jypsel

Due to the fact that I've heard the mangaka will not be continuing this story, I am going to review it. I've read the maximum number of chapters available and really hope one day she chooses to continue it.

The STORY of NANA follows two twenty year old girls who share the same name: Nana.  Nana Komatsu, who later becomes known as Hachi(ko) is following her boyfriend to Tokyo.  Nana Osaki, who gets to keep her name, is going to Tokyo for very different reasons: to become a punk rock star.  These two girls meet on a train and then coincidentally end up trying to rent the same apartment.  They become room mates and what ensues after is a stream of comedy, tragedy, love, loss and the pain of growing up and taking responsibility.

This story affected me personality because when I was reading this manga i was also a twenty year old trying to find her way in the world.  While I would never recklessly follow a guy to another city and am not aiming to be a punk rock star, I could relate to growing up and growing apart and losing friends and making friends and breaking hearts and getting your heart broken.  This manga appeals ot an older set, but I do believe that younger girls and boys would be able to get a great meaning from it as well.

The story is paced well and always keeps you on your toes.  You may predict that one thing will happen, but then the mangaka throws you for a loop and eventually you just give up trying to guess what's going to happen.  I really appreciated the sense of unpredicatibility.  This manga is very, very emotional, so you should be prepared for your emotions to be thrown al over the place.  If you're the type of person who cries easily in books or movies then please, keep a box of tissues near you.

The ART... well... I have to admit it: I'm really not a fan.  The characters are so disproportionately thin and their legs are ridiculously long.  Their faces also looked a little bit weird - they all had really large forheads and small chins.  Of course, the art did grown on me as I read on, but that may be because of the fact that I liked the manga so much.  I could completely understand if someone didn't like it at all.

I loved every single CHARACTER in NANA.  All of them.  Even the "bad" guys because they all added to such a thick and dark plot.  There were so many characters that it was easy to relate to, whether you relate to the innocently manipulate (irony, ha!) Hachiko, the stable Junko, the oblivious Shouji, the mysterious Ren, the good-guy Nobu, the misunderstood Shin, the cool headed Yatsu... the list goes on.  Each character brought something to the table and they were all connected, even if they had never met.  The characters were what really made this manga what it was.

OVERALL, I'd give this manga a 9/10.  Based on story alone, it's a 10/10, but I really couldn't appreciate the art that much and it brought it down a peg.  It is a josei, so I'm not certain how well guys would like it, but as an adult woman myself it was perfectly targeted for me.  Check it out if it seems interesting to you!