Nana – R
NOTE: I will only review the first Nana movie because I feel it is a lot better than the sequel.
Released in 2005
Based on a manga series by Ai Yazawa (still ongoing)
Overall Rating: A
Main Cast: real name / character name
Mika Nakashima as Nana Osaki
Aoi Miyazaki as Nana Komatsu (Hachi)
Ryuhei Matsuda as Ren Honjo
Tomoki Maruyama as Yasushi Takagi (Yasu)
Hiroki Narimiya as Nobuo Terashima (Nobu)
Ken’ichi Matsuyama as Shinichi Okazaki (Shin)
Yuna Ito as Reira Serizawa
Nana Osaki grew up in a small town near Tokyo. She lives with her grandmother who was very strict and forbade her to wear pink or red so as to not stand out and attract men. Her mother left her at the age of 4 and has not been seen since. Her father’s identity is unknown. Nana grows up to be quite the loner and had little friends. Her first friend is Nobuo who introduced her to rock music and jump-started her love for music. When her grandmother fell ill, Nana buys a red jacket for herself as a present and goes to a local rock concert. There, she meets Ren and the two begins dating. When he asks her to be part of his band, Black Stone (Blast for short), she agrees. In another part of Japan, also near Tokyo, lives Nana Komatsu. In contrast to Nana O., she has a happy and warm family. Despite so, being someone who easily falls in love and gives herself away easily, Nana K. often finds herself in love triangles. Fearing loneliness, she feels uneasy when her boyfriend isn’t with her. When her boyfriend, Shoji, leaves for Tokyo to attend an art school, she too begins saving money to go and meet up with him. And so, on the way to Tokyo, Nana K. and Nana O. becomes seat-mate on the train. From there, a special friendship forms between the Nana who has often embraced loneliness and the Nana who has often feared loneliness.
Hachi (Aoi) and Nana (Mika) on that fated train ride to Tokyo.
The number 7 has a big significance in this story. First, both of the female leads are named Nana (means the number 7 in Japanese). The two eventually lives in a small apartment building together with the number 707. Nana K.’s nickname is Hachi which means the number 8 and references to Hachiko (a devoted dog who remains loyal to his owner even after he died). Of course, the number 7 also has a lucky reference from Western culture. Despite so, the two’s stories are sometimes filled with misfortune and a deep sense of melancholy. I find this story fascinating because of its display of contrast. Nana, who appears to be the rebellious one, gets in the least troubles and remains faithful to her lover. Hachi, on the other hand, grew up in a loving family yet she does not value herself and uses sex to appease her loneliness. Nana sticks to her goal once she has one and pursue it until it comes true. Hachi, meanwhile, never has a set goal and goes about life in a nonchalant way. Yet despite all their differences, the two can seamlessly blend and become fast friends. Nana protects Hachi while Hachi showers Nana with love and devotion. To me, their friendship shows the importance of crossing boundaries for the sake of friendship.
There are multiple underlying themes to this story from friendship to sex to family and to love. Everything is captured or put to the test by the two Nana in this modern setting of Japan. The movie features Mika Nakashima as Nana O. who did a great job. Hachi is played by the lovable Aoi Miyazaki. The other cast members also did a wonderful job with their roles and successfully bring the manga characters of Ai Yazawa to life. A great romance movie with careful dash of humor. Also a good film to snuggle up to during this winter month as the movie is set during the winter of Japan.
Glamorous Sky sung by Mika Nakashima
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