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so from what i know the author had to stop Nana because the person was ill and from what i heard was that she cant do manga ever again due to an illness. i dont know how much of that is true but thats what i remember. something similar with a manga/ light novel named kaze no stigma it was super popular in the mid 2000s but the the author died so the manga never finished. the manga industry is kind of cruel to its authors. Id even argue the manwha industry is even more cruel than the manga industry but thats a whole different topic and i think a topic that most people dont consider thinking about
The whole reason Nana doesn't want to get back together with Ren despite them still being very much in love isn't because she's worried about holding him back or living in his shadow- it's because she's scared that people find out she's dating a famous musician, that will propel Blast (her band) to fame, rather than their own talent. She wants to get famous 100% for her own skill and gumption, and dating Ren could muddy the waters. Her pride is her fatal flaw; it's not subtext, it's outright said. Repeatedly. (Spoiler- that's exactly what ends up happening, and while they turn it around, people absolutely accuse her of being a slut who's just riding Ren's coattails.)
Not only that actually, but also because while they are passionate about each other, their relationship became monotonous, neither of them opens up anymore and end up doing the "same stuff" like having sex and be together doing nothing, thats why Nana finds herself attracted to Yasu since he offers her something that Ren cannot provide. They kind of promise to be better for each other but then, THAT happens.
The manga never finished because the Mangaka got sick in 2009. She's still recovering but she DOES want to finish Nana, even if it's just telling the story a little bit at a time. Hopefully someday she'll be recovered enough to finish it.
@@irondragonmaiden Nana is a Shojo, which in general has a slower release schedule than Shonen. For example, Nana ran for 9 years and has 80 chapters. In comparison The Promised Neverland ran for a lil under 4 years and has 181 chapters. We have no idea what her illness was or what the cause(if any) was, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions.
The amount of effort the studio put into adapting NANA is insane. Casting two actual artists, making actual amazing songs, for BLAST and Trapnest's music? The soundtrack alone makes watching NANA worth it
I actually came to Nana after watching Paradise Kiss! My father had picked up a random box of josei manga from a car boot sale because he knew I liked it and all 5 volumes of paradise kiss were in there...I fell in love with it. I see people in these comments saying nana was ahead of its time, but I think paradise kiss is even way ahead of nana
I feel like the situation with Hachi being cheated on versus being the other girl are quite different. Shouji and Hachi were both in their early 20's, while in Hachi's previous "relationship" she was a high-schooler being led on by an adult man.
Couldn’t agree more, a grown married man allowing himself to have an affair with a highschool girl is inappropriate and solely on him. Hachi was definitely groomed :(
I agree. I viewed that older man subplot as more of a tale of how the older man used Hachi's vulnerability (to be wanted and love) against her in a way, thereby grooming her.
Nana was an anime way ahead of it’s time. It’s completely amazing how the problems in the story still relate to people this day. I’m a guy and honestly Nana K’s problems were so relatable. Falling in love easily, Dealing with someone who cheated on you and so much more. Nana isn’t that happy go lucky romantic anime like the others. That what gives it so much appeal. I wish more anime was mature like this.
There are a lot of mature anime, but you need to make the effort to find them. Most mainstream anime are often works that are targeted to children and teens, that’s why they’re at the front. The mature anime you would look for are often underrated, popular as Naoki Urasawa’s Monster but not as popular as Naruto. One easy way to find such anime is to just find the ones tagged as Seinen or Josei. Though for Josei, most of the works have plots that are more similar to TV romance dramas (and are often adapted as such), so do be careful in that territory, but there are mature ones too.
@@mysmallnoman I’m surprised that those are seinen. Then again, Azumanga Daioh is also seinen. But my point still stands that a lot of what’s considered mature anime are in the seinen and josei category.
I'm sorry but Hachi sleeping with married man is not the same as Shoji cheating because she was a high school girl who got groomed by a grown man. It's not the same at all.
why do yall think a 17 year old is a baby who can't make decisions? she was aware he had a wife and yet chose to sleep with him. im not justifying his actions but it wasn't 100% his fault either. hachi made that decision to sleep with him.
@@armiiii0987 there was clearly a power imbalance also 17 years old is a child if you like it or not + he is 100% to blame as an adult he should’ve had rejected her
I was looking for this comment. it was so popular in japan and in a lot of countries in Asia. Two movies, tribute albums, concert, a lot of official merchandise. I am pretty sure everyone knows the song Glamorous Sky from Nana as it was composed by Hyde from L'Arc-en-Ciel, which was also one of the most popular Japanese bands at the time. The Nana movie also featured Mika Nakashima, who was already a well known singer in Japan. I think it did generate a lot of hype around Nana and a lot of people got into the anime from there too, it did very well at the box office. I am from the UK so I did not have many friends who liked anime, but I do remember seeing a lot of people wearing Nana inspired outfits or cosplay back in the 2000s. Especially on Livejournal.
This title is very confusing to me. It’s such a highly recognized and beloved manga/anime. It was one of the “big names” back in the day, among with names like Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket, Naruto, DBZ, Black Butler, Soul Eater, and similar titles. And it seems these days it’s still talked about and more and more people are getting into it. It never was really niche, just not so much as an “starter anime.” I would compare it to Haruhi, where people these days don’t talk about it so much since it’s prime came and went but is definitely a household name.
That was back then, nana is little known nowadays. Ofc a lot of viewer and manga readers stopped watching and reading bc the author was sick and stopped writing so ofc now little to no one knows about it so really nana has already passed it’s peak sadily considering how good it is but I don’t think op meant anything bad lol.
I'm going to say this without watching the video yet - Nana is vastly, extremely, infinitely more popular in the Spanish speaking community. It's very much the shojo equivalent to Saint Seiya lol.
@@iria871 I think you may have replied on the wrong comment, but while Nobu had toxic traits - the entire cast did, Hachi included. That's what made them human. They make mistakes, and learn from said mistakes, growing as people do. In the post series, Takumi, however, does not do the aforementioned. He's still a cheater, and he still questions if he even loves Hachi despite them being married, having kids, etc. I don't think he ever properly apologized or atoned for the s/a.
@@aquakit.133 yeah i was meant to reply above they all are human with backstories to explain why they are that way and to be fair neither Nobu ever apologized for his sexual assault towards hatchi
yes i agree lol i am native spanish speaker and watched nana years ago like i was 14 or sometthing i make that anime my personalty still happy the anime got spotlight hopfully it get continued now :)
Even more underrated are the live action movies of Nana. Also the author of Nana was fighting for her life when the manga stopped I don't blame her for choosing her own health over the books.
I was lucky to go to the Ai Yazawa (mangaka of Nana) exhibit in Yokohama. She created a few new pieces for the exhibit, featuring Nana. At the end of the exhibit there was a handwritten letter that said how surprised and thankful she was that after all these years people still loved the series so much. A lot of people thought she would announce the end of her hiatus but sadly she did not…
Nana was hugely popular in Europe, specially in French speaking countries. The most popular shoujo of it's time. I don't know what the title is on about.
@@maddieb.4282 I know that and that's the issue, right there. Your obvious comment seems to indicate that you are just projecting on to others. The point is the world is not the USA so if you mean the USA says the USA. If you don't specify a country it makes your statement worldwide regardless of your own nationality. The USA doesn't get soecial treatment for any reason whatsoever,it's the world wide web not the "American internet".
I'm glad I waited until now to watch this anime because I'm going through similar things that NANA's characters did. As a person in my early 20's, these characters' actions and reactions felt so realistic. It was so scary but made me feel better in a strange, relatable sort of way.
It's good to watch it around 16+ bcs either your learning about it or your going through it then watch it again late 20s and 30s and see if you've grown (I try to watch it at least once a year or so to see if it learned anything or can recognize my toxic traits I am currently 30 ) solo defo a good thing to keep watching and trying to relate too Edit : I just got to the part that they recommended the same thing
This anime accompanied me all the way through college and there's nothing weird about it: it's two drastically different women finding their way through life and figuring it out together even when apart. A lot mistakes they made I made, my family and friends made. It's very very good. In my thirties, I still feel nostalgic when I see the title popping up on Netflix.
@@Strawberry_Angelicthat’s what I did. Watched it in high school, my early 20s and again now in my late 20s. I’ve definitely gone through similar things as both nanas especially what happen to ren. This series has really helped me through life as a young woman
I watched this show this week for the first time in my late 20s. Man, the characters are so real, broken, humans just trying their best, making mistakes and going through life. It hit me hard... seeing mistakes, sentiments, fears I had when I was 20 in this show....I wonder if I would have made different choices if I had seen this show back then. Well, no sense in worrying about it! I rather like where my life is/is heading today, but man I just finished the series today and I'm still reeling 😅
I LOVED Nana when I was 14/15. I watched the entire series and cried several times. When Hatchi picked Takumi, I could understand because he could provide a better life for her child, but only at the cost of her happiness. I remember being so angry at that. I had so many feelings watching that anime. Still is one of my all time favorites. Also, Hatchi is called Hatchi because of the dog, but it also means 8 in Japanese while Nana means 7, so it was kind of a dual joke.
Nana is one of my biggest sources of pain. I love that story so much, and the manga will never end 😭 I also adore Paradise Kiss, by the same author, at least that one is finished
The thing about Hachi and Takumi is that at the beginning she knew this was going to be just a one night stand and she was ready to move on with her life. However, he did what she didn't expect which was contacting her, like you said he gave her hope and also, later, he made her feel bad for him because "nobody could deal with him working so much and he was lonely" so of course she would want to show him she was different. Now she ended up stock in this toxic relationship even more, that trapped her more since she is pregnant and needed help. She has a lot of problems saying no and I think she also feel guilty for choosing Takumi so she think she is not allowed to even complain about anything even if he make her feel horrible. I feel sorry buy also mad that people tend to hate her because being stuck in unhealthy relationships can happen to anyone and even more when there is a baby in the picture.
Also she kinda feels no other man could ever love her and accept her like Takumi. Shoji and Junko hated the needy and dependant aspect of her personality, but Takumi doesn't even if it's to make his ego greater.
@@DanGabriellehonestly junko was giving her terrible advice at times and may or may not have gaslit her multiple times. Idk why i just never liked their friendship at all. It felt disingenuous
nana is timeless. the dynamics and characters it portrays will forever be relevant. i think one of the best parts of nana is what you can tell about a person based on their opinion of hachi. with that being said i absolutely adore hachi.
@@Petrichorus- If you're talking about the first guy, I'd say that doesn't count. She was a teenage girl with an eating disorder and the older man took advantage of her insecurities. It doesn't mean it was right but she wasn't in the wrong in THAT particular situation.
@Petrichorus- as someone who used to hate Hatchi - she's someone who never worked through her issues herself, and kept looking for someone to make things better. I'd say her first relationship is the biggest of those issues, she was taken advantage of by an adult, and that has an effect on her future relationships. While she has supportive friends, they never have enough knowledge (that it happened) or experience to support her through being preyed on as a teen. Hatchi makes a ton of bad choices, but the show is good at laying the groundwork as to why, and why she struggles to make better choices even when she knows she should. I'm mostly sad for her now. I'm sad for those she hurt as well, but Hatchi's struggles are important too.
@@imajellyfishbish2640 oh if he was an adult f him, but I thought she cheated in multiple relationships? I’m not a hater bc i don’t care enough but I’m not going to like someone who hurts others instead of working on themselves. I don’t have a lot of patience for people/characters with low emotional intelligence.
i think the comphet lesbian reading of nana is the most heartbreaking.. i read it when i was 15 and in the closet and both nana and hachi were so much like me and i couldn’t really place why. now that im an adult, it’s clear to me that they were both in love with each other but their social conditioning and relationships with men got in the way. a lot of times they were so close to realizing it, only for some guy to step between them. nana could very well be bi, but hachi is clearly a lesbian. just. she likes feminine men with long hair. she likes unattainable men. she daydreams about what having sex with a woman is like. she gets jealous of misato when nana pays attention to her.. so many things that straight women just don’t do in tandem like that. i could never really be mad at hachi for her choices because i really understood where she was coming from.. she was confused and just trying to be what society wants her to be.. a mother and a homemaker, a housewife.
AGREE I started shipping them from ep1. Such a shame they didn't end up together but at least I can imagine them being a couple and living happily ever after❤
This is why I didn't end up watching. They looked so cute tg in everything I saw online and knowing they don't end up together would make me too sad to watch 😭
Definitely agree, but honestly I kind of love the portrayal of it?? Because it's SO real. The amount of times that REALLY happens, where a love doesn't even start in the same way it could've even- but having a closeness that otherwise wouldn't have been the same. It's real, it's raw, it's heartbreaking. I can FEEL the pain from both of them when both Nana's aren't with each other MORE than when any of the guys leave their lives.
“She only likes feminine men because she’s *******” crazy how you’re not getting any hate for saying this but if you say the same thing about masculine women people will attack you 😂
I'm honestly so surprised noone seems to know about this manga/anime nowadays. I remember getting into anime in 2013 and it was highly recommended back then so I watched it. It's honestly one of the most mature stories I have encountered in this medium. Not to mention the aesthetic of it is GORGEOUS (the author in general has a great style looking at Paradise Kiss). Also can we talk about the MUSIC in the anime??? The casting of Anna Tsuchiya as the rockstar Nana was *chef's kiss*. Recently I saw some of the MVs promoting the anime were reuploaded again officially so maybe Nana will go through some Renaissance.
Okay so, about Hachi's sister: the racism in Japan _is_ a problem, but she doesn't have anything to do about it. What she's "wearing" is a fashion style born and dead in the early 2000 named Ganguro (Gyaru could have taken some inspo, but it didn't exist back then). As much as I understand Americans be taken aback by the look of it, the origins of it are 100% japanese and not only that, it was meant to be political fashion. I ask you: how do you imagine a Japanese woman to be? Fair skinned, right? And with black hair, no makeup, dressed modestly and with a submissive personality. Ganguro said a big "F u!" to all of that, it was a way for women to break the tiny stereotype they should fit in because it's "government appropriate" and "every japanese should look like this" (they are so obsessed with being all alike, god forbid a Japanese kid born with brown or curly hair) so they are tanned, exaggerated in makeup and manners, wearing the most immodest clothing etc. to be as far away from that. The thought of black people never crossed anyone's mind when this was a thing, rest assured. They show their racism in other ways, like classic ostracization and Gaijin seating.
Not necessarily an issue with "I hate xyz" type racism, but its common for people of color to get kind of tired as dark skin being used "counter culture" and "anti feminine" when it's just some people's default skin color. Getting a tan is obviously something different imo, but for the ganguro who do paint themselves literally dark brown with makeup, it won't ever be a comfy topic for some people even if "blackface" is not the intention of it.
@@Mormollio idk if you can call it anti feminine since it was used to say "I am a beautiful woman despite not fitting into your beauty standards", also where did you hear it's paint and not tan? It covers the whole body, so I really don't think it's paint, at least I never heard of Ganguro painting themselves instead of tanning. Ohaguro was painted, but that's another thing. I understand if people of color aren't comfortable with it, but it has nothing to do with them and try to condemn another minority for something that wasn't meant for them doesn't feel right. Almost no one knows Blackface outside the states, because of lack of explanation in history books (here in Italy they explain slaves, blues and jazz but somehow not the Ministel show, idk why) and because it was a depiction of racism pretty much confined in the Americas.
I'm so glad someone came to explain ganguro better. It was a political fashion that was popular when I was a teenager and I don't know how true this is but I remember hearing at the time that it also had a bit of an anti-American meaning too. I don't think American's will ever understand just how invasive their culture can be. I remember reading that a lot of girls at the time were sick of the endless American beauty standards that Japan kept putting on teenage girls (there was a lot of surgery at the time to change nose and eye shapes). So I heard that a lot of the ganguro gals were like "oh, you want American beauty standards? Like this?!" And then proceeded to sort of do an extreme caricature of the "Paris Hilton" look that was so popular at the time. A kind of commentary on go big or go home if you will. I could be misinformed, but that's what we were told in the fashion communities here in Australia that were following Japanese based fashions at the time.
Honestly, I feel like it's pretty hypocritical for Americans to hold other cultures to their own limited standards - which were influenced by their own limited history - while simultaneously screaming about respecting/preserving varied cultures/"diversity." I guess in their view, it's only worth respecting when the origin is American...
'm definitely becoming a reply guy exclusively for videos about Nana, but the fact that's even possible makes me really happy. FYI, the manga didn't finish because Ai Yazawa began experiencing severe health problems in 2009, and has struggled for much of the last 15 years. She's been doing better lately, which is great to hear, but it's been a long time and the fate of the series remains up in the air. There is more content in the manga about Nana's life after Hachi moves out, and a time-jump that I'm guessing inspired the show's ending, although in the case of the manga it's for the purpose of resolving the many conflicts left unresolved in the first part. Who we are and what we go through in our 20s impacts us for the rest of our adult lives in the same way our childhoods do, and I really hope that someday we can see the conclusion. A couple notes on contemporary japanese beauty standards and gyaru. I am neither Japanese nor black, merely someone who was really interested in Japanese fashion subcultures when this show was made. I definitely wouldn't say that Japanese culture is devoid of racism in general or antiblackness in specific, and gyaru is tied up in that, just not in the way the an American might think. Traditional Japanese beauty standards emphasize pale skin, straight black hair, "delicate" facial features, and perhaps most importantly modesty and conformity, and much like the US this is very much tied up with race and class. Just to use an example from Nana, Junko, while beautiful and charismatic is tall, swarthy, with curly hair and strong features. I think she might actually be canonically be mixed, and that's definitely how her appearance reads sometimes. But because she never fit into the kind of ideal Hachi aspires to in the first place, she's able to establish her own identity outside of it and get comfortable with herself on her own terms far earlier: there's even a neat detail in the flashbacks to high school in that she's straightening her hair, when she gets into college she starts wearing it naturally, and even gets dreads later on. In a series so fixated on how personal presentation and fashion relates to identity, that's no accident. Darker skin is looked down upon not just because it doesn't conform to beauty standards, but because of it's association with working class people as well as ethnic and racial minorities. Reading manga from the 60s well into the early 2000s can be really painful because of that, and a lot of earlier works make it very clear those drawing them knew what they were doing and what that meant. Anyway, the tanning craze of the 70s did not go over as well in Japan. But just like everywhere else, young women were getting sick and tired of being told how to look, act, and what to wear. Gyaru was always meant to be shocking: in opposition to taboos about hair dye and styling, Gyaru bleached their hair half to death, teasing it into beehives or curling it. They embraced then-contemporary American fashion to a cartoonish extent, and rejected modesty in favor of hyper-femininity and rebelled against conformity by sticking out and using fashion as a means of personal expression. The closest thing in the west I can think of is the bimbo culture of the last few years, and even then it's definitely not 1 to 1z And of course, there's the darker skin. Gyaru was a really diverse subculture that lasted for decades, so that can range from simply being tan to stuff that well... it looks like black face. It doesn't come from the same cultural context as in the US, but it's impossible not to see it. This, combined with the history of racist caricatures in manga, resulted in even the most well-meaning mangaka depicting gyaru's in a way that can be pretty horrifying to look at in 2023. I don't think I can tell anyone how to feel about that. It's uncomfortable to say the least, but that's the context anyway. There's plenty of books on the topic, as well as essays, podcasts, and youtube videos from a wide variety of perspectives on the topic if you wanna know more or get someone else's take on it.
This mangas hiatus has killed me. I remember a few years ago she drew new Nana images for some promo and we all felt hope that maybe it would return but nope here we are.
@@queenofpents3442Actually Ai said it will continue nana while her health is getting better little by little which means it could be a year or two from now when she release the next nana. But she did say she will finish nana at her exhibit she did for Nana.
I also have to say that as much as I love the soundtrack for the anime, I think reading the manga is the definitive way to experience the series. The anime kind of only covers half of what was actually finished IIRC and there's a bunch of bonus content, like side stories for Nobu and Takumi (and Naoki, the Ringo of Trapnest) that flesh out the world and characters a lot more than the anime ever does. Takumi's backstory in particular always stuck with me, like obviously the guy is a tremendous tool but his decision to do "the right thing" by marrying Hachi makes way more sense when you know how he came up. I always wished they'd adapted those side stories as specials for the anime but they never did
I read Nana and Paradise Kiss when I was a teenager. The art style and fashion were what reeled me in initially. Hachiko was very relatable initially and frustrating to me as a teen, and something about Nana K captivates me. Back then I didn't understand all the back and forth Nana K and Ren were doing when they said they loved each other. But going into adulthood, I understand Nana O wanting to be her own person, having her own identity, direction in life, and career, and not compromising all that just because she loved him. They were the ultimate power couple for me back then. As opposed to Takumi and Hachiko. This still pisses me off today.
I lived in Tokyo when this manga and anime was at peak popularity. I saw the first film in theaters and got to be an extra in the second film! There are TONS of us fans out there...we're just quiet because there's not much to say about it right now other than...well, still hoping for that manga conclusion...
One of the most realistic things that hurt the most in NANA was when [SPOILERS] towards the end of the anime, months after Shoji cheated on her, Hachi realized that she didn't just lose her boyfriend when they broke up--she also lost a very good friend, and it was still painful. It's what happens when you're truly friends with the person you were in a relationship with.
That scene was one of my favorites. I was waiting the whole time for the two of them to have a conversation after the breakup and we finally got it at the end. Hearing her say the words "I took him for granted" was like, Finally! She gets it! Everybody hates on Shoji for cheating, but it's not like he fell in love with someone else on purpose. He was prepared to go all the way with Hachi, but their relationship was on the rocks due to life circumstances combined with Hachi being kinda selfish. Of course, in a perfect world, Shoji should have broken it off with Hachi sooner, so he's kinda of a jerk for that, but... their relationship seemed to be fading even before Sachiko. I dunno, it just doesn't feel right to put all the blame on Shoji.
@@HarryTenders no, no shoji deserves all the blame. i don’t know if you know anything about loving someone or relationships but if you truly loved someone, you’d wait for them. you’re right, Hachi was selfish in the beginning. she was very self-centered and made it seem like everything was just about her problems. she was also bad at communication. but Shoji told her to find her independence, and that’s what she was trying to do. even if it did cause a noticeable distance in their relationship, it was Shoji’s fault that it failed. he didn’t even try to wait for her, his broke jobless girlfriend, to settle. he didn’t try to reach out to her and communicate with her. in fact, i don’t even think he liked Hachi. he liked the idea of her. so Shoji definitely deserves all the blame. please don’t try to turn the tables. if he had actually made an effort to fix things, MAYBE it would have been different. MAYBE what you said might’ve been somewhat true. but he didn’t. so stfu!
@@wispyfae you admit Hachi was selfish and also bad at communicating, and yet your conclusion is still, Shoji is 100% at fault for the relationship going south? Sorry but no. I stand by everything I said.
@@HarryTenders he should’ve opened up his mouth and said something or JUST LEFT HER if he had a problem with it. and Hachi was clearly trying to change too. he chose to stay and ruin the relationship. that’s most definitely all on him. the fact that you’re this slow is embarrassing.
@@wispyfae yeah I already said he's a jerk for not breaking it off with Hachi before getting with Sachiko---did you miss that part? I am simply making the observation that their relationship breaking down and ultimately not working out was the result of many factors. No one is disputing Shoji's cheating at the end being a negative thing he shouldn't have done, but let's not pretend Hachi was a perfect angel the whole time in the relationship either. She absolutely takes him for granted, and I'm glad the story acknowledges this fact. Also, your claim that Shoji doesn't even like Hachi is ridiculous---the dude spent months being her friend before they ever started going out.
NANA WAS HUGE! What do you mean? NANA was a major staple in the shojo community because it talked about rebellion, fashion, pregnancy, sex, abuse, toxicity and relationships. You can see the impact of the art and story in other shojo series following NANA. It was the cool edgy, grown up manga that teenage girls loved and thus makes it legendary. Its more josei (younger women, then for little girls). The manga goes in far more detail than the anime, and dig deeper in Nana and Hachi's insecurities. The friendship in Nana is genuine and really heartwarming as all the charcaters actually care about each other. That is also what made it popular as well as the cool music. I'm still biased toward the older shojo series and Nana was one of the series that paved the way toward shojo/josei romance.
gyaru/gal also isn't only dark tans, it's a very broad umbrella of various styles. the more problematic sub styles have moved past their more troublesome elements over the years. anime has it's own genre of gyaru/gal which is only a shadow of what they actually are i assume. (I've never been into gyaru myself but always enjoyed it from the outside)
NANA is actually peak fiction. One of the top best shows in general. Drama, psychological, and just amazing writing for characters and all else in it. Actual masterpiece writing.
I remember the first time i watched NANA i felt physically sick at the poor choices from the main characters. For the longest time i hated the show because is was so frustrating to watch. But i eventually came around on it because its rare for any type of show, let alone an anime, to be able to illicit that type of response. Its absolutely a fantastic show that i would recommend anyone check out. Thank you for the great video breaking this show down! Someone needs to preach this show to today's anime fans!😂
Omg, i was actually very uncomfortable with the anime at first but after I pushed myself to complete it, i dont regret watching it one bit. I was getting so uncomfortable with the illicit scenes (for some reason im not a fan of such scenes) but I realised that this is how life treats you if you make choices as such. The reason why I was afraid to watch it again was because it felt too real. I love it so much now because of how realistic it felt and the fact that I could understand each characters decision (takumi is an ass so I don't really like him. In a way, i understood how hachi was manipulated by him)
*Ganguro and Yamanba Girls:* Express them selves with an aesthetic that is partially a counterculture and protest against traditional Japanese society and partially inspired by classical Japanese folklore, as well as an attempt at individuality, self-expression, and freedom, in open defiance of Japanese school standards and regulations. *Americans:* "And i took that personally"
Also, all the men suck in Nana. Save for Yasu, Shin, and maybe that one blonde guy from Trapnest. It isn’t as bad in the anime, but in the manga Ren is nearly just as bad and controlling as Takumi. And Nobuo is a horrible boyfriend to both Hachiko and his other girlfriend, Asami. Nobuo quite literally forces a kiss on Hachiko WHILE HE'S DATING ASAMI and while Hachiko is pregnant. And then yells at Hachiko when she pushes him away.
A bit of a correction, Hachi did not "Helped" married men cheat. It was one man, Asano, and he was a 30 something years old guy dating her when she was around 15-17 So it wasnt like a real relationship, the dude groomed her. She was aware that he was a married man but she was convinced that what she felt was love. And that he loved her. Its kind of messed up that you overlooked that fact, because people judger her with no taking the age gap into account. She was a child being manipulated by a grown man into a relationship.
Genuinely I've loved Nana since the mid 2010s when I found it. And I love seeing that it's getting talked about more again because it's such a great series that I wished more of my friends watched.
Since I'm older, I watched this anime and read the manga in translation (still have the full run) while it was still being published (I'm an Ai Yazawa fan since I watched the Monogatari anime as a child, I read and watched Paradise Kiss too), so the "nobody watched it" weirded me out, since Nana was extremely popular at the time, almost considered "basic". The author stopped working due to mental and physical health reasons, and you can see it in the story while it gets darker and more depressing chapter after chapter, so it's a given that she doesn't want to touch it anymore. It's a pity because her art was incredible, her men were... debatable, but the stories fizzled out and were too bleak to follow. I think that the toxicity of her characters and the fact that it never finished determined its current downfall.
Also, Japanese culture is very xenophobic (as you can see with the character of Reira, who is half Japanese and half British or American, and has to keep it a secret from the public, as it would have been a huge scandal). The gyaru movement was one of the many alt cultures that rebelled against Japanese traditional aesthetic, with women having to be modest, demure and as pale as possible. Colorism is very prominent in Japanese culture (going as far as people shunning and bullying people with darker skin tones, which naturally occurs in many people anyway). Gyaru girls rebelled against this by going completely the other way, seeking the darkest tan possible, with the flashiest and sluttiest makeup and clothes they could find, so... Maybe people shouldn't judge alt cultures from other countries with the lens of their own culture before doing some research. Racism, colorism and xenophobia are very real issues everywhere, but the world is way bigger and with different implications and coping mechanisms than just the US.
Yeah, this video doesn’t even begin to cover how bleak the manga gets toward the end. Completely understand the author’s lack of interest in returning to it. But it’s a classic all the same!
21:02 Maybe this is an issue with people who only watch the anime, but it is VERY hard to feel sympathy for Nobuo in the manga. He literally SA's Hachiko. He deserves nothing.
Watching Nana during my formative years (age 12 lol) really changed my brain in such a way, I don't even know how to describe it. It's def influenced my interactions with fashion, and was a part of the foundation upon which I interacted with gender and sexuality in the future. Forever obsessed with this story
@@FoundSheep-AN I was! Unfortunately I had little to no adult supervision over my Internet access due to Reasons and it's def affected me in not-so-great ways. Worked through those, though, and I'm getting better :] I would Not let my kid siblings watch this though, ngl. Pro Life Tip For Parents: make sure you know if your kids are accessing age-inappropriate things.
PLEASE do a video about the manga! You won’t be disappointed! (well besides the fact it’s basically on a cliff hanger and you know the hiatus..) Hachi’s daughter is actually her second child! She has a son named “Ren” and he’s blond (implying he’s Nobu’s son!) and her daughter is a child she has with Takumi
It’s funny how, at the end of the video, you reflected exactly the same sentiments people had discussing Nana back in 2009. Many forums were full of comments talking about how the series had “fallen off” and stretched too much. I feel like it’s one of those series where it would have been impossible to have an ending, let alone one that appeased the readers.
I think what kinda killed Nana is that the story is not finished. A lot of people do not start shows that dont have an ending, I am one of them. I adore NANA but if I knew when i started watching it that the story is never gonna get finished, I d have probably avoided it.
I was absolutely OBSESSED with Nana back in the day. It was one of the few mangas my local library had, and I would re-read it on repeat. I've watched both the anime and the live action and I loved listening to the songs that were part of the soundtrack (of course a story centered around bands would have some incredible soundtracks). It always broke my heart, the way the story is left off, but I think in a way, the fact that it doesn't really have an ending is what has made it linger in my mind even until now. It's a story that feels real in the most bittersweet way possible.
call me nobody bc I watch TF out of Nana. It’s probably my favorite anime ever. It needs more love, even though we’re probably never getting an ending 🥲
I’m an American and just barely discovered the show because I saw it on an Instagram post and decided to buy the Blu-Ray . I searched into the shows release. It looks like it never aired on a popular American television channel. You only knew of it if you were active on social media and had a Funimation account. I was kinda poor at the time and didn’t have consistent access to the internet. I’m glad I found it though! I just finished the series last night and loved it.
I actually legitmately want to see you cover the manga material, because so many things happen after that cut to the future, because around the time of Hachi marrying takumi they do flashfowards to the future during every chapter that lay down a lot of events that essentially imply Nana is dead or has changed her identity and left their lives
I love Nana, Ai Yazawa's work, and even Anna Tsuchiya and Olivia Lufkin who were the musicians behind the songs of both Black Stones and Trapnest respectively, I literally had their music on my iPod, and it is true as someone entering college in 2010 and finally mingling with many different people and learning to open up and cope with my own feelings and the difficulties of relationships this anime really talked to me, yeah the end was abrupt and it was a slow burn, it literally took me a year to watch it, sadly I haven't seen any new anime just being this honest and grounded in terms of relationships, I want to see something that feels authentic over the nth isekai mmorpg haren romcom. Sadly it is weird to know very few people watched this anime, I feel my sister is doing the job to watch for those who haven't because she watches it every year, I am not someone to bing watch so much, gladly there is Paradise Kiss, and I feel Parakiss is completely underrated as well, and it's short just 12 episodes so people can definitely watch it in a single sitting, love that show as well, and if I had a nickel for every time Franz Ferdinand had a song in an anime I love, I would've 2 nickels, which is not much, but it is weird it had happen twice. BTW, what was that goofy ahh 4kids dub you used, eugh
20:45 me too, but you know what is the worse? everything he do goes good for him, he never pays the consequences of his acts, i love this history but Takumi is so repellent for me
I enjoyed the anime, but the manga is among my favorites! Multiple characters are given WAY more depth and detail to them! The anime stretched many aspects of the story out, but cut out so much too. The current ending of the manga also felt way more like and ending unlike the anime. Read the manga if you can! The manga went on hiatus because the creator, Ai Yazawa got sick, but occasionally says she is getting better and still plans to finish it one day. Last time I'd heard about her saying this was last year. She says she has the ending and everything planned out, but she just felt to sick to finish it. I really hope she is doing better! She seems very passionate about finishing NANA. If she doesn't feel well enough to draw, I wish she could get people to help her finish it so she doesn't push her self too hard!
Not only is the message good but the art in NANA is so beautiful! That's why I started watching it. Really want to watch it again now. Thank you for the vod. Hope you take care. 💜🍵
I remember when Nana was first being published in ShojoBeat's magazine in the U.S. and every time a new issue came I was to a video rental store in my town that sold them. Yeah, that's how long this series has affected people. My favorite josei series ever. Love all Ai Yazawa projects.
omg yes please more youtubers need to talk about this anime! Nana has had me in a chokehold since high school in the 2010s and I have always used it as some form of guidance in my 20s lol. I love this anime so much, literally have it as my background on my phone lol. Nana was the best slice of life anime I've ever seen and I just hope ai yazawa will one day finish the manga or train someone to finish it for her.
I recommend looking into paradise kiss, its the same author as nana but its very special to me its also technically a continuation of Neighborhood Story
Nana was terrible to watch/read at the time I did. It was an emotionally devastating story. I still have flashbacks to her critical plot moments, especially when I have my own horrible heartbreaks. I hate Nana but she’s a part of me 😭
It feels dirty that Hachi stayed with Takumi. Dude just felt like the worse of all of them, especially after THAT scene. Maybe that's the point, but it just feels bad.
@@holacomooduh Same here to be honest. Nobu was obviously a better partner for Hachi and she knew that, but Takumi manipulated her by guilting her to stay with him. Nana was more mature, but her relationship with Ren was also toxic, since he was pressuring her to do things she didn't want and she just wanted to be independent. At least she got away from that situation.
@@missstranger7697 Nobu was decent until you read the manga and then suddenly he's not great either. Ren was weird imo, the only man I found good was Yasu. He seemed like the only one with a good head.
I remember watching it back in 2006 and for some reason thought that Nana had died and it was Hachi doing the monologue as like a diary entry talking to Nana.
My R lock necklace is from Nana. The same necklace that Nana gave to Ren. My fiancé gave me this necklace. We watched the entire series together and it’s amazing. She has the entire manga collection.
I'm surprised this anime is so loved. I feel scarred by it even years after watching it. I felt the emotions of the characters too much. And the way it ended off was like oh okay, so everyone just settled for something and they're pretending to be okay. Idk, I would never want to rewatch it and put myself through that again 😅
I loved Nana ❤️ even though some of the moments especially when Takumi appeared stressed me out 😂. It’s one of my favourite shojo’s and I love the fashion and how the issues in the anime still apply today. I hope we get more romance animes or mangas like this and I really wish it wasn’t on hiatus 💔😭 also the tan on Hachi’s sister really caught me off guard 💀 I understand things were different back then and that it was a depiction of garu culture but they didn’t need to make her tan look like blackface 💀
GOSH FINALLY its been a week since i started nana and its literally amazing. I dont really like anime revolve around romance but Nana is something else. And yes its really inspiring💫💫💫 thanks for talking about this series.
You should do a video on the manga because there's way more material, way more questions and theories to analyze, and it's a wild ride. The manga basically has two timelines that you try to piece together, with the ending of the anime being a sneak peek of that.
I watched NANA, and I loved it😭 I recently rewatched it and it is still so great! I wish the creator was able to finish the manga but it is what it is, and it's still a beautiful piece of art.
I watched Nana for the first time last year. and then read the manga IMMEDIATLY after. I sobbed on and off for a few days. And just felt messed up mentally for a few weeks. I loved it for the story and characters and hated it for how much it hurt me.
Huh, who's nobody?? Maybe the youngsters haven't watched 😂. Nana was talked about and watched widely when it originally came out. Especially the manga, it was one of the reasons why Shoujo Beat was so popular (in the US).
As a teenager when Nana first came out. Every otaku friend I had at the time, read the manga and watched the anime. My generation knew about it and I remember it being so popular at one point that the manga sales beat One Piece at one point. Then gradually it faded and was forgotten 😢 This series is still one of my favorites and I hope we can one day get a proper ending in whatever format the mangaka chooses.
The manga is way longer time-wise and it gives some other snippets from the future. However, we don't get all the answers we need, and there are even more mysteries at play, with a potential massive turn of events. If you have a read at the others mangas created by the same mangaka, you can see there's a pattern of constructing mysteries, and twisting outcomes which makes her artwork really really interesting. I remember reading a manga made by her about a ghost girl. Really really good story! I also absolutely love her drawing style. I hope you will give it a go.
8:58 That girl did the reverse-double-MJ its an immaculate, very rare move, rarely seen in media. It's truly marvelous and a sight to see. 10/10 form too.
Love this video! I watched nana for the first time at 21 and at 28 I just recently rewatched it and cried because in just those short years, my life has changed VASTLY and I think Nana does a great job in showcasing that life is phases and it takes work to keep the people that you want close to you through those phases. My younger sister is 20 and I’m gonna ask her to watch this show because honestly its just great at helping with overall introspection in a young persons life. Also, the ending of the anime does in fact follow the manga to a T! The manga jumps from future to past for a while so they just decided to end it when that point started.😊 Honestly, I really hope new chapters come out or they make a season 2 because the manga goes on and the story gets even better!
I remember watching this show when I was around 20 and I really enjoyed Nana. It always made me feel all sorts of emotions and I really loved the characters. However, as the show got into it's last few episodes I began to get really annoyed with all the manufactured drama (some of the drama was good and made sense story wise but there was some of it that just felt completely unnecessary ) I remember being really annoyed that Hachi was constantly crying about seeing Nobu and making him feel a type of way even though she already made her choice... I understand the emotional end of it but the character of Hachi just started to annoy me and so did Nana... Like once things came to a head the plot just started sliding and the ending.... Oh my god the ending, I literally sat up and was like, "That's all we get??? What happened? Did Nana die why aren't they friends?!" Like in the last scene of the anime they were talking and while things seemed to have an air of disagreement in how things played out they never flat out hated the other. I do recommend this show but damn if it didn't annoy me at times and left me yelling at the screen sometimes. I might return to it now that I'm a bit older maybe my perception has changed. I think it's an important anime to watch as it talks about and showcases how much we as people can get caught up in toxic or codependent relationships before we even realize it and the damage has already happed. Also the OP is kick ass so that's a huge plus! Thanks for another awesome video!
even in the manga they don't say what happened to nanna other than she disappeared after ren died and nobody knows where she is but later found out through p.i she is singing in a bar at london where Takumi leaves with his son but the manga stop before they can reunite
@@Myrathosghost same and the immature part of me wanted them together but the realist part said, “I wouldn’t want him to give up his dream” because hachi wasn’t careful Ie didn’t use protection while with Takumi. I’m in no way blaming her I just think that a bit better decision making on her part while also standing up to him would have gone a long way… Takumi is such a scumbag!
@@phoenyxskies yeah it sucks especially because they were setting up Nana's ark where it was heading with her reunion with her mother that abandoned her it really stopped when it was getting good 😂
So, I have not only the naime, but also both live action movies. I absolutely love this series and wish that I had all of the manga. If they re-preint it, I'm going to quickly buy all of them!
I remember watching this when I was 13 back in 2009 every year or so I come back to it as a comfort anime. The older I get the more I understand why they did what they did & how they're all feeling. You should read the manga a lot happens that I was hoping to see animated. Who knows maybe Nana will get a new anime like Fruits Basket did 🤔
One of the many reasons I love this show is because I am just obsessed with alternative Nana’s style. Easily one of the best styled and dressed anime character of all time to me. I used to be goth back in the day before I had to start dressing more like a normie because of my life turned out. This show is just so nostalgic for me even though I didn’t watch it until pretty recently. It reminds me of being younger and also what life used to be like when I was that age. I miss so much about that time period. Hell even miss rock music being popular. It feels like there is no hope of anyone making it big if they’re in rock band. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy rap, hip hop, and pop but I’m starting to get extremely burnt out on it. I know rock bands haven’t totally disappeared but it’s just so rare to see any of them make it big and it’s honestly kind of sad especially with some bands and artists that are sooo incredibly talented. No instead they just keep playing songs that sound almost identical. Back in the day it felt like there was way more of a balance of genres but now not so much.
About that ''racism''' at 10:00. She is a Gyaru (or Gal). It's a street fashion style that challenges the expected standards for women of being quiet, having a light skin, not a lot of make up, black hair etc. of Japanese society. It is not racist. See it more as an artistic era of showing the multiple faces of beauty. Its like, the opposite of racism ahaha :P Gals are cool I love them. Here, she's just tan. People in places in south of japan like Okinawa that its like.. really hot ahah :P people get tanned. Anyway, great video you always makes me laugh ^_^ (Pardon my poor English writing)
I still have the intro to Nana on all of my anime playlists. It's a wonderful icebreaker to talking about it with whoever doesn't recognize it. I was so broken hearted when I learned the author wasn't continuing the manga, but as an adult, I've re-watched it and loved it. Now, to finish reading it.
I was somewhere between 16 and 20 when I watched Nana, and there was no anime more relateable at the time. It's kinda surprising to hear that so few people have watched it, but listening to your recap makes me think, yeah maybe you have to be at a certain point in your life to fully appreciate it. 47 episodes of slow-paced drama is a big commitment and idk if I'd still have the patience nowadays to sit through all of that young naivete 😅 But at the time, it was so comforting to know that I'm not the only one going through that, and the characters, despite being a mess, were so well-portrayed too. Also, I adored the music and fashion~
The problem with Nana sleeping with Takumi was never 'being a slut' - she's allowed to sleep with anyone as long as they are of age and consent - it's more the hope and expectations she starts to connect with this one night stand. Despite knowing that Takumi doesn't love her and wanting nothing but to be loved just clashes horribly and while part of me keeps inwardly screaming at her to stop being stupid, her actions do make sense in a way. It's an easy get away from her troubles and she can still lie to herself about this being loved only to be hurt all the more afterwards. It's just painful to watch how basically every single character is emotionally self-mutilating in one way or another...
NANA is an absolute favorite of mine. Well done on the video, it was nice to hear someone talk about the series! The live action movies go a little further than the anime ever made it, but it ends in that same sort of heart-achy, never really getting to end, for real. I can recommend giving them a watch, though to expand the universe while truncating some of those slower moments. Both the anime and movies have their pros and cons. Meanwhile? If you want some more Ai Yazawa goodness, Paradise Kiss is also an excellent show, a lot shorter too at 12 episodes.
9:52 -Gyaru is not about racism. It's a whole subculture about going against what is considered mainstream beautiful - it was about finding oneself without the care of the pressure of older generations. Edit - they drew her fine for gyaru, dark skin, glowing shimmer makeup and bright fashion. It was the times for that. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
I love his channel, but the stronnnnnggggg American morales shine through so often and it sometimes comes around as - and I'm so sorry to say it - uneducated. Not knowing what gyaru is, is fine by itself, it's a style which is very much out of fashion, but was so damn huge! Funnily enough, it wasn't even imitating black culture or aesthetics, but California girls. I do know that because I'm 34 and was very much interested in Japanese fashion, but dawg, all that information is ONE click away?! That's page 1 Google knowledge 😅 Nothing about that is racist in the slightest, I'd even go as far as to say it's the opposite, because it specifically went against the notion that just fair skin is beautiful in Japan.
I wouldn’t say the mangaka has given up… just that her physical condition is incredibly bad even now. But she did say last year that she wants to finish it! And even opened an exhibition where she had new art for the first time in a WHILE… maybe I’m delulu but I’m optimistic that one day we’ll get the end
I was getting really into Japanese language and culture when I was in high school, and Nana was one of the most memorable animes I watched during that time. I even watched the live action films. And I'm still fluent in Japanese. :)
Outing myself here... but I've loved Nana since the launch of Shojo Beat magazine. I remember shipping Nana and Hachi forever. I looked forward to every chapter printed every month til they stopped printing it. I'd never found the anime or manga books and didn't realise until years later they'd even made one. I'm SO happy to see it back in print because I finally will be able to live my 15 year old self's dream of actually owning all of them. They were so ahead of their time and underappreciated.
The magic of this series is that all the characters feel so real. They either remind you of yourself or remind you of someone else you know. As a now 35 year old woman, I look at this series and the other women in my life and realise that in the end we all grow up to be either Nana or Hachi which is both beautiful and sad at the same time.
i gotta finish the series before i finish this video, but honestly Nana is so underrated. I love realistic, relatable and slow it is because its practically showing real time going by and the problems arent being sugar coated Edit: its said that the creator is slowly working on the manga again but i could be years til another volume considering her illness, honestly we can only hope
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so from what i know the author had to stop Nana because the person was ill and from what i heard was that she cant do manga ever again due to an illness. i dont know how much of that is true but thats what i remember. something similar with a manga/ light novel named kaze no stigma it was super popular in the mid 2000s but the the author died so the manga never finished. the manga industry is kind of cruel to its authors. Id even argue the manwha industry is even more cruel than the manga industry but thats a whole different topic and i think a topic that most people dont consider thinking about
Please do a video on the Kaijudo series, I would really appreciate it
😊❤
No thanks...
The time stamp to skip is wrong. It should be 24:03 and not 23:03
I support RUclipsrs™ getting the bag
I've loved Nana for ages now. It's surprisingly to see how little people know about it considering how influential and fashion forward it was.
The most underrated things are known by few people...😏😉🌌🌠
@@missstranger7697Uh, yeah, that’s how being underrated works. Wouldn’t be underrated if everyone knew about it and loved it.
I agree me as a teen dreamed of dressing like rocker Nana
I read it in Tokyo pop back in 2000-2002
I watched 2 episodes and was really bored by it. Maybe the manga is more interesting
The whole reason Nana doesn't want to get back together with Ren despite them still being very much in love isn't because she's worried about holding him back or living in his shadow- it's because she's scared that people find out she's dating a famous musician, that will propel Blast (her band) to fame, rather than their own talent. She wants to get famous 100% for her own skill and gumption, and dating Ren could muddy the waters. Her pride is her fatal flaw; it's not subtext, it's outright said. Repeatedly.
(Spoiler- that's exactly what ends up happening, and while they turn it around, people absolutely accuse her of being a slut who's just riding Ren's coattails.)
Yikes
Yeah, unfortunately very relatable.
Not only that actually, but also because while they are passionate about each other, their relationship became monotonous, neither of them opens up anymore and end up doing the "same stuff" like having sex and be together doing nothing, thats why Nana finds herself attracted to Yasu since he offers her something that Ren cannot provide.
They kind of promise to be better for each other but then, THAT happens.
Also I personall think she didn{t want him to drag her down since he was using ilgl substances.She loved him but he was losing himself
The manga never finished because the Mangaka got sick in 2009. She's still recovering but she DOES want to finish Nana, even if it's just telling the story a little bit at a time. Hopefully someday she'll be recovered enough to finish it.
Ooof, that's yet another mangaka who couldn't finish their manga because they got ill due to overwork
@@irondragonmaiden Nana is a Shojo, which in general has a slower release schedule than Shonen. For example, Nana ran for 9 years and has 80 chapters. In comparison The Promised Neverland ran for a lil under 4 years and has 181 chapters. We have no idea what her illness was or what the cause(if any) was, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions.
@@irondragonmaidenwho would the other be?
I saw something that said she had given up on continuing it actually. I think it was an Instagram post
Oh no what did she get sick with??
The amount of effort the studio put into adapting NANA is insane. Casting two actual artists, making actual amazing songs, for BLAST and Trapnest's music? The soundtrack alone makes watching NANA worth it
Too bad it's nothing like what's described in the original source. Sex Pistols and Distillers on top of all, before you ask.
I was obsessed with all Nana music
I love Nana but if you think no one watched Nana, Paradise Kiss is criminally underrated.
Omg YES! Nobody around me watched it, if I didn't have the manga volumes, I'd think Isabela was a fever dream
I actually came to Nana after watching Paradise Kiss! My father had picked up a random box of josei manga from a car boot sale because he knew I liked it and all 5 volumes of paradise kiss were in there...I fell in love with it. I see people in these comments saying nana was ahead of its time, but I think paradise kiss is even way ahead of nana
I gotta reread Paradise Kiss, I read it like 10 years ago and I remember liking it a lot
And Gokinjo Monogatari
Omg paradise kiss !!!!!! So good !! Real Fashion girls love it
I feel like the situation with Hachi being cheated on versus being the other girl are quite different.
Shouji and Hachi were both in their early 20's, while in Hachi's previous "relationship" she was a high-schooler being led on by an adult man.
Couldn’t agree more, a grown married man allowing himself to have an affair with a highschool girl is inappropriate and solely on him. Hachi was definitely groomed :(
I agree. I viewed that older man subplot as more of a tale of how the older man used Hachi's vulnerability (to be wanted and love) against her in a way, thereby grooming her.
I agree
@@juliamarie8406agreed, shoji was just a jerk and so disrespectful.
Yeah that was the thing that bothered me, it was a pretty big thing for them not to consider, she was literally a minor wanting to feel loved
Nana was an anime way ahead of it’s time. It’s completely amazing how the problems in the story still relate to people this day. I’m a guy and honestly Nana K’s problems were so relatable. Falling in love easily, Dealing with someone who cheated on you and so much more. Nana isn’t that happy go lucky romantic anime like the others. That what gives it so much appeal. I wish more anime was mature like this.
🤡
There are a lot of mature anime, but you need to make the effort to find them. Most mainstream anime are often works that are targeted to children and teens, that’s why they’re at the front. The mature anime you would look for are often underrated, popular as Naoki Urasawa’s Monster but not as popular as Naruto.
One easy way to find such anime is to just find the ones tagged as Seinen or Josei. Though for Josei, most of the works have plots that are more similar to TV romance dramas (and are often adapted as such), so do be careful in that territory, but there are mature ones too.
@@corycianangel6321 wait until you know that bocchi the rock, k-on and darling In the franxx are seinen lol
@@mysmallnoman I’m surprised that those are seinen. Then again, Azumanga Daioh is also seinen. But my point still stands that a lot of what’s considered mature anime are in the seinen and josei category.
@@corycianangel6321 well the word " mature " has no meaning because it can be abused ad nauseum lol
I'm sorry but Hachi sleeping with married man is not the same as Shoji cheating because she was a high school girl who got groomed by a grown man. It's not the same at all.
!!!
people justifying Shoji for cheating is really crazy
why do yall think a 17 year old is a baby who can't make decisions? she was aware he had a wife and yet chose to sleep with him. im not justifying his actions but it wasn't 100% his fault either. hachi made that decision to sleep with him.
@@armiiii0987 there was clearly a power imbalance also 17 years old is a child if you like it or not + he is 100% to blame as an adult he should’ve had rejected her
@@OdumaseI’m 17 I’m not a child lol just stop defending it
What do you mean no one watched it? It was basically a cultural phenomenon in Japan 🤧
not. to mention how popular it is rn o n social media......
Yes it even had games and a lot of merchandise
Hell, Olivia Lufkin owes the resurgence of her career to Nana, all her music was fantastic in the series
Clickbait
I was looking for this comment. it was so popular in japan and in a lot of countries in Asia. Two movies, tribute albums, concert, a lot of official merchandise. I am pretty sure everyone knows the song Glamorous Sky from Nana as it was composed by Hyde from L'Arc-en-Ciel, which was also one of the most popular Japanese bands at the time. The Nana movie also featured Mika Nakashima, who was already a well known singer in Japan. I think it did generate a lot of hype around Nana and a lot of people got into the anime from there too, it did very well at the box office.
I am from the UK so I did not have many friends who liked anime, but I do remember seeing a lot of people wearing Nana inspired outfits or cosplay back in the 2000s. Especially on Livejournal.
This title is very confusing to me. It’s such a highly recognized and beloved manga/anime. It was one of the “big names” back in the day, among with names like Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket, Naruto, DBZ, Black Butler, Soul Eater, and similar titles. And it seems these days it’s still talked about and more and more people are getting into it. It never was really niche, just not so much as an “starter anime.” I would compare it to Haruhi, where people these days don’t talk about it so much since it’s prime came and went but is definitely a household name.
They titled it like that so people would click on the video and disagree in the comments. Nana was huge.
That was back then, nana is little known nowadays. Ofc a lot of viewer and manga readers stopped watching and reading bc the author was sick and stopped writing so ofc now little to no one knows about it so really nana has already passed it’s peak sadily considering how good it is but I don’t think op meant anything bad lol.
the title is engagement bait
Many years ago I went to Otakuthon and it did make me happy to see people disguised as Nana Osaki and I even saw some Nana merch.
I'm going to say this without watching the video yet - Nana is vastly, extremely, infinitely more popular in the Spanish speaking community. It's very much the shojo equivalent to Saint Seiya lol.
this exactly everyone is hating Takumi but Nobu was just as toxic he just had the nice guy mask on
@@iria871 I think you may have replied on the wrong comment, but while Nobu had toxic traits - the entire cast did, Hachi included. That's what made them human. They make mistakes, and learn from said mistakes, growing as people do.
In the post series, Takumi, however, does not do the aforementioned. He's still a cheater, and he still questions if he even loves Hachi despite them being married, having kids, etc. I don't think he ever properly apologized or atoned for the s/a.
@@aquakit.133 yeah i was meant to reply above they all are human with backstories to explain why they are that way and to be fair neither Nobu ever apologized for his sexual assault towards hatchi
I think even in French community it's also quite popular from what i have seen from the few NANA fan accounts i follow
yes i agree lol i am native spanish speaker and watched nana years ago like i was 14 or sometthing i make that anime my personalty still happy the anime got spotlight hopfully it get continued now :)
Even more underrated are the live action movies of Nana.
Also the author of Nana was fighting for her life when the manga stopped I don't blame her for choosing her own health over the books.
First live action movie was great, second one was kinda meh.
@@MechanicalPencilGirl how did i not know there was a second one? I gotta go watch that even if it's not great lol
I was lucky to go to the Ai Yazawa (mangaka of Nana) exhibit in Yokohama. She created a few new pieces for the exhibit, featuring Nana. At the end of the exhibit there was a handwritten letter that said how surprised and thankful she was that after all these years people still loved the series so much. A lot of people thought she would announce the end of her hiatus but sadly she did not…
Nana was hugely popular in Europe, specially in French speaking countries. The most popular shoujo of it's time. I don't know what the title is on about.
Now that you mention it it totally gives french vibes
Pretty obvious to me that this video is by an American, it’s certainly less popular here. Not sure why that’s challenging to grasp
@@maddieb.4282 I know that and that's the issue, right there. Your obvious comment seems to indicate that you are just projecting on to others. The point is the world is not the USA so if you mean the USA says the USA. If you don't specify a country it makes your statement worldwide regardless of your own nationality. The USA doesn't get soecial treatment for any reason whatsoever,it's the world wide web not the "American internet".
Dude same, I was so confused! I’m Italian and it was THE anime I think until Death Note took over everything
@@notsobrighty Exactly it was Nana and Death Note the two rulers of anime and manga.
I'm glad I waited until now to watch this anime because I'm going through similar things that NANA's characters did. As a person in my early 20's, these characters' actions and reactions felt so realistic. It was so scary but made me feel better in a strange, relatable sort of way.
It's good to watch it around 16+ bcs either your learning about it or your going through it then watch it again late 20s and 30s and see if you've grown (I try to watch it at least once a year or so to see if it learned anything or can recognize my toxic traits I am currently 30 ) solo defo a good thing to keep watching and trying to relate too
Edit : I just got to the part that they recommended the same thing
This anime accompanied me all the way through college and there's nothing weird about it: it's two drastically different women finding their way through life and figuring it out together even when apart. A lot mistakes they made I made, my family and friends made. It's very very good. In my thirties, I still feel nostalgic when I see the title popping up on Netflix.
Omg sameee i cried watching nana cause somehow i understand hachi despite her wrong decisions
@@Strawberry_Angelicthat’s what I did. Watched it in high school, my early 20s and again now in my late 20s. I’ve definitely gone through similar things as both nanas especially what happen to ren. This series has really helped me through life as a young woman
I watched this show this week for the first time in my late 20s. Man, the characters are so real, broken, humans just trying their best, making mistakes and going through life. It hit me hard... seeing mistakes, sentiments, fears I had when I was 20 in this show....I wonder if I would have made different choices if I had seen this show back then.
Well, no sense in worrying about it! I rather like where my life is/is heading today, but man I just finished the series today and I'm still reeling 😅
I LOVED Nana when I was 14/15. I watched the entire series and cried several times. When Hatchi picked Takumi, I could understand because he could provide a better life for her child, but only at the cost of her happiness. I remember being so angry at that. I had so many feelings watching that anime. Still is one of my all time favorites. Also, Hatchi is called Hatchi because of the dog, but it also means 8 in Japanese while Nana means 7, so it was kind of a dual joke.
Nana is one of my biggest sources of pain. I love that story so much, and the manga will never end 😭 I also adore Paradise Kiss, by the same author, at least that one is finished
The thing about Hachi and Takumi is that at the beginning she knew this was going to be just a one night stand and she was ready to move on with her life. However, he did what she didn't expect which was contacting her, like you said he gave her hope and also, later, he made her feel bad for him because "nobody could deal with him working so much and he was lonely" so of course she would want to show him she was different. Now she ended up stock in this toxic relationship even more, that trapped her more since she is pregnant and needed help. She has a lot of problems saying no and I think she also feel guilty for choosing Takumi so she think she is not allowed to even complain about anything even if he make her feel horrible. I feel sorry buy also mad that people tend to hate her because being stuck in unhealthy relationships can happen to anyone and even more when there is a baby in the picture.
Also she kinda feels no other man could ever love her and accept her like Takumi. Shoji and Junko hated the needy and dependant aspect of her personality, but Takumi doesn't even if it's to make his ego greater.
@@DanGabriellehonestly junko was giving her terrible advice at times and may or may not have gaslit her multiple times. Idk why i just never liked their friendship at all. It felt disingenuous
nana is timeless. the dynamics and characters it portrays will forever be relevant. i think one of the best parts of nana is what you can tell about a person based on their opinion of hachi. with that being said i absolutely adore hachi.
Yeah honestly anyone who hates Hachi is not someone I'd wanna be pals with.
@@mippabut she’s a cheater? 😐
@@Petrichorus- If you're talking about the first guy, I'd say that doesn't count. She was a teenage girl with an eating disorder and the older man took advantage of her insecurities. It doesn't mean it was right but she wasn't in the wrong in THAT particular situation.
@Petrichorus- as someone who used to hate Hatchi - she's someone who never worked through her issues herself, and kept looking for someone to make things better. I'd say her first relationship is the biggest of those issues, she was taken advantage of by an adult, and that has an effect on her future relationships. While she has supportive friends, they never have enough knowledge (that it happened) or experience to support her through being preyed on as a teen.
Hatchi makes a ton of bad choices, but the show is good at laying the groundwork as to why, and why she struggles to make better choices even when she knows she should. I'm mostly sad for her now. I'm sad for those she hurt as well, but Hatchi's struggles are important too.
@@imajellyfishbish2640 oh if he was an adult f him, but I thought she cheated in multiple relationships? I’m not a hater bc i don’t care enough but I’m not going to like someone who hurts others instead of working on themselves. I don’t have a lot of patience for people/characters with low emotional intelligence.
i think the comphet lesbian reading of nana is the most heartbreaking.. i read it when i was 15 and in the closet and both nana and hachi were so much like me and i couldn’t really place why. now that im an adult, it’s clear to me that they were both in love with each other but their social conditioning and relationships with men got in the way. a lot of times they were so close to realizing it, only for some guy to step between them. nana could very well be bi, but hachi is clearly a lesbian. just. she likes feminine men with long hair. she likes unattainable men. she daydreams about what having sex with a woman is like. she gets jealous of misato when nana pays attention to her.. so many things that straight women just don’t do in tandem like that. i could never really be mad at hachi for her choices because i really understood where she was coming from.. she was confused and just trying to be what society wants her to be.. a mother and a homemaker, a housewife.
AGREE
I started shipping them from ep1. Such a shame they didn't end up together but at least I can imagine them being a couple and living happily ever after❤
hard agree
This is why I didn't end up watching. They looked so cute tg in everything I saw online and knowing they don't end up together would make me too sad to watch 😭
Definitely agree, but honestly I kind of love the portrayal of it?? Because it's SO real. The amount of times that REALLY happens, where a love doesn't even start in the same way it could've even- but having a closeness that otherwise wouldn't have been the same. It's real, it's raw, it's heartbreaking. I can FEEL the pain from both of them when both Nana's aren't with each other MORE than when any of the guys leave their lives.
“She only likes feminine men because she’s *******” crazy how you’re not getting any hate for saying this but if you say the same thing about masculine women people will attack you 😂
I'm honestly so surprised noone seems to know about this manga/anime nowadays. I remember getting into anime in 2013 and it was highly recommended back then so I watched it. It's honestly one of the most mature stories I have encountered in this medium. Not to mention the aesthetic of it is GORGEOUS (the author in general has a great style looking at Paradise Kiss). Also can we talk about the MUSIC in the anime??? The casting of Anna Tsuchiya as the rockstar Nana was *chef's kiss*. Recently I saw some of the MVs promoting the anime were reuploaded again officially so maybe Nana will go through some Renaissance.
And Olivia Lufkin served as a model for Reira
I knew about it but I wasn’t interested in watching/reading it 🤷🏻♀️
I found Nana in my early 20's and it spoke to me SO MUCH. My experiences about finding out who i was alongside a friend were so relatable.
Okay so, about Hachi's sister: the racism in Japan _is_ a problem, but she doesn't have anything to do about it. What she's "wearing" is a fashion style born and dead in the early 2000 named Ganguro (Gyaru could have taken some inspo, but it didn't exist back then). As much as I understand Americans be taken aback by the look of it, the origins of it are 100% japanese and not only that, it was meant to be political fashion. I ask you: how do you imagine a Japanese woman to be? Fair skinned, right? And with black hair, no makeup, dressed modestly and with a submissive personality. Ganguro said a big "F u!" to all of that, it was a way for women to break the tiny stereotype they should fit in because it's "government appropriate" and "every japanese should look like this" (they are so obsessed with being all alike, god forbid a Japanese kid born with brown or curly hair) so they are tanned, exaggerated in makeup and manners, wearing the most immodest clothing etc. to be as far away from that. The thought of black people never crossed anyone's mind when this was a thing, rest assured.
They show their racism in other ways, like classic ostracization and Gaijin seating.
Not necessarily an issue with "I hate xyz" type racism, but its common for people of color to get kind of tired as dark skin being used "counter culture" and "anti feminine" when it's just some people's default skin color. Getting a tan is obviously something different imo, but for the ganguro who do paint themselves literally dark brown with makeup, it won't ever be a comfy topic for some people even if "blackface" is not the intention of it.
@@Mormollio idk if you can call it anti feminine since it was used to say "I am a beautiful woman despite not fitting into your beauty standards", also where did you hear it's paint and not tan? It covers the whole body, so I really don't think it's paint, at least I never heard of Ganguro painting themselves instead of tanning. Ohaguro was painted, but that's another thing. I understand if people of color aren't comfortable with it, but it has nothing to do with them and try to condemn another minority for something that wasn't meant for them doesn't feel right. Almost no one knows Blackface outside the states, because of lack of explanation in history books (here in Italy they explain slaves, blues and jazz but somehow not the Ministel show, idk why) and because it was a depiction of racism pretty much confined in the Americas.
Right, in Denmark we called this tanned trend “Sminkedukke”. It was a trend in Scandinavia too, and even boys did it too, called Pop Drenge.
I'm so glad someone came to explain ganguro better. It was a political fashion that was popular when I was a teenager and I don't know how true this is but I remember hearing at the time that it also had a bit of an anti-American meaning too. I don't think American's will ever understand just how invasive their culture can be. I remember reading that a lot of girls at the time were sick of the endless American beauty standards that Japan kept putting on teenage girls (there was a lot of surgery at the time to change nose and eye shapes). So I heard that a lot of the ganguro gals were like "oh, you want American beauty standards? Like this?!" And then proceeded to sort of do an extreme caricature of the "Paris Hilton" look that was so popular at the time. A kind of commentary on go big or go home if you will. I could be misinformed, but that's what we were told in the fashion communities here in Australia that were following Japanese based fashions at the time.
Honestly, I feel like it's pretty hypocritical for Americans to hold other cultures to their own limited standards - which were influenced by their own limited history - while simultaneously screaming about respecting/preserving varied cultures/"diversity." I guess in their view, it's only worth respecting when the origin is American...
'm definitely becoming a reply guy exclusively for videos about Nana, but the fact that's even possible makes me really happy.
FYI, the manga didn't finish because Ai Yazawa began experiencing severe health problems in 2009, and has struggled for much of the last 15 years. She's been doing better lately, which is great to hear, but it's been a long time and the fate of the series remains up in the air. There is more content in the manga about Nana's life after Hachi moves out, and a time-jump that I'm guessing inspired the show's ending, although in the case of the manga it's for the purpose of resolving the many conflicts left unresolved in the first part. Who we are and what we go through in our 20s impacts us for the rest of our adult lives in the same way our childhoods do, and I really hope that someday we can see the conclusion.
A couple notes on contemporary japanese beauty standards and gyaru. I am neither Japanese nor black, merely someone who was really interested in Japanese fashion subcultures when this show was made. I definitely wouldn't say that Japanese culture is devoid of racism in general or antiblackness in specific, and gyaru is tied up in that, just not in the way the an American might think. Traditional Japanese beauty standards emphasize pale skin, straight black hair, "delicate" facial features, and perhaps most importantly modesty and conformity, and much like the US this is very much tied up with race and class. Just to use an example from Nana, Junko, while beautiful and charismatic is tall, swarthy, with curly hair and strong features. I think she might actually be canonically be mixed, and that's definitely how her appearance reads sometimes. But because she never fit into the kind of ideal Hachi aspires to in the first place, she's able to establish her own identity outside of it and get comfortable with herself on her own terms far earlier: there's even a neat detail in the flashbacks to high school in that she's straightening her hair, when she gets into college she starts wearing it naturally, and even gets dreads later on. In a series so fixated on how personal presentation and fashion relates to identity, that's no accident.
Darker skin is looked down upon not just because it doesn't conform to beauty standards, but because of it's association with working class people as well as ethnic and racial minorities. Reading manga from the 60s well into the early 2000s can be really painful because of that, and a lot of earlier works make it very clear those drawing them knew what they were doing and what that meant.
Anyway, the tanning craze of the 70s did not go over as well in Japan. But just like everywhere else, young women were getting sick and tired of being told how to look, act, and what to wear. Gyaru was always meant to be shocking: in opposition to taboos about hair dye and styling, Gyaru bleached their hair half to death, teasing it into beehives or curling it. They embraced then-contemporary American fashion to a cartoonish extent, and rejected modesty in favor of hyper-femininity and rebelled against conformity by sticking out and using fashion as a means of personal expression. The closest thing in the west I can think of is the bimbo culture of the last few years, and even then it's definitely not 1 to 1z
And of course, there's the darker skin. Gyaru was a really diverse subculture that lasted for decades, so that can range from simply being tan to stuff that well... it looks like black face. It doesn't come from the same cultural context as in the US, but it's impossible not to see it. This, combined with the history of racist caricatures in manga, resulted in even the most well-meaning mangaka depicting gyaru's in a way that can be pretty horrifying to look at in 2023. I don't think I can tell anyone how to feel about that. It's uncomfortable to say the least, but that's the context anyway. There's plenty of books on the topic, as well as essays, podcasts, and youtube videos from a wide variety of perspectives on the topic if you wanna know more or get someone else's take on it.
Wow. Thank you for sharing this
Thank you so much for this comment! 🫶
This mangas hiatus has killed me. I remember a few years ago she drew new Nana images for some promo and we all felt hope that maybe it would return but nope here we are.
The author has an autoimmune disease that hurts when she's moving. So unfortunately, the manga will never be completed.
@@queenofpents3442Actually Ai said it will continue nana while her health is getting better little by little which means it could be a year or two from now when she release the next nana. But she did say she will finish nana at her exhibit she did for Nana.
I also have to say that as much as I love the soundtrack for the anime, I think reading the manga is the definitive way to experience the series. The anime kind of only covers half of what was actually finished IIRC and there's a bunch of bonus content, like side stories for Nobu and Takumi (and Naoki, the Ringo of Trapnest) that flesh out the world and characters a lot more than the anime ever does. Takumi's backstory in particular always stuck with me, like obviously the guy is a tremendous tool but his decision to do "the right thing" by marrying Hachi makes way more sense when you know how he came up. I always wished they'd adapted those side stories as specials for the anime but they never did
I put on the nana instrumental score/soundtrack whILE I read the manga for peak experience 🤭
I read Nana and Paradise Kiss when I was a teenager. The art style and fashion were what reeled me in initially. Hachiko was very relatable initially and frustrating to me as a teen, and something about Nana K captivates me. Back then I didn't understand all the back and forth Nana K and Ren were doing when they said they loved each other. But going into adulthood, I understand Nana O wanting to be her own person, having her own identity, direction in life, and career, and not compromising all that just because she loved him. They were the ultimate power couple for me back then. As opposed to Takumi and Hachiko. This still pisses me off today.
I think you got your Nanas backwards - Nana K is the one with Takumi, Nana O is the musician
@@Partylegs666 thanks for pointing that out! Didn’t realised it when I was typing initially
I lived in Tokyo when this manga and anime was at peak popularity. I saw the first film in theaters and got to be an extra in the second film! There are TONS of us fans out there...we're just quiet because there's not much to say about it right now other than...well, still hoping for that manga conclusion...
One of the most realistic things that hurt the most in NANA was when [SPOILERS] towards the end of the anime, months after Shoji cheated on her, Hachi realized that she didn't just lose her boyfriend when they broke up--she also lost a very good friend, and it was still painful. It's what happens when you're truly friends with the person you were in a relationship with.
That scene was one of my favorites. I was waiting the whole time for the two of them to have a conversation after the breakup and we finally got it at the end. Hearing her say the words "I took him for granted" was like, Finally! She gets it!
Everybody hates on Shoji for cheating, but it's not like he fell in love with someone else on purpose. He was prepared to go all the way with Hachi, but their relationship was on the rocks due to life circumstances combined with Hachi being kinda selfish.
Of course, in a perfect world, Shoji should have broken it off with Hachi sooner, so he's kinda of a jerk for that, but... their relationship seemed to be fading even before Sachiko. I dunno, it just doesn't feel right to put all the blame on Shoji.
@@HarryTenders no, no shoji deserves all the blame. i don’t know if you know anything about loving someone or relationships but if you truly loved someone, you’d wait for them.
you’re right, Hachi was selfish in the beginning. she was very self-centered and made it seem like everything was just about her problems. she was also bad at communication. but Shoji told her to find her independence, and that’s what she was trying to do. even if it did cause a noticeable distance in their relationship, it was Shoji’s fault that it failed. he didn’t even try to wait for her, his broke jobless girlfriend, to settle. he didn’t try to reach out to her and communicate with her. in fact, i don’t even think he liked Hachi. he liked the idea of her.
so Shoji definitely deserves all the blame. please don’t try to turn the tables. if he had actually made an effort to fix things, MAYBE it would have been different. MAYBE what you said might’ve been somewhat true. but he didn’t. so stfu!
@@wispyfae you admit Hachi was selfish and also bad at communicating, and yet your conclusion is still, Shoji is 100% at fault for the relationship going south?
Sorry but no. I stand by everything I said.
@@HarryTenders
he should’ve opened up his mouth and said something or JUST LEFT HER if he had a problem with it. and Hachi was clearly trying to change too. he chose to stay and ruin the relationship. that’s most definitely all on him. the fact that you’re this slow is embarrassing.
@@wispyfae yeah I already said he's a jerk for not breaking it off with Hachi before getting with Sachiko---did you miss that part? I am simply making the observation that their relationship breaking down and ultimately not working out was the result of many factors. No one is disputing Shoji's cheating at the end being a negative thing he shouldn't have done, but let's not pretend Hachi was a perfect angel the whole time in the relationship either. She absolutely takes him for granted, and I'm glad the story acknowledges this fact.
Also, your claim that Shoji doesn't even like Hachi is ridiculous---the dude spent months being her friend before they ever started going out.
NANA WAS HUGE! What do you mean? NANA was a major staple in the shojo community because it talked about rebellion, fashion, pregnancy, sex, abuse, toxicity and relationships. You can see the impact of the art and story in other shojo series following NANA. It was the cool edgy, grown up manga that teenage girls loved and thus makes it legendary. Its more josei (younger women, then for little girls). The manga goes in far more detail than the anime, and dig deeper in Nana and Hachi's insecurities. The friendship in Nana is genuine and really heartwarming as all the charcaters actually care about each other. That is also what made it popular as well as the cool music. I'm still biased toward the older shojo series and Nana was one of the series that paved the way toward shojo/josei romance.
What age ?
gyaru/gal also isn't only dark tans, it's a very broad umbrella of various styles. the more problematic sub styles have moved past their more troublesome elements over the years.
anime has it's own genre of gyaru/gal which is only a shadow of what they actually are i assume. (I've never been into gyaru myself but always enjoyed it from the outside)
NANA is actually peak fiction. One of the top best shows in general. Drama, psychological, and just amazing writing for characters and all else in it. Actual masterpiece writing.
I remember the first time i watched NANA i felt physically sick at the poor choices from the main characters. For the longest time i hated the show because is was so frustrating to watch. But i eventually came around on it because its rare for any type of show, let alone an anime, to be able to illicit that type of response. Its absolutely a fantastic show that i would recommend anyone check out. Thank you for the great video breaking this show down! Someone needs to preach this show to today's anime fans!😂
Omg, i was actually very uncomfortable with the anime at first but after I pushed myself to complete it, i dont regret watching it one bit. I was getting so uncomfortable with the illicit scenes (for some reason im not a fan of such scenes) but I realised that this is how life treats you if you make choices as such. The reason why I was afraid to watch it again was because it felt too real. I love it so much now because of how realistic it felt and the fact that I could understand each characters decision (takumi is an ass so I don't really like him. In a way, i understood how hachi was manipulated by him)
*Ganguro and Yamanba Girls:* Express them selves with an aesthetic that is partially a counterculture and protest against traditional Japanese society and partially inspired by classical Japanese folklore, as well as an attempt at individuality, self-expression, and freedom, in open defiance of Japanese school standards and regulations.
*Americans:* "And i took that personally"
Also, all the men suck in Nana. Save for Yasu, Shin, and maybe that one blonde guy from Trapnest. It isn’t as bad in the anime, but in the manga Ren is nearly just as bad and controlling as Takumi. And Nobuo is a horrible boyfriend to both Hachiko and his other girlfriend, Asami. Nobuo quite literally forces a kiss on Hachiko WHILE HE'S DATING ASAMI and while Hachiko is pregnant. And then yells at Hachiko when she pushes him away.
nah the blond from trapnest also sucks in his backstory in the manga junko's boyfriend is the most stable of them all
@marialaskarh9628 damn your right I forgot kyosuke
Don't forget about Shoji who cheated on Hachi, because he didn't want to feel responsible for her.
A bit of a correction, Hachi did not "Helped" married men cheat. It was one man, Asano, and he was a 30 something years old guy dating her when she was around 15-17 So it wasnt like a real relationship, the dude groomed her. She was aware that he was a married man but she was convinced that what she felt was love. And that he loved her.
Its kind of messed up that you overlooked that fact, because people judger her with no taking the age gap into account. She was a child being manipulated by a grown man into a relationship.
Genuinely I've loved Nana since the mid 2010s when I found it. And I love seeing that it's getting talked about more again because it's such a great series that I wished more of my friends watched.
Since I'm older, I watched this anime and read the manga in translation (still have the full run) while it was still being published (I'm an Ai Yazawa fan since I watched the Monogatari anime as a child, I read and watched Paradise Kiss too), so the "nobody watched it" weirded me out, since Nana was extremely popular at the time, almost considered "basic". The author stopped working due to mental and physical health reasons, and you can see it in the story while it gets darker and more depressing chapter after chapter, so it's a given that she doesn't want to touch it anymore. It's a pity because her art was incredible, her men were... debatable, but the stories fizzled out and were too bleak to follow. I think that the toxicity of her characters and the fact that it never finished determined its current downfall.
Also, Japanese culture is very xenophobic (as you can see with the character of Reira, who is half Japanese and half British or American, and has to keep it a secret from the public, as it would have been a huge scandal). The gyaru movement was one of the many alt cultures that rebelled against Japanese traditional aesthetic, with women having to be modest, demure and as pale as possible. Colorism is very prominent in Japanese culture (going as far as people shunning and bullying people with darker skin tones, which naturally occurs in many people anyway). Gyaru girls rebelled against this by going completely the other way, seeking the darkest tan possible, with the flashiest and sluttiest makeup and clothes they could find, so... Maybe people shouldn't judge alt cultures from other countries with the lens of their own culture before doing some research. Racism, colorism and xenophobia are very real issues everywhere, but the world is way bigger and with different implications and coping mechanisms than just the US.
It weirded me out too.
This was the *hot* anime when I was in college. *All* my friends and classmates binge this show on pirate sites.
Yeah, this video doesn’t even begin to cover how bleak the manga gets toward the end. Completely understand the author’s lack of interest in returning to it. But it’s a classic all the same!
To
I don’t think op meant anything bad it’s just that nowadays only a tiny bit of people know about it
21:02 Maybe this is an issue with people who only watch the anime, but it is VERY hard to feel sympathy for Nobuo in the manga. He literally SA's Hachiko. He deserves nothing.
this exactly everyone is hating Takumi but Nobu was just as toxic he just had the nice guy mask on
I did not know that at all 😭
Agreed, both men are ick in their own ways.
ME WHO NEVER READ THE MANGA I did not know he SA'ed her in the manga.
When tho? I read the manga a looong time ago and don't remember that part 🤯
Watching Nana during my formative years (age 12 lol) really changed my brain in such a way, I don't even know how to describe it. It's def influenced my interactions with fashion, and was a part of the foundation upon which I interacted with gender and sexuality in the future.
Forever obsessed with this story
At 12??? Weren’t you too young to watch this? You were still a minor
@@FoundSheep-AN I was! Unfortunately I had little to no adult supervision over my Internet access due to Reasons and it's def affected me in not-so-great ways. Worked through those, though, and I'm getting better :]
I would Not let my kid siblings watch this though, ngl.
Pro Life Tip For Parents: make sure you know if your kids are accessing age-inappropriate things.
This anime was ahead of its time in the way it talked about adult life and relationships
PLEASE do a video about the manga! You won’t be disappointed! (well besides the fact it’s basically on a cliff hanger and you know the hiatus..) Hachi’s daughter is actually her second child! She has a son named “Ren” and he’s blond (implying he’s Nobu’s son!) and her daughter is a child she has with Takumi
What??? So the first one is Nobu’ s child?
I love Nana, Nana saved and destroyed me in so many ways. Thanks for this video
It’s funny how, at the end of the video, you reflected exactly the same sentiments people had discussing Nana back in 2009. Many forums were full of comments talking about how the series had “fallen off” and stretched too much. I feel like it’s one of those series where it would have been impossible to have an ending, let alone one that appeased the readers.
I think what kinda killed Nana is that the story is not finished. A lot of people do not start shows that dont have an ending, I am one of them. I adore NANA but if I knew when i started watching it that the story is never gonna get finished, I d have probably avoided it.
I was absolutely OBSESSED with Nana back in the day. It was one of the few mangas my local library had, and I would re-read it on repeat. I've watched both the anime and the live action and I loved listening to the songs that were part of the soundtrack (of course a story centered around bands would have some incredible soundtracks). It always broke my heart, the way the story is left off, but I think in a way, the fact that it doesn't really have an ending is what has made it linger in my mind even until now. It's a story that feels real in the most bittersweet way possible.
call me nobody bc I watch TF out of Nana. It’s probably my favorite anime ever. It needs more love, even though we’re probably never getting an ending 🥲
It was incredibly popular in Italy, most hyped out of all the MTV Anime Night lineup, was it really not that popular in English speaking countries?
I’m an American and just barely discovered the show because I saw it on an Instagram post and decided to buy the Blu-Ray . I searched into the shows release. It looks like it never aired on a popular American television channel. You only knew of it if you were active on social media and had a Funimation account. I was kinda poor at the time and didn’t have consistent access to the internet. I’m glad I found it though! I just finished the series last night and loved it.
I actually legitmately want to see you cover the manga material, because so many things happen after that cut to the future, because around the time of Hachi marrying takumi they do flashfowards to the future during every chapter that lay down a lot of events that essentially imply Nana is dead or has changed her identity and left their lives
I love Nana, Ai Yazawa's work, and even Anna Tsuchiya and Olivia Lufkin who were the musicians behind the songs of both Black Stones and Trapnest respectively, I literally had their music on my iPod, and it is true as someone entering college in 2010 and finally mingling with many different people and learning to open up and cope with my own feelings and the difficulties of relationships this anime really talked to me, yeah the end was abrupt and it was a slow burn, it literally took me a year to watch it, sadly I haven't seen any new anime just being this honest and grounded in terms of relationships, I want to see something that feels authentic over the nth isekai mmorpg haren romcom.
Sadly it is weird to know very few people watched this anime, I feel my sister is doing the job to watch for those who haven't because she watches it every year, I am not someone to bing watch so much, gladly there is Paradise Kiss, and I feel Parakiss is completely underrated as well, and it's short just 12 episodes so people can definitely watch it in a single sitting, love that show as well, and if I had a nickel for every time Franz Ferdinand had a song in an anime I love, I would've 2 nickels, which is not much, but it is weird it had happen twice.
BTW, what was that goofy ahh 4kids dub you used, eugh
Why's that dub so hated?
Their voices really fit the characters!!
20:45 me too, but you know what is the worse? everything he do goes good for him, he never pays the consequences of his acts, i love this history but Takumi is so repellent for me
i feel that in the end he did face consequences his wife has left him and he is trapped taking care of reira
Literally i hate him so much he caused all these problems to happen 😭💀
I remember some people defending all his actions in the past, probably not many, but made me avoid the fandom overall...
I enjoyed the anime, but the manga is among my favorites! Multiple characters are given WAY more depth and detail to them! The anime stretched many aspects of the story out, but cut out so much too. The current ending of the manga also felt way more like and ending unlike the anime. Read the manga if you can!
The manga went on hiatus because the creator, Ai Yazawa got sick, but occasionally says she is getting better and still plans to finish it one day. Last time I'd heard about her saying this was last year. She says she has the ending and everything planned out, but she just felt to sick to finish it. I really hope she is doing better! She seems very passionate about finishing NANA. If she doesn't feel well enough to draw, I wish she could get people to help her finish it so she doesn't push her self too hard!
Not only is the message good but the art in NANA is so beautiful! That's why I started watching it. Really want to watch it again now. Thank you for the vod. Hope you take care. 💜🍵
I remember when Nana was first being published in ShojoBeat's magazine in the U.S. and every time a new issue came I was to a video rental store in my town that sold them. Yeah, that's how long this series has affected people. My favorite josei series ever. Love all Ai Yazawa projects.
Where it left off in the manga was so different, it would be so good if you done a short vid on this because wow... poor nana
omg yes please more youtubers need to talk about this anime! Nana has had me in a chokehold since high school in the 2010s and I have always used it as some form of guidance in my 20s lol. I love this anime so much, literally have it as my background on my phone lol. Nana was the best slice of life anime I've ever seen and I just hope ai yazawa will one day finish the manga or train someone to finish it for her.
I recommend looking into paradise kiss, its the same author as nana but its very special to me
its also technically a continuation of Neighborhood Story
Nana was terrible to watch/read at the time I did. It was an emotionally devastating story. I still have flashbacks to her critical plot moments, especially when I have my own horrible heartbreaks. I hate Nana but she’s a part of me 😭
It feels dirty that Hachi stayed with Takumi. Dude just felt like the worse of all of them, especially after THAT scene. Maybe that's the point, but it just feels bad.
i feel sad that hachi has to live with a man like him.
@@holacomooduh Same here to be honest. Nobu was obviously a better partner for Hachi and she knew that, but Takumi manipulated her by guilting her to stay with him.
Nana was more mature, but her relationship with Ren was also toxic, since he was pressuring her to do things she didn't want and she just wanted to be independent. At least she got away from that situation.
@@missstranger7697 Nobu was decent until you read the manga and then suddenly he's not great either.
Ren was weird imo, the only man I found good was Yasu. He seemed like the only one with a good head.
I remember watching it back in 2006 and for some reason thought that Nana had died and it was Hachi doing the monologue as like a diary entry talking to Nana.
My R lock necklace is from Nana. The same necklace that Nana gave to Ren. My fiancé gave me this necklace. We watched the entire series together and it’s amazing. She has the entire manga collection.
I'm surprised this anime is so loved. I feel scarred by it even years after watching it. I felt the emotions of the characters too much. And the way it ended off was like oh okay, so everyone just settled for something and they're pretending to be okay. Idk, I would never want to rewatch it and put myself through that again 😅
i watched it in university it broke me , its killing me we will never know the ending 😭
Nana, Paradise Kiss, Neighborhood Story, and Lovely Complex guys. PLEASE RECOMMEND ME THINGS LIKE NANA!
I remember loving watching Nana when it came onto US Netflix years ago. I really want to re-watch it now that I'm a bit older!
When was it on Netflix?
@@emeraldpiece It was years ago, in the mid-2010s. I tried googling it and saw a Reddit post about it from 2015, so probably that year?
accidentally getting pregnant isn’t stupid because birth control or condoms can still fail
I loved Nana ❤️ even though some of the moments especially when Takumi appeared stressed me out 😂. It’s one of my favourite shojo’s and I love the fashion and how the issues in the anime still apply today. I hope we get more romance animes or mangas like this and I really wish it wasn’t on hiatus 💔😭 also the tan on Hachi’s sister really caught me off guard 💀 I understand things were different back then and that it was a depiction of garu culture but they didn’t need to make her tan look like blackface 💀
Yeah she's a manba gyaru if I'm not wrong. It's just that greyish black shade to show a tan is definitely a choice
@@tarotsushima3332 oh ok, I wasn’t aware x
GOSH FINALLY
its been a week since i started nana and its literally amazing. I dont really like anime revolve around romance but Nana is something else. And yes its really inspiring💫💫💫 thanks for talking about this series.
YES thank you, finally more talk about this anime
You should do a video on the manga because there's way more material, way more questions and theories to analyze, and it's a wild ride. The manga basically has two timelines that you try to piece together, with the ending of the anime being a sneak peek of that.
loved nana so much. Didn't think i'd love it so much. I love how realistic every character was and how I could relate to it so much
I watched NANA, and I loved it😭 I recently rewatched it and it is still so great! I wish the creator was able to finish the manga but it is what it is, and it's still a beautiful piece of art.
NANA was the Anime that got me and my bestie into Anime. My nickname is still Hachi to this day. So sad not that many people ever saw it
That's super cute. I watched NANA too. 🖐️
I watched Nana for the first time last year. and then read the manga IMMEDIATLY after. I sobbed on and off for a few days. And just felt messed up mentally for a few weeks. I loved it for the story and characters and hated it for how much it hurt me.
Huh, who's nobody?? Maybe the youngsters haven't watched 😂.
Nana was talked about and watched widely when it originally came out. Especially the manga, it was one of the reasons why Shoujo Beat was so popular (in the US).
As a teenager when Nana first came out. Every otaku friend I had at the time, read the manga and watched the anime. My generation knew about it and I remember it being so popular at one point that the manga sales beat One Piece at one point. Then gradually it faded and was forgotten 😢
This series is still one of my favorites and I hope we can one day get a proper ending in whatever format the mangaka chooses.
The manga is way longer time-wise and it gives some other snippets from the future. However, we don't get all the answers we need, and there are even more mysteries at play, with a potential massive turn of events.
If you have a read at the others mangas created by the same mangaka, you can see there's a pattern of constructing mysteries, and twisting outcomes which makes her artwork really really interesting.
I remember reading a manga made by her about a ghost girl. Really really good story! I also absolutely love her drawing style.
I hope you will give it a go.
8:58 That girl did the reverse-double-MJ its an immaculate, very rare move, rarely seen in media. It's truly marvelous and a sight to see. 10/10 form too.
Omg i remember watching this!!! Thanks for giving me the nostalgia kick
Love this video! I watched nana for the first time at 21 and at 28 I just recently rewatched it and cried because in just those short years, my life has changed VASTLY and I think Nana does a great job in showcasing that life is phases and it takes work to keep the people that you want close to you through those phases. My younger sister is 20 and I’m gonna ask her to watch this show because honestly its just great at helping with overall introspection in a young persons life. Also, the ending of the anime does in fact follow the manga to a T! The manga jumps from future to past for a while so they just decided to end it when that point started.😊
Honestly, I really hope new chapters come out or they make a season 2 because the manga goes on and the story gets even better!
I remember watching this show when I was around 20 and I really enjoyed Nana. It always made me feel all sorts of emotions and I really loved the characters. However, as the show got into it's last few episodes I began to get really annoyed with all the manufactured drama (some of the drama was good and made sense story wise but there was some of it that just felt completely unnecessary ) I remember being really annoyed that Hachi was constantly crying about seeing Nobu and making him feel a type of way even though she already made her choice... I understand the emotional end of it but the character of Hachi just started to annoy me and so did Nana... Like once things came to a head the plot just started sliding and the ending.... Oh my god the ending, I literally sat up and was like, "That's all we get??? What happened? Did Nana die why aren't they friends?!" Like in the last scene of the anime they were talking and while things seemed to have an air of disagreement in how things played out they never flat out hated the other.
I do recommend this show but damn if it didn't annoy me at times and left me yelling at the screen sometimes. I might return to it now that I'm a bit older maybe my perception has changed. I think it's an important anime to watch as it talks about and showcases how much we as people can get caught up in toxic or codependent relationships before we even realize it and the damage has already happed. Also the OP is kick ass so that's a huge plus!
Thanks for another awesome video!
I literally couldn't finish the anime after Hachi chose an abusive POS over Nobu
even in the manga they don't say what happened to nanna other than she disappeared after ren died and nobody knows where she is but later found out through p.i she is singing in a bar at london where Takumi leaves with his son but the manga stop before they can reunite
@@Myrathosghost same and the immature part of me wanted them together but the realist part said, “I wouldn’t want him to give up his dream” because hachi wasn’t careful Ie didn’t use protection while with Takumi. I’m in no way blaming her I just think that a bit better decision making on her part while also standing up to him would have gone a long way… Takumi is such a scumbag!
@@iria871 wow… that sucks! It literally would be like if a movie ended just before the twist or an action scene! What the hell?!
@@phoenyxskies yeah it sucks especially because they were setting up Nana's ark where it was heading with her reunion with her mother that abandoned her it really stopped when it was getting good 😂
So, I have not only the naime, but also both live action movies. I absolutely love this series and wish that I had all of the manga. If they re-preint it, I'm going to quickly buy all of them!
I watched the live action version of this and the songs are still pretty awesome 😄
Glamorous Sky is such a bop
I remember watching this when I was 13 back in 2009 every year or so I come back to it as a comfort anime. The older I get the more I understand why they did what they did & how they're all feeling. You should read the manga a lot happens that I was hoping to see animated. Who knows maybe Nana will get a new anime like Fruits Basket did 🤔
One of the many reasons I love this show is because I am just obsessed with alternative Nana’s style. Easily one of the best styled and dressed anime character of all time to me. I used to be goth back in the day before I had to start dressing more like a normie because of my life turned out. This show is just so nostalgic for me even though I didn’t watch it until pretty recently. It reminds me of being younger and also what life used to be like when I was that age. I miss so much about that time period. Hell even miss rock music being popular. It feels like there is no hope of anyone making it big if they’re in rock band. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy rap, hip hop, and pop but I’m starting to get extremely burnt out on it. I know rock bands haven’t totally disappeared but it’s just so rare to see any of them make it big and it’s honestly kind of sad especially with some bands and artists that are sooo incredibly talented. No instead they just keep playing songs that sound almost identical. Back in the day it felt like there was way more of a balance of genres but now not so much.
About that ''racism''' at 10:00. She is a Gyaru (or Gal). It's a street fashion style that challenges the expected standards for women of being quiet, having a light skin, not a lot of make up, black hair etc. of Japanese society. It is not racist. See it more as an artistic era of showing the multiple faces of beauty. Its like, the opposite of racism ahaha :P Gals are cool I love them. Here, she's just tan. People in places in south of japan like Okinawa that its like.. really hot ahah :P people get tanned. Anyway, great video you always makes me laugh ^_^ (Pardon my poor English writing)
"I need your love!!! "
"I'm a broken rose"
I still have the intro to Nana on all of my anime playlists. It's a wonderful icebreaker to talking about it with whoever doesn't recognize it. I was so broken hearted when I learned the author wasn't continuing the manga, but as an adult, I've re-watched it and loved it. Now, to finish reading it.
I was somewhere between 16 and 20 when I watched Nana, and there was no anime more relateable at the time. It's kinda surprising to hear that so few people have watched it, but listening to your recap makes me think, yeah maybe you have to be at a certain point in your life to fully appreciate it. 47 episodes of slow-paced drama is a big commitment and idk if I'd still have the patience nowadays to sit through all of that young naivete 😅 But at the time, it was so comforting to know that I'm not the only one going through that, and the characters, despite being a mess, were so well-portrayed too. Also, I adored the music and fashion~
The problem with Nana sleeping with Takumi was never 'being a slut' - she's allowed to sleep with anyone as long as they are of age
and consent - it's more the hope and expectations she starts to connect with this one night stand. Despite knowing that Takumi
doesn't love her and wanting nothing but to be loved just clashes horribly and while part of me keeps inwardly screaming at her
to stop being stupid, her actions do make sense in a way. It's an easy get away from her troubles and she can still lie to herself
about this being loved only to be hurt all the more afterwards. It's just painful to watch how basically every single character is
emotionally self-mutilating in one way or another...
"I'm now much more scared. Now Hachi has the best and worst thing anyone can give to another person: Hope." Hook, line and sinker. I'm subscribed
NANA is an absolute favorite of mine. Well done on the video, it was nice to hear someone talk about the series!
The live action movies go a little further than the anime ever made it, but it ends in that same sort of heart-achy, never really getting to end, for real. I can recommend giving them a watch, though to expand the universe while truncating some of those slower moments. Both the anime and movies have their pros and cons.
Meanwhile? If you want some more Ai Yazawa goodness, Paradise Kiss is also an excellent show, a lot shorter too at 12 episodes.
9:52 -Gyaru is not about racism. It's a whole subculture about going against what is considered mainstream beautiful - it was about finding oneself without the care of the pressure of older generations. Edit - they drew her fine for gyaru, dark skin, glowing shimmer makeup and bright fashion. It was the times for that. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
I love his channel, but the stronnnnnggggg American morales shine through so often and it sometimes comes around as - and I'm so sorry to say it - uneducated.
Not knowing what gyaru is, is fine by itself, it's a style which is very much out of fashion, but was so damn huge!
Funnily enough, it wasn't even imitating black culture or aesthetics, but California girls.
I do know that because I'm 34 and was very much interested in Japanese fashion, but dawg, all that information is ONE click away?! That's page 1 Google knowledge 😅
Nothing about that is racist in the slightest, I'd even go as far as to say it's the opposite, because it specifically went against the notion that just fair skin is beautiful in Japan.
I wouldn’t say the mangaka has given up… just that her physical condition is incredibly bad even now. But she did say last year that she wants to finish it! And even opened an exhibition where she had new art for the first time in a WHILE… maybe I’m delulu but I’m optimistic that one day we’ll get the end
I was getting really into Japanese language and culture when I was in high school, and Nana was one of the most memorable animes I watched during that time. I even watched the live action films. And I'm still fluent in Japanese. :)
Outing myself here... but I've loved Nana since the launch of Shojo Beat magazine. I remember shipping Nana and Hachi forever. I looked forward to every chapter printed every month til they stopped printing it. I'd never found the anime or manga books and didn't realise until years later they'd even made one. I'm SO happy to see it back in print because I finally will be able to live my 15 year old self's dream of actually owning all of them. They were so ahead of their time and underappreciated.
Its definetly a unique show, thats for sure.
Agreed
The magic of this series is that all the characters feel so real. They either remind you of yourself or remind you of someone else you know.
As a now 35 year old woman, I look at this series and the other women in my life and realise that in the end we all grow up to be either Nana or Hachi which is both beautiful and sad at the same time.
i gotta finish the series before i finish this video, but honestly Nana is so underrated. I love realistic, relatable and slow it is because its practically showing real time going by and the problems arent being sugar coated
Edit: its said that the creator is slowly working on the manga again but i could be years til another volume considering her illness, honestly we can only hope