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The Bottom Line

The good news for fans of Ai Yazawa's Nana manga: Nana the movie is a faithful adaptation of this stylish rock and roll romance. The casting is spot-on and it's a blast to see these familiar characters come to life on the silver screen.

The bad news? The live action Nana K. is extra perky… and extra whiny. And when we finally hear Nana O's singing, it simply can't live up to the manga's hype.


The movie, like the manga spends a lot of time setting up the story, so by the time the drama's ready to kick into gear, it ends, and expects viewers to come back for more in Nana 2.

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Pros

• A fairly faithful scene-by-scene adaption of Ai Yazawa's shojo manga series
• Casting is excellent as each actor brings the spirit of the characters to life
• A fun, stylish romp through a Tokyo rock and roll fantasy

Cons

• Mika Nakashima's singing as Nana O. just can't live up to the hype promised in the manga
• Aoi Miyazaki is extra cute, extra perky... and extra whiny as Nana K.
• Whips through several volumes worth of story, so the plot seems patched together
• This first installment ends with the expectation that fans will come back for more in Nana 2

Description

• Original Title:Nana (Japan)
• Based on the original Japanese manga, Nana by Ai Yazawa
  
• Starring:
  • Mika Nakashima as Nana Osaki
  • Aoi Miyazaki as Nana Komatsu
  • Ryuhei Matsuda as Ren
  • Hiroki Narimiya as Nobu
• Director: Kentaro Otani
• Distributor (US/Canada):VIZ Pictures

• Movie Rating: Not Rated
  
• Release Dates:
  • 9/3/2005 (Japanese Theatrical Release)
  • 12/7/2007 (U.S. Theatrical Release)
  • 4/8/2008 (U.S. DVD Release)
• Movie Genres:
  • Drama
  • Musical
  • Romance
  • Anime Tie-in
• Movie length: 114 minutes
  Format: Japanese, with English subtitles

Guide Review - Nana (2005)

Two twenty-somethings both named Nana meet on a train bound for Tokyo. Nana O. is an aspiring singer. Nana K. is a student who just wants to be in love. Fate ties the unlikely pair together, and they become roommates who share their lives, loves, dreams and heartaches.

With its mix of rock, romance and style, Nana by Ai Yazawa is one of the most popular shojo manga series, ever. So when the movie version was made, the director opted not to mess with success. This first Nana movie (of two made) is a faithful, scene-by-scene representation of what readers enjoyed in the manga. Depending on your familiarity with the Nana story, this can be a mixed blessing.

Fans of the Nana manga will be thrilled to see their favorite characters come to life. The casting is spot-on perfect. Mika Nakashima embodies the spirit of proud, determined Nana O. Cute and sweet Aoi Miyazaki perfectly suits the character of naïve Nana K. And it's fun to hear and see both Blast and Trapnest live in concert. But going from print to live action has its downsides too.

In the manga, Nana K. is perky and emotionally immature. When translated to the silver screen, Nana K's swings between being cutesy and whiny are more irritating than a Rachel Ray marathon on Food Network. Nana O. also suffers in this transition as Nakashima's merely adequate singing simply cannot live up to the manga's hype of her character's supposed raw talent and charisma.

Does this movie work as an adaptation of the manga? Yes, definitely. Can it stand alone as a great film to viewers who've never read the comics? Probably not – there's too much crammed in and it ends by presuming that viewers will stick around for Nana 2 to see the real drama kick into gear.

So if you're a Nana fan, this is your flick. If not, read the manga first – it'll make a lot more sense, and will be a lot more fun.

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