manga good as a whole, it certainly made reading it slightly better.

I feel like the target audience of Nana is mainly those at the age of protagonists and similar still with the mindset that spending their teen years indulging in sex and relationship drama while smoking cigarettes is so much cool and oh would it be so interesting if it were me. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that wants something beyond a telenovela-tier content.