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"Say, Nana... Do you remember the first time we met?"

These words are the introduction of the beautiful world of "Nana". Nana tells a story of two girls who are of the same age and shares the same name, but are completely different; One is a naive dater, who always hooks up with the worst kind of guys, while the other is a bitter musician with a violent temper and a lonely past. Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu, (later nicknamed Hachi) meet on a train, after moving from their small-town homes, to Tokyo to chase their dreams of love, music, and self-discovery. Nana leaves ... her band 'BLAST, to become a professional musician, while Hachi moves to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend, Shouji. Once they reached Tokyo, they parted ways. But with in a couple of days, both Nana and Hachi encounter each other again while looking at the same apartment 707, and despite them being completely different, they agree to live together just so they can split the rent and have a cheap apartment. But their fateful encounter changes their lives in ways they never imagined possible ... to the point where life becomes unlivable without the other.

You can say that this anime is under the category of 'slice of life', drama, and romance. Since both Nana and Hachi are completely different, and they are living together, you can expect there would be a lot of drama between the two. Well, to tell the truth, there's isn't a lot of drama between them. Both Nana and Hachi connect so well, they become best of friends. But, the drama actually kicks in when it comes to Hachi and her relationship problems, and Nana and her rivalry with the band Trapnest. NANA is a fairly realistic anime. We can relate to what the character goes through from our real life experiences. This is why the anime is under the genre 'Slice of life" And if you can't relate to what the characters goes through, don't worry. The creator of NANA, Ai Yazawa, did an amazing job with the characters that you become so attach to them, that whatever may happen to them, you can feel their pain, happiness, sorrows, and loneliness.

And speaking of characters, this leads me to my next topic. The Characters and their development.

CHARACTERS
This is where the show really shines. As I stated before, Ai Yazawa did an amazing job with the characters. The characters are very unique, whether it be a significant past story or an underlying secret, each character has a special trait that separated them from each other. The characters are generally very likable throughout, there were all kind of characters that perhaps people may find themselves easy to relate to, since NANA has that a realistic element to it.

Another reason of how Ai Yazawa did an amazing job with the characters is that she gave each character a strong background history. The first 6 episodes of NANA is actually a flash back. The reason why the first 6 episodes is a flash back is so that you can get an idea of what the characters are like, which is helpful, because as the story progresses you can actually see the changes and growth of each character through their attitudes and personalities, each one developing in their own way through influences of the people around them.

MUSIC.

For anime series revolving around music, I tend to judge the music a little harshly. But surprisingly, the music in NANA doesn't disappoint me. The songs that are presented in NANA gives it that magical feeling, and it matches with the dialog so well, that it might send chills down your back. Also, the songs that are presented from both Blast and Trapnest are incredible, I can see why Nana wants to compete with Trapnest, they're good.. I loved all the songs from both Blast and Trapnest, but to be honest, I love Trapnests music over Blast, Sorry Nana.

The voice acting was alright. The Japanese audio, Hachi's voice was really annoying, but you eventually get use to it. The rest of the characters voice acting was fine. But compare to the Japanese audio, the English dub was spot on. It matches the characters personalities, and to even put a plus side for the English dub, Hachi's voice isn't as annoying.

ART:
If you're watching this anime for the first time, you might thing the art style of this anime is dull and boring, if you're use to watching anime that are bright and colorful. Or maybe that's just me. But, like I said before, you get use to it. Once you're use to the art style, you realize that the characters are drawn very stylishly, each with their own unique appearances. The landscape is drawn almost as well as the characters and everything is very distinguishable and pleasant to look at. If you’ve seen Ai Yazawa’s previous work, Paradise Kiss, it is very similar to that.

Negatives:
There isn't a lot of negatives to this anime. The only complaints that I have is that Hachi voice, in the Japanese version, is very annoying. And after getting use to the art style of NANA, and liking it, the only complaint that I have in that category is that the characters are drawn way to skinny.

Overall:
If you're not into slice of life, drama, or romantic anime, then I don't think NANA is right for you, but it still something to look into. But other than that, I think this anime is very worth checking. It has 47 episodes, So it's not too short, nor too long, I think it's the right amount. And once the anime ends, you can pick up NANA right where the anime left off with the manga after chapter 42. The story continues on in the Manga.Oh and a heed of warning, this anime is rated mature for mild nudity and drug use. and if that doesn't bother you, then go right a head and watch NANA

If I were to grade this anime, I would give this anime is a 96% A

In my opinion, Sailor Moon is one of the best anime in the 90s. Only because I grew up watching it and loving it in english.

Sailor Moon is the longest magical girl anime series. 200 episodes. If you want to watch this, be prepare. With a repetitive story line, gender confusion, too many catch phrases and puns, you just might be in for a show.

In the English dub, their voices are alright in the first 2 seasons, but in the third and fourth, Serena (Usagi) and Amy's (Ami) voices are horrible. Not to mention that the English dubbing doesn't even stick to ... its original dialogue.The importance of it being uncut and subtitled is lost, and you wind up having to appreciate the show simply for what it is, on its own merits, minus the ocean of hype.

There's good character development in Sailor moon. Like Usagi for example. Who knew that such a selfish crybaby would end up wanting to help other people. Or Rei, who had such a problem with Usagi and couldn't stand her, end up being her closests friend. Anyway,the character changes a lot in the five seasons.Though, some of the characters, are like gender confuse. I say this because while watching this in english, one character (*who is a "girl"*) loves this guy and we accept it, whatever, but when we see it in jap we're like "0.0!? that girl's not a girl. its a guy. In love with a guy?!" Or maybe that's just me.

The opening theme song in Jap, is great, it gets you dancing. English, can be the same thing. But, after hearing it for about the 15th time, you just want to skip through it and the design of this anime is alright. Can't say much about it.

So, even though I made a few negative comments on this anime, its still pretty good. It can be a tear jerker from time to time, and it will make you laugh. Especially in English. So, if you're looking for an anime that has a lot girl power, then you found it.

I have to say, that Code Geass is one of the few animes that I can watch over and over again, in jap or dub, and not get bored of it. It still gives me goosbumps everytime I watch it. Even though I know what's going to happen. When I first came across this anime, I wasn't at all interested because it was a mecha show. But, I decided to give it a shot. While watching Code Geass, I started to fall in love with the story line and the characters. Also, while watching this anime, I may have become bipolor, due ... to the fact that for one minute I was yelling at my computer, then was laughing and crying the next.

The one thing that I love about this anime, is the character development. As the story progress you become really attach to the characters, as there are many friendships, relationships and betrayal that happens to them. And you see how they change from beginning to end.

The Art in this anime is futuristic and high detail, and doesn't at all looks dull. The opening and closing theme songs are very catchy to sing or hum along to and they place the perfect background audio for specific parts in the anime that makes you want to pay attention. Like in a horror movie.

If you've seen Death Note, then the idea between the main characters are the same. Wanting the rid the world of evil. But, the way that Lelouch (*main character*) proceed with the idea is what makes this anime better than D.N. Lelouch exudes a sense of authority while holding a hidden contempt for authority and has a brilliant mind. The guy is smarter than you, knows it and will wait patiently until the exact moment to pummel you down to the ground. What sets Lelouch apart from the dozen other geniuses is his down to earth nature. He may be willing to toy with human lives, but when it comes to his friends and family, he unwittingly shows a more vulnerable side that is distinctly human.

So, to wrap up this review, obviously I give this anime a 10 out of 10. Even if you're not the type of person who like mecha shows, I recommend you give this anime a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.