Nana

In the wagon of a train traveling to Tokyo, Nana Komatsu, traveling to her boyfriend Shoji, accidentally ended up in a chair next to Nana Osaki, who was heading to the capital to fulfill her desire to become a famous singer. As the lead singer of the punk band Blast, Osaki dreams of his band debuting in Tokyo to prove to himself, the world, and his boyfriend Ren, the guitarist of the popular Trapnest band, that she can succeed.

Being namesakes, girls quickly find a common language, even despite the opposite of characters. However, when she sees Shoji already in Tokyo, Nana Komatsu loses sight of another Nana: a chance acquaintance on the train came to an end. But fate brings them together again when they collide in an apartment that both wanted to rent. Word for word, they decide to live together. Still: after all, the already low apartment fee will be half as much! And so begins the life adventures of two girls with the same name, together going towards their dreams.

Nana " Hachiko " Komatsu ( Jap. 小 松奈 々 ) .

A naive girl with the ability to "fall in love at first sight." For her carelessness, and also for the fact that she is constantly “spinning under her feet” like a dog, Nana Osaki nicknamed her Hachiko (in honor of the famous dog, whose name is also derived from “eight”, and “nana” also means “seven” ) After hearing Nana’s song to the accompaniment of Nobu, she became a devoted fan of Black Stones, as well as the first and best friend of the soloist of this group, Nana Osaki, who was also her neighbor. Nana herself does not quite understand, nor does she understand what she really needs, but in the end she had to make her choice. She married Takumi, they have a daughter Satsuki and a son Ren (only an daughter is shown in the anime, but Ren is mentioned in the manga as the eldest). However, Nana found out about the child when she met Nobu, and certainly did not know who he was from. Nana herself also changed a lot, she began to behave strictly in accordance with the image of Yamato-nadeshiko, and even calls Nobu “young master”.

Seiyu: Midori Kawana ( Japanese. 翠 ) .

Nana Osaki ( Jap. 大 崎 ナ ナ ) .

The soloist of the punk band "Black Stones". I came to Tokyo to become a singer, as well as to prove to everyone, and to myself in the first place what she is capable of. In love with the guitarist of the band "Trapnest" Ren. The dream is to make the Black Stones famous throughout the world. Tries to seem strong and independent personality, but deep down vulnerable. Parting with her mother left a deep spiritual wound in the heart of Nana, and even when she is too nervous, she begins to suffer from hyperventilation . She is very attached to Hachiko, her “dog”, but she does not like Takumi at all. Because of her thinness, she seems fragile and defenseless, but nevertheless she can fend for herself. On Nana’s shoulder is a lotus tattoo, which means Ren. She did it when she fell in love with Ren.

Seiyu: Romy Paku ( Japanese 朴 路 美 ) ; voice in songs: Anna Tsutiya .

Black Stones (Blast)

Nobu Terasima ( 寺 島 伸 夫 ) .

Guitarist "Black Stones". Composes music for the songs of his group. He was friends with Nana Osaki since high school and was a man who introduced her to punk music. He is the heir to a wealthy family of hotel chain owners, but despite this he is devoted to music with all his heart. Very chatty while intoxicated. I realized that I love Nana Komatsu when I found out about her relationship with Takumi. I met her for a while until she became pregnant and decided to live with Takumi.

Seiyu: Tomokazu Seki ( Japanese 関 智 一 ) .

Yasushi "Yasu" Takagi ( 高木 泰士 ) .

Plays on percussion instruments. He is the leader of the Black Stones group. Usually it is he who solves all the business and financial issues of their team. He dreamed of becoming a lawyer and even received a law degree, but the desire to be a musician won. For Nana and Nobu, he is almost like an older brother. Always acting in the interests of those close to him, very mysterious. Friends even once compared him to Buddha and joked that he had achieved enlightenment. Smokes cigarettes called "Black Stones", which gave the name to their group "Black Stones", abbreviated "Blast". Yasu and Ren grew up in the same orphanage and remained close friends. He met with Reira while he was in high school, however, when Reira left for Tokyo to become a singer. He later falls in love with Nana, but realizes that she loves Ren. By the end of the series, he himself admits that he loves Nana, but she believes that he loves her, rather, like an older brother. She later falls in love with actress Miu and begins dating her. His parents died in a car accident, when Yasu was in third grade, he was adopted. In the eighth grade, he became a member of the Blast group.

Seiyu: Yoshihisa Kawahara ( Japanese 川 原 慶 久 ) .

Shinichi "Shin" Okazaki ( Japanese 岡 崎 ) 一 ) .

Bass player of the Black Stones. The youngest member of the group (15 years old). There is no family. Mom died, and the father, who appeared in one episode, is not native. Sin suspects the biological father may have been a foreigner. He escaped from his father and now lives with Nobu-san mainly on the money that women give him during the time spent with them. Reira is one of his “clients”, and in the future, beloved, they are also united by their birthday on the same day - November 1 - and their blood type - IV, but after talking with Takumi about the age difference, she decides to break up with her and wait, until it comes of age. Great mahjong player. Like Yasu, he smokes Black Stones. He practically does not orient himself in Japanese culture - in particular, he knows neither what tanabata nor what is the red thread of fate , this is due to the fact that he grew up abroad for a long time. At the end of Season 2, Sin is serving a prison term for possession of narcotic grass.

Seiyu: Akira Ishida ( 石田 彰 ) .

Trapnest

Ren Honjo ( Japanese 本 城 蓮 ) .

Former Blast bass player, Trapnest guitarist. As an orphan, Ren grew up in a shelter and learned how to take care of himself at the age of 12. He considers the school a very boring place. He likes to play the guitar, the art of playing on which he perfected. Ren and Yasu have always been good friends and once decided to organize the Black Stones. The group was quite successful in their city, but this was unlikely to make Honjou a big star, so when he received an offer from Trapnest to join them, Ren agreed. When he falls into stress, begins to drink or even use narcotic substances, members of Trapnest and Yasu know about his “illness”, but they are kept secret, since exposure can put an end to the whole musical group.

Carries a lock with an engraved letter R on the neck, the key to which is only Nana Osaki. He loves Nana and, in principle, does not want to give it to anyone. In the anime series, Nana Osaka made an offer, to which she agreed with him. In volume 21 of the manga, he crashes in a car accident - the whole body and face are disfigured and only his hands remain without a single scratch.

Seiyu: Hidenobu Kiuchi ( 木 内秀 信 ) .

Takumi Ichinose ( Jap. 一 ノ 瀬 巧 ) .

The leader and bass player of the Trapnest band. He is very handsome and has a reputation as a playboy , but despite his charm, he is so passionate about work that he often lacks time for everything else.
Together with his sister, he grew up in a family where his father was an alcoholic, and his mother died when he was at school, which is why he became independent very early. He and Reira were childhood friends, and even when they grew up, Takumi continued to take care of her like a brother. Takumi also has long known Yasu and had a rival relationship with him.

All songs of the group are performed under his arrangements. His favorite brand of cigarettes is Gitanes. For some time he met with Nana Komatsu, but in the end she broke up with him and begins to meet Nobu. When Nana Komatsu finds out about her pregnancy and expresses uncertainty regarding the father of the child, then Takumi suggests becoming a father, regardless of whose child it really is. He moves with Nana to a new apartment and later marries her, but having a wife is not an obstacle for Takumi, and he often walks from her “to the left,” which he once admits to her.

Seiyu: Toshiyuki Morikawa ( 森川 智 之 ) .

Reira Serizawa ( Japanese 芹澤 レ イ ラ ) .

Soloist of "Trapnest". He writes words to songs, has a very beautiful voice, but doesn’t like to sing, although he knows nothing more. Although her name is usually spoken and read in Japanese like Reira, her name is actually Leila. By origin, she is half American, half Japanese. She has been friends with Takumi since she moved with her mother to Japan. While Takumi taught her Japanese, she taught him English.

In love with Takumi, although he pretends not to notice her feelings. I met with Yasu in the past. By the end of the series, Sina fell in love with herself and fell in love with him, however, their relationship remained a mystery to the rest, since Reira was essentially 7 years older than Sina. However, even after that, she continued to suffer from the fact that Takumi remained indifferent to her and was going to marry Nana. After her death, Rena was admitted to the hospital with a partial loss of memory.

Seiyu: Aya Hirano ( 平野 綾 ) ; voice in songs: Olivia Lafkin .

Naoki Fujieda ( Japanese 藤枝 直樹 ) .

Drummer of the Trapnest group. The most ingenuous and noisy member of the group. He joined Trapnest in Grade 8 and, according to Takumi, he should attract fans with his pretty appearance. Naoki himself also hoped that he would be successful with the girls.

Unlike other members of Trapnest, Naoki rarely appears on the show. He is friends with Yasu, believing that they are best friends, also in a rather warm relationship with Nana Komatsu.

Seiyu: Henri Katsu ( Japanese 勝 杏 里 )

The first chapter of the manga was released on May 15, 2000 . In ten years, 21 volumes of manga have been published. Due to the author’s illness, the manga output stopped in 2007 from June to November, and then re-stopped in April 2010 . ^[3] After being discharged from the hospital in April 2010, Ai Yazawa stated that she had not picked up a pen since the onset of the illness and did not know when she would return to creating manga, if at all. ^[4] In 2013, by the 100th issue of the heading about it in Cookie magazine, Ay Yazawa personally drafted a two-page extras for the manga, at that time for the first time in three years, returning to the creation of manga. ^[five]

According to a 2007 survey by the Japanese Ministry of Culture , it was ranked 50th among the best manga of all time. ^[2] In addition, the manga was on the list of finalists for the 10th prize of Osamu Tezuki . ^[6]

According to Oricon , the 21st volume of the manga was sold out in a print run of 1.5 million copies in 2009, making it the fifth most sold manga this year. ^[7]

• Anime Director: Morio Asaka ( Japanese 浅 香 守 生 )
• Anime Script: Tomoko Komparu ( Japanese 金春智 子 )
• Set Designer: Tomoyuki Shimizu ( Japanese 清水 友 幸 )
• Design: Kunihiko Hamada ( 濱 田邦彦 )
• Composer: Tomoki Hasegawa ( Japanese 長谷川 智 樹 )

Manga was adapted by Madhouse . The anime was broadcast from April 5, 2006 to March 29, 2007 . In Japan, it was shown on the NTV channel. A total of 47 episodes were released, each lasting 25 minutes, as well as 3 additional episodes. In the anime, 42 chapters of the manga are filmed.

• Official site (Japanese)
• Anime “Nana” in the encyclopedia of Anime News Network
• Anime "Nana" in the AniDB database
• Manga “Nana” in the Anime News Network Encyclopedia