NANA - Live Action Movie Review
Posted by Willuknight
Synopsis from Minitokyo, visit there for the full review of the manga [ANN].
Oosaki Nana (aka Nana) is a strong headed girl. The hard life she had been living mold her into one stubborn girl who is full of ambition. One year after her boyfriend left her to head to Tokyo to be a guitarist with some big shot band, Nana decided to try her luck in Tokyo in realising her dream to be a punk rock band singer.
Komatsu Nana (aka Hachi, Hachiko, Hachikou) on the other hand, is such a spoilt childish girl. All her life seems to be revolving around herself, her crushes and her heart breaks. Assuming to herself that she finally found that one true love, her boyfriend suddenly decided to move to Tokyo, telling her to follow him when he got into university later.
One with her guitar and a pack of cigarretes, the other with her one luggage full of clothes, one trying to be a singer without the help of the boyfriend while the other is just following the boyfriend out of her spoilt personality, the two Nanas met each other in the train, make friends, and through a series of fortunate events, ended up sharing a flat together.
This manga by Ai Yazawa would then develop into a friendship story between the two Nanas, each with a different background, pasts, lifestyles and attitudes, and how they walk the path in pursuing their dreams of love, career and happiness.
Most western media adaptations (by which I mean making a movie from a book, or a game out of a movie) are steaming piles of shit. Furthermore, Japan’s creative adaptations only fair slightly better on the scale of heated faeces . Due to this, I was extremely leary of the NANA Movie [IMDB], and desperately hoping that it would be one of the rare exception to buck the trend, stay true to it’s source and live up to the fan’s dreams.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT
(you can hear more of my fan boi happy happy joy joy feeling on this audio file [450kb]. You may want to turn the volume down a bit before listening ;D - its encoded in ogg so you may need this codec, or just play it in vlc)
You can rest assured that this is one of the best media adaptations I’ve seen, and it’s the best Manga <> Live Action Movie conversion i have ever witnessed. with such awesome interpretation evidenced I have nothing but high hopes and SQEEEing expected for the upcoming anime.
The character casting is absolutely suburb! All of the main cast looks as if they have come to life direct from the manga, and they feel real and vibrantly true. About the only negative i could say is that Shin doesn’t look young enough (mainly because he’s too tall, his style however is perfect and natural). About the only character that didn’t jive with me was Nobu, but apart from that everything is perfect - from Yasu to the members of Trapnest, to Sachiko to Juu-chan, all perfect, living as naturally as real life. I sometimes felt that i wanted to kidnap them all and force them to re-enact the entire manga series for me, for every chapter that came out mwhahaha….
Full credit has to go to the stylists and costume designers, who took NANA’s unique and wild style of clothing and made it a living breathing stunning showcase you want to reach out and touch - or at least knock Shin over the head and steal his clothes, and get Hachiko to model all her awesome outfits for you 
I’m not usually someone who takes much interest in fashion, nor am i prone to saying about how cute/awesome/beautiful things are, but Ai Yazawa’s style is amazing and Hachiko’s outfits are adorable
With regard to the story, i have nothing but praise for the authentic adaptation and brilliant pacing of the story (You’re surely not surprised that I’m still raving about how awesome this movie is?). The movie basically covers from where Nana (Hachi) got on the train to go to Tokyo and it ends just after the concert, when Trapnest came over to Nanaes’s (plural possessive of Nana) apartment. The ending is one that feels right, and wraps up nicely the threads throughout the movie. It leaves open the possibility of a sequel (PLEASE PLEASE ONEGAI GOZAIMASU) and most importantly, doesn’t change the source material.
- that’s one thing that really annoys me, when shows make up their own ending that’s different from the show, thus making it difficult to sequel, and deviating from the source -
For all of you out there who have never read Nana (oh, how i pity you, go buy/download it now before your heads explode from lack of Nana), you’ll be pleased (if you knew how awesome nana was you would be ecstatic) that for the move, NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF NANA IS NECESSARY. So you can go and watch it right now (Yes, now i said, if you don’t watch it i shall piece your big toe with a chopstick) without having to read the series first (though you should do that as well).
I’ve already mentioned how closely the movie follows the source material, and it is a joy to behold the manga come to life and acted out for this 2 hour movie. I have a very short attention span for things i watch on the computer (constantly alt-tabbing to chat in irc), but for NANA i was on the edge of my seat and SQUEEing the entire time :D.
With the NANA manga featuring detailed themes of music and bands, a question is how well real life was able to bring to life the exultation of the songs. I wasn’t that wowed by the first BLAST track, but the ending was definitely nice to listen too. In particular Trapnest sounded awesome - Who is that singer with that impeccable English pronunciation?
I could write on and on singing my praises for this movie (Q. But haven’t you already said everything? A. Maybe, but even if i do run out of things to say, I can just resort to screaming AWESOME over and over again). So what are you waiting for, watch it!!!!!!
I only wish i was in Japan so i could rent the DVD of this, but alas that’s not to be, so anime suki will have to hold the answer. Mendoi-Fansubs have done a bang up job, and i thoroughly enjoyed watching it. There is no karaoke for the songs (which is a shame) and i think the aspect ration was accidentally set at 4:3, so you’ll need to adjust it to 16:9 (though the aspect ratio may only be mucked up on my machine?).
Categories: Drama, Nana, Reviews.
March 14th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
The singer “with [the] impeccable English pronunciation” would be Yuna Ito. Her stuff can be a bit slow for my tastes, on the other hand, I love Glamorous Sky the first Blast song.
March 14th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Thanks alot Os
I shall look her up.
April 12th, 2006 at 10:11 am
[…] Does anyone remember me gushing over the Nana Movie, and hoping the Anime adaption would be as excellent? Well sadly, the result seems to be more lackluster then what i was hoping for. There isn’t something i can specifically nail as being crap, but there’s just an overal niggle that they haven’t gotten it quite right. The movie showed me how awesome NANA could be on the screen, and it set rather high expectations that this anime just can’t meet. […]
April 30th, 2006 at 3:54 am
Does anyone know the names of the songs in the movie?? I ABSOLUTLY LOVED THE MUSIC!! I already have Glamorous Sky and My Medicine downloaded but I know there are others, specificly the Trapnest songs(of course ill be looking up the lead singer to see if i can find them) I nearly started crying along with the girls during the really slow song, such a good movie im so glad it rocked.
May 16th, 2006 at 10:16 am
hai hai… you have convinced me… I am currently downloading the movie ^^;; … but as for the manga I have only read the first volume due to the fact that my download source has a problem with volume two… and I can’t very well skip over it can i? >.> … I really wanna read it though and I have no money to buy it… does anyone have a site recommended as to where I can get the manga scans?? it would be much rather appreceated XD ~! (arigatou gosaimasu… ja ne~!)
May 16th, 2006 at 10:23 am
hey Yuffie, do you know how to use mIRC ? http://gotlurk.net/ have got all of the series, from the first volume to the latest chapter! If you don’t know much about using IRC, here’s a really helpful guide:
http://www.kasshin.net/leech_guide.swf, but dont worry, Lurk is super easy to use. Hope that helps.
July 12th, 2006 at 7:20 am
The other song is probably endless story(a lovelee slow ballad played towards the end,wow!)its such a good movie,i havent read the manga nor watched the anime but this movie is just great!Such a story of true friendship and support,i wish i had a room-mate that supportive too!eheh
July 15th, 2006 at 3:45 am
does anyone noe where i can download the NANA Movie?! im dying to watch it
August 3rd, 2006 at 8:58 am
hi Shari ^^
In case you still didn’t find where to dl the movie of Nana, here is a website where you could find it among other stuffs.
http://lovenana4ever.cjb.net/
You’ll need to have bittorent for most of this site’s dl.
I got other sites in direct dl but unfortunately, they won’t be with english subtitles .
>_
August 22nd, 2006 at 3:19 pm
[Specifically for Azuri-san, although if anyone else was wondering…]
The songs in the movie are as follows…
My Medicine (Black Stones/Blast) ~ The very first song, which opens the movie… back when Ren was still in the band.
Glamorous Sky (Black Stones/Blast) ~ Second song sung by Oosaki Nana, when Shin (that guy with the lip/ear ring chain thing) is the bassist.
Journey (Trapnest) ~ First Trapnest song, which opens the Trapnest concert that Nana and Hachi go to. It’s the faster-paced one.
Endless Story (Trapnest) ~ Second Trapnest song, the slower one, with the Nana flashbacks.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:01 am
Hi!
Where can I direct download Nana the manga… ??? I really loved the manga, but the movie itself is not my favourite… I have never read the actual manga… So I would really tank you if you guy could tell me where to go… Thanks again!
August 23rd, 2006 at 11:19 am
The Movie and anime are wonderful, but the manga is even better
If you know how to use IRC, then the easist way to download manga has to be the #lurk channel, on the irc.irchighway.net server.
If you don’t know how to use mIRC, then here is a guide : http://www.kasshin.net/leech_guide.swf
September 14th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
dO YOU KNOW WHERE i CAN GO TO DOWNLOAD THE MOVIE FROM???
I’VE BEEN WANTING TO SEE IT SOOO BAD!!!!!
PLEASE HELP ME OUT
THANKS!!!
September 21st, 2006 at 5:14 am
omg, i just finished watching the movie.. REN IS SO SO DAMN HOT!!! the story is very nice.. its about love, hope and dreams.. i cried… huhu
September 27th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
This is a very good movie. It really came across great. I felt like I was there,
only sitting behind a box watching it. I love the songs (I think Hyde wrote some of the lyrics, but I forget which song/s), and want that ringtone.
I can’t wait to read the manga . . . but being poor at the moment kind of prevents that. (I have a bad Visual Kei/Jrock habbit)
This movie is so good, it’s getting replies from months later.
Oh, one of my favorite actors (Kanata Hongo) is ’supposedly’ in Nana 2.
I hope the second one is just as good. Although I doubt it if the original cast doesn’t all come back.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanata_Hongo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NANA#Movie_Sequel
December 31st, 2006 at 12:00 am
NaNa (MIKA NAKASIMA or NAKAJIMA)..
cooL..i saw this movie when i was in plane, flight back to indonesia from Japan last dec 05.. (so Long ago ne..)
the songs always in my mind..
MIKA.. i loves MIKA’s songs..
February 12th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
HEY GUYZ I
February 12th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
loved the actors in the live but do any of you know the actors name
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:37 am
slt moi je conner un dramma jap ou shin il joue un lycéen il est tjr aussi kaiwaii le nom du dramma c’est:gokusen. gokusen c’est un peu comme gto mais c une meuf ki fais la prof est la meuf c l’eritière une famille de yakusa franchement il est croooooooooo bien ce dramma, mais y a aussi un autre dramma ke je kiffe dedant y ruiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii il est manifike le titre c’est : hana yori dango…
March 4th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
not to offend those of you who “loved” the movie, but i thought the anime was better. the people looked better, but i gotta give the movie props for making the actors and actresses look “almost” like the ones in the anime, well the clothes and appearances anyway. Actually it was scary how the actors/actresses were almost as skinny as the anime drawings. the acting in the movie was pretty stiff (in other words, they are not very good) i didn’t enjoy it as much and i didn’t bother watching the rest because the stiffness was annoying me.
April 25th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I read the manga before watching the movie… the manga has a bit more detail, but the movie was good!.. The characters were chosen very well.. I felt the same emotions when I read than watching it.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:07 pm
where can i find to download the 2nd movie?
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:54 pm
if you find out, tell me, i’ve been looking for ages, but i dont think its out.
May 6th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
omg! i really love mika!! yeah, where can u find the bt torrent for no. 2?
June 7th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Hey check out this website it has a whole heap of NANA downlaosd for Music and Whatever.
just check it out ok it has heaps of stuff
June 20th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Can find e movie 2 from
http://www.torrentspy.com/torrent/1410520/Aznmedia_net_Nana_2_Movie_DVD_rip
The torrent has jux been out recently so e speed shld be decent
but its a raw version.
Hopefully some kind soul would sub dis
September 14th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Sorry I had to bookmark your great review!
I read the manga upto volume 16 or something. It’s a MESS with tons of hachi sex life and mystic nana relative from the past pop up left and right. In short the manga sucks for the last 10 volumes!
The second nana movie is a joke IMO. nana seems too happy. Hachi new cast looks really blend and un-cute. And the story is non-existing! And where is the hat girl? And I want the super cute sachiko! LOL! Aoi is very smart to skip the crap!
And I just watched the nana anime episode 1 on DVD few days ago. It copies the movie openning so it’s a good start but the nana dark voice sounds weird. And I really don’t want to see the mess of the recent manga story anymore.
Ok, so what have we got after all? A PERFECT movie for the world of “NANA” (except the miscasted Shin!). And most important of all, a PERFECT ending to a endless story! This is the NANA I will always remember, with all the happiness in room 707!
June 5th, 2009 at 6:33 am
hi, i have a question: when nana presents the band before start to sing Glamorous sky, what did she say in japanese??? its like…. we are blast… and then the song, but how did she say “we are Blast” in japanese :D:D:D Thanks
November 8th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
To add to Os’ comment up top, Yuna Ito (Reira) is Japanese-Korean American. She was born in L.A.
and lived in Hawaii throughout her childhood and went back and forth from the U.S. to Okinawa for
school. That’s why she’s so good at both languages.
She’s also done a cover for a Celine Dion song and even did a duet with her. You should check
those out if you want to hear more of her.
P.S. You’re so right. In the first movie, they had EVERYTHING right. The second, . . . still
awesome, but I hated that half the cast had been replaced.