Description
“Nana” is written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. The story follows the sides of two girls who meet each other on a train to Tokyo, each wanting to fulfill their own personal goal in the big city, coincidentally they’re both named Nana.
Nana Osaki wants to pursue fame and debut her rock band “Black Stones” while Nana Komatsu wants to move in and settle with her boyfriend.We see how both of their lives are affected romantically and dramatically as both Nanas grow their friendship.
About the Mangaka
Ai Yazawa is a popular manga artist known for her famous manga “Nana” in the 2000s. She created other hits during that time like “Paradise kiss”, “Tenshi Nanka ja Nai” and “Neighborhood Story“. Before her rise to fame, she used to illustrate short stories and mangas starting at the age of 12. Also, her alias originated from her admiration of a mangaka named Eikichi Yazawa. Then at 17 Ai Yazawa started taking her career seriously and published her first manga. At the same time she attended the Osaka Mode Gakuen fashion school until she could live off being a mangaka. Sadly she hasn’t released any new manga due to health reasons.
Characters
Nana Komatsu
Nana Komatsu is the opposite of her friend Nana O. She’s a very cheerful, happy, compassionate and kind person, yet she’s very naive and endured harsh life events due to this flaw. Hachi tends to cling alot to people who are often just simply nice or supporting her, so she gets compared to a puppy so whenever she needs help she seeks the advice of her friends like Nana O. Hachi is a bit of a hopeless romantic and prefers to have more freedom when working. Her style is more trendy and “hip”. Komatsu loves fashion, her friends and her boyfriend whenever she’s in a situationship. Lastly, her nickname is Hachi, short for Hachiko which relates to the famous dog who waited for his owner years until he died, proving his loyalty.
Nana Osaki
Nana Osaki is part of an underground rock band the “Black Stones” and she moved to Tokyo in order for her band to debut and rise to fame. Nana is such a sweet, genuine character yet still super sarcastic, she knows what she wants and takes her precautions due to experiencing many hardships. She’s a very caring friend to Hachi (Nana Komatsu) and even compared as an independent cat by her friends. Osaki loves fashion, Vivienne Westwood being her favourite brand because her style is very punk goth, the band Sex Pistols, Seven Stars cigarettes and Asahi dry beer. Nana’s most favourite things are coffee with milk and strawberry cake.