Nana (stylized as NANA) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. It was serialized in the monthly manga magazine Cookie from May 2000 to May 2009 before going on hiatus. The series centers on Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu, two women who move to Tokyo at the age of 20, with the story focused on Nana O.'s pursuit for fame and Nana K.'s pursuit for romance, all while struggling to maintain their friendship.
The manga was adapted into a live-action film in 2005, with a sequel released in 2006. An anime television series adaptation by Madhouse directed by Morio Asaka aired on Nippon TV between April 2006 and March 2007. All Nana media has been licensed for English language release in North America by Viz Media, which serialized the manga in their Shojo Beat magazine until the August 2007 issue, while also publishing it in the tankōbon format. They released both films in 2008, and their English dub of the anime was broadcast on the Funimation Channel beginning in September 2009.
In 2002, Nana won the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo category. As of September 2019, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series.
Plot
On March 5, 2001, Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu (nicknamed Hachi) cross paths when they both move to Tokyo after turning 20 years old: Nana O. to pursue a professional music career with her band, Black Stones, on her own merit; and Nana K. to join her friends and move in with her boyfriend. Despite having different personalities and ambitions, the two women find commonalities with each other and, by coincidence, move into the same apartment. However, as they follow their dreams, troubles of fame and love begin to test their friendship.
As the two women continue their lives in Tokyo, Nana K. breaks up with her boyfriend after he cheats on her, while Nana O. reunites with her ex-boyfriend Ren, the guitarist of Japan's current top band, Trapnest. Nana O.'s relationship with Ren eventually leads Nana K. into starting an on-and-off relationship with Trapnest's bassist, Takumi, causing her friendship with Nana O. to become awkward, while falling in love with Black Stones' guitarist, Nobu, at the same time. Ultimately, when Nana K. becomes pregnant, she chooses to marry Takumi instead. Nana O. begins to suffer from panic attacks at the thought of losing Nana K., but she later resolves to win her back from Trapnest by using the popularity and success of Black Stones.
When a tabloid magazine exposes Nana O. and Ren's relationship, this causes Black Stones to skyrocket in popularity and formally debut. Nana O. and Ren, however, start facing troubles in their relationship due to Nana O.'s jealousy of Trapnest and Ren's drug addiction, even as they become engaged. As the tabloids continue to target Black Stones and Trapnest, Nana K. begins to learn secrets behind Nana O.'s family history, including her birth mother. Shortly before Black Stones begin their first tour, their bassist, Shin, is arrested, causing Nana O. to embark on a solo career in the meantime. As she begins to make a name for herself, Ren dies in a car accident. While recovering from his death, Nana O. begins to question her dependency on Nana K. as well as the change in their relationship.
Starting with volume 12, scenes that take place years later are interspersed in the series, showing that in the present, Nana O. is rumored to have died, but Nana K. and her friends learn that she fled to England and try to find her.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, Nana first appeared as a one-shot in 1999 in Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 of Shueisha's Cookie, a sister magazine of Ribon. Nana was later serialized in Cookie, starting in the July 2000 issue (published on May 26), when it was relaunched as a monthly magazine. Nana ran in the magazine for 84 chapters, until the July 2009 issue (published on May 26), and the series was put on hiatus in June of the same year due to Yazawa falling ill. Yazawa returned from the hospital in early April 2010, but it was not specified when or if she would resume the manga. The individual chapters of Nana have been collected by Shueisha into 21 tankōbon volumes, published under the Ribon Mascot Comics Cookie imprint, between May 15, 2000, and March 13, 2009. Its latest four chapters have not been published in a tankōbon volume.
Nana is licensed for English-language release in North America by Viz Media. It was serialized in Viz's manga anthology Shojo Beat, premiering in the July 2005 debut issue and continuing until the August 2007 issue. They published all 21 collected volumes as of July 6, 2010.