Manga
The manga that were hits in Japan in the 2000s.
2000S HITS
About
Nana Komatsu is a young woman who's endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she's hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She's looking for love and she's hoping to find it in the big city. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo's underground punk scene. She's got a dream and won't give up until she becomes Japan's No. 1 rock'n'roll superstar. This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties.
Character analysis
Komatsu's whole plan for moving to Tokyo revolves around being close to her boyfriend, and she drifts through most of her life letting other people's feelings decide her next move. Meeting her new roommate, who shares her first name and nothing else about her personality, becomes the first real friendship that isn't built around chasing a man.
Osaki grew up with a hard, unstable childhood and built her entire sense of self around becoming Japan's top rock star, a goal she pursues with far more discipline and clarity than anyone else in her orbit. Her fierce independence makes her friendship with the far softer Hachi an odd, unlikely match that the story treats as one of its most important relationships, romantic or otherwise.
Ren shares a long, complicated romantic history with Osaki, and his own music career keeps pulling him into orbit around, and in conflict with, her ambitions. Their relationship is less a stable romance than a recurring collision between two people who can't quite let go of each other.
Shin joins Ren's band while still a teenager, and the story doesn't shy away from showing how exposure to drugs, fame, and adult relationships at that age takes a real toll on him, even as he tries to keep pace with his older bandmates.
Yasu isn't a musician, but his calm reliability makes him the person both Nanas end up leaning on when things fall apart. He's the rare character in the story whose role is mostly to be dependable rather than dramatic.
Status evaluation
Fashion-forward character designs and expressive linework give the series a distinct, stylish visual identity.
The parallel lives of two women who share a name is a strong hook, and the series is acclaimed for its honest, unglamorous look at adult relationships.
There are lighter moments between roommates, but the series leans heavily dramatic overall.
Heartbreak, ambition, and friendship are handled with unusual honesty, and the series is widely regarded for how hard its emotional beats land.
This is a character drama with nothing frightening in it.
There is no significant violence in this series.
A large ensemble of overlapping relationships across two bands takes some tracking.
This figure has not been verified against a current source and should be treated as approximate.
“Two women named Nana, one chasing love and one chasing fame, end up needing each other more than either ambition.”