User reviews

Nana, in my opinion, is the best slice of life anime there is. The story is incredibly realistic and you can actually see yourself in some of the characters. Not to mention the impeccable songs the anime produced. For sure a must watch and one of those animes i will always hold close to my heart.

When most people watch anime, they want the typical action adventure underdog shonen plotline. If your like most guys and only like the mainstream stuff then this isn't your cup of tea. No. Nana is the cup of coffee I need every morning. This show is an emotional rollercoaster. As the first few episodes will give you more into the characters background and later on it gets more and more intriguing. I'll admit it was painful to watch because it was so realistic. Yes, you might get annoyed with hachiko for being dependent and clingy but I'll admit I do know girls that are like that. Nobody's perfect. We all have flaws. What do most of us in our 20s do? Smoke, drink, breakups. Nana does perfect that. There aren't much anime like Nana. Thats because most romantic dramas get adopted to live action series because its more suited to real life or it just stays as manga series only.

This one is good guys =) I had never heard of this when I started watching and didn't know what I was in for.

I'm currently on episode 28 and it's awesome. Every episode leaves you wanting more. I really can't say anything bad about this one because the animation is interesting and beautiful, the music is rocking, the voice acting is perfect and the plot is very deep, subtle, shocking and suspenseful. Also, there are so many laugh out loud moments and you really start to care about these characters.

Summary------- Two girls both with the same name and age meet unexpectedly and become roommates in Tokyo whilst chasing their dreams. The interesting thing is that they are polar opposites but somehow fit together like a glove.

One is strong, proud and independent while the other is the opposite but oh how their characters learn, grow and change.

I don't want to give away anything so that bare summary is just 5% of the depth of this Anime.

I recommend this to adults as there are many serious themes covered. Despite that this one is just plain fun and addicting to watch. You never feel preached to.

What else can I say......give this one a good chance (at least 3-5 episodes before making any judgments).

Also, I must mention that the music is very good as well. We have music by Anna Tsuchiya (first op. third ending) and Olivia Lufkin (first ending, second op. second ending). Both are popular rock singers in Japan so the music is top-notch.

I haven't enjoyed an anime series this much since Hunter X Hunter (my all-time favorite).

Nana is the best anime in its genre. Nothing will ever top the emotion poured into this show, and did I mention that it has the most beautiful soundtrack? I still listen to all the songs six years later.

This anime tore into me deep. I related so greatly to the characters, I felt almost as if the things they experienced, were also happening to me. Particularly, the relationship between the two protagonists, left me shocked. There were so many moments that were poignant and sorrowful and others that were pronounced and light. While watching, I couldn't help but wince as characters made bad decisions, but I also understood them and saw myself making them as well. I will say I am saddened by the long hiatus from the manga and show as the creator Ai Yazawa is ill. I do hope that they animate the panels from the manga that haven't been animated yet, because there is quite a big event towards the last published release. A criticism that can be seen within the show however is that it does lean into queer-baiting, while maintaining and show based around hetero relationships and the friendship between two women. Whether or not this is for sure queer-baiting is yet to be seen since again the show hasn't been completed.

To everyone telling the ending wasn't good: This isn't even an ending, it's just the mid part of the anime. This show needs a season 2 to answer many questions of audience.

Now to enjoy this show thoroughly, you must read manga so you will understand what ending is going to lead to(coz manga was halted halfway due to writer's health issues). Only some chapters feel missing in manga and many things seem to be sorted out. Go watch this anime, read manga and you will have experienced one of the most mature and realistic show.

This is such a great show! I had first read a few manga of Nana and then became very excited to hear that they made it into a TV show. It's a show that I can easily relate to the main character Nana Komatsu. This may contain spoilers.... . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The ending of the show really left me with a lot of questions. I am in the process to see if there are more manga than episodes so that I can further my answers. Just be prepared to be left a little upset after you watch the show because its so frustrating that there are so many unanswered questions!!!! I will try to post anything more if I find more out for you viewers!! Can't wait.

The show has excellent characters, who are all well rounded and fleshed out. Generally, they all have distinct and interesting chemistry.

Unfortunately, this is very much a product of its time (accepted conservative culture of the 90s/2000s) : there is a lot of casual sexism and very staunch female gender roles present. For me, I tolerated this up to about the 2/3rds way mark before I had had enough, because the show threw extreme pro-lifism into the mix too. It is strange to think that a show about a punk band would have such strong conservative tendencies, but the author's viewpoint on certain parts of society rather clearly shines through.

If you can stomach the conservative tendencies of the show, the actual character dynamic is great, and well done.

Some works of art can be tragic, yet amazing. Their lack of a happy ending can hit close to home, or emphasize a real truth about this world. Nana did not hit that sweet spot. Its a downer of a series - but isn't evocative enough. Its too happy and slow to be a drama, too merciless to be a romance or slice-of-life.

I liked the characters. I fell in love with our two Nanas from the first episode. I wanted them to succeed, and find real love. I knew they would go through a lot of trials and self-discovery, but I was excited for the journey. I sat through episodes, each slightly less cheerful than the last. The romances became less passionate, the Nanas more distant. I was eagerly waiting for the day things all came together.

Nope. I'm not that lucky. The world in Nana freaking sucks. People only grow apart. They don't learn their lessons, they don't overcome their difficulties, they don't have solid, healthy relationships. It is a downward spiral, so subtle that, by the time you realize the descent, you're 20+ episodes in.

But again, its not major enough to call it a tragedy. It just winds up melancholic. I ended up disliking everyone for not being mature enough to solve their issues. In real life, I'd expect more effort. I can't take away anything from this show.

I know some people can relate more to this anime than I can. Congrats. But it left me cold and empty. No powerful emotion, no new insight, wishing for the opposite. This show bites.

Nana is a series, where you get to really know each and every character with their flaws and strengths. If it's love or hate, you really understand them because they are so well fleshed out.

It makes them feel so real that every interaction between them hits you hard, if it's in a happy, funny or sad way, often it's devastating.

All that is only possible with the brilliant character writing from Ai Yazawa.

The songs are phenomenal and how they integrated them in the openings/endings is wonderful.

I can only hope that the story will continue and find its conclusion someday.

One of my all time favorites.

I still dream of the manga will finish if the writer Ai Yazawa can not finish it I would love to just read the ending I can collocate picas from here and there but still the end if Nana will ever return to her friends, Tokyo or not still a mystery within Maybe Hachiko son with Nubo (Ren) will meet her by coincidence and she will return with him to Nana back home, who knows I wish Ai Yazawa will just tell us or just release the ending in writing without any drawing will be helpful.

I hope she read this too to know how are we still waiting for a long long long time and just wounding when is the end coming.

:(

I love nana so much. What a powerful message. I watched it at quite a young age which I regret because I learned thing from this show that are realistic and sad. This show made me sob more than I needed to. So many emotions in one anime.

I initially thought this series wasn't bad, and I would definitely rewatch it again if I could, but still, there are some things which I would develop, for example the main plot, it seemed interesting and not too sad in the start, however after a bit it started to feel heavy and kind of dark making the series hard to watch... I still believe it is worth a watch tho!

Nana is one of those anime that begin-just phenomenally but turn out to be an unexpected failure, which is really disappointing because this anime gives you such high hopes, but then destroys every shred of it at the end. Yes, while it may be realistic and mature, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's good. I think this anime is a bit overrated, considering its probably one the worst anime endings ever. The conclusion-there is none, the romance is confusing and overwhelming, the drama was okay but was ultimately destroyed with that ending. The anime could've been a nice sweet anime to watch but it ultimately decided to be terrible and melancholic. So please reconsider this anime, you'll be disappointed.

This show absolutely BROKE ME. I had never cried while watching a movie or tv show before until I watched this show, afterwards I had to sit in silence and just sob for like a half hour. It's so incredibly beautiful and the characters are so dynamic and relatable. I saw so much of myself in Hachi and it made me take a longer look at the people I fall in love with and spend my time around. It's beautiful and I love it, but I'm going to need a serious recovery period before I even consider watching it again. It's such a painful but stunning piece of art, and the music gave me chills. I'm so grateful that it came into my life when it did.

"Say, Nana... Do you remember the first time we met?"

The lovely universe of "Nana" is introduced with these lines. Probably the most persuasive shoujo manga author ever is Ai Yazawa. Every lady can escape reality and immerse herself in romantic fantasies in this universe that she crafts with vivid, realistic people, amazing events, and a dash of music.

The characters in "Nana" are among its best features; we can recognize ourselves in some of them and think that such a person could possibly exist. This is proof that you can make a good anime without the usual tsundere, moe or bothersome childhood buddy.

Hachi's demeanor is one element, though, that I didn't enjoy. Her actions can be reprehensible at times. Mostly because, in contrast to the other characters, she has no goals or aspirations (apart from getting married, which is quite boring).

Another one of Nana's strong suits is the story. Ai Yazawa put a lot of effort into making the setting as realistic as possible, aiming to elicit strong emotional responses from the reader.

The plot has that magical quality that causes you to root for some characters unconsciously and feel some events almost as strongly as the characters themselves, even though it's a normal shoujo tearjerker (with a little music). The story's exposure of the harsh, unforgiving reality-one devoid of happy endings and pure love-is another admirable aspect of it. Yazawa-sensei provides her characters (particularly Hachi) a lot of imagination, although their reality is very similar to our own.

The artwork wasn't all that outstanding. I find it annoying because every character is so tall and slender. Aside from that, I thought the artwork and story went really nicely together. There were several specifics about sunlight and shadows.

For fans of shojo, Nana is an essential viewing position overall. It gives us a wealth of information about life and its struggles in addition to teaching us a valuable lesson about the mistakes we should never do.