Manga Reading: Nana Volume 1 🍓

 Back in July I started reading Nana, some of you already know I am a big fan of the anime, it's one of my favs. I've rewatched it so many times and everytime I do, I think I see and feel things differently. I wrote a blog post about the anime many years ago where I included pics, general info about the movies and music. But now I want to start this kind of "series" where I talk about the manga as I read it. I'm not sure how often it'll be posting tho, It'll depend on when I buy the new volumes and, when I have the time to read them.

Nana is currently published by Panini, luckily, there are a few in my city I can go check every now and then. But this manga sells super fast! As I'm typing this, Volume 1 was sold out everywhere!! It took me forever to find it but, here we are!

This post will be similar to Love Hina's, not 100% a review or a good summary, it's more like me trying to go through the manga, some opinions and thoughts every now and then. Plus, we all know it'll be all over the place... it's just the way it is. It'll be fun cuz, even tho I've watched it too many times now, there might be things I don't remember or see differently now and, also things that were not shown in the anime.

Before we start, I do have to mention the cover cuz, all the Nana illustrations are beautiful! We have Osaki Nana reading the newspaper in the famous dining room of the apartment 707. Most details are in dark purple and when you remove the sleeve thingy, we have the same pic as the cover but, all in purple. This volume came with a bookmark as most Panini manga. The first volume is the only one that has it tho, I know because I have other volumes now too.

In this volume we'll get to know the story behind the main characters, Komatsu Nana and Osaki Nana. The first to introduce her story is Komatsu Nana, if you read my old Nana post, you'll have a little more info about them. She lived with her family in a small town in Japan and, she's the middle child of three sisters. First we see her with Asano-san, a guy I totally forgot about. He is the first love interest we meet. He's an older guy who happens to be married but is also dating her. He pretty much breaks up with her and tells her he's moving to Tokyo because of work. Honestly, I never liked or disliked this guy, of course what he was doing was wrong, but he was never mean to Nana.

Komatsu Nana

Asano-san

Then we move on to Nana's graduation, she's crying in the bathroom with Jun-chan (Junko). This is the first time we see her. Despite what people say about her, I like her cuz she's straight forward and doesn't give/tell Nana everything she wants. Fun fact I saw here is Jun-chan talking about getting a perm, I didn't remember that so I guess her curly hair was never natural! 😱 I mean, I remember seeing her with straight hair in the anime but I thought it was a style she was trying back then. Then we have a flashback of the many guys Nana fell for, they were random guys she never really got to know, she just liked the way they looked. It also showed how she even tried to change her style according to them and how she started liking some things because of them. This leads to how she met Asano-san in the movie theater by accident and how their relationship started. She feel in love despite knowing he was married. It was a sad relationship where she didn't know much about him, they met a couple of times a month in a love hotel and she wasn't sure the little information she had was even real. In the end she relaizes breaking up was the best for her.

After graduation she gets a haircut to have a fresh start and decides to follow Jun-chan in arts school even tho she's not good at it, hoping to find love. That's where she meets Shouji, Jun-chan's old friend from junior high. I used to really like Shouji, cuz yeah, he's cute. But he's a character I really dislike now... We'll talk about this later in the series~ He also introduces them to his friend Kyousuke, who is very hot (and nice). They all become friends and Jun-chan and Kyousuke fall for each other almost right away. I swear they are the cutest and funniest couple ever. Shouji and Nana show interest for the other too and Jun-chan encourages them to be together. They had such a cute friendship! 

Kyosuke and Jun-chan

Shouji

During summer the 4 of the decide to go on a trip to the beach where Nana and Shouji end up sharing a room and Nana kinda admits that she loves Shouji but wants to see him only as her "precious male friend". In this trip, they find out Jun-chan is planning to go to Tokyo to study arts and Kyousuke will go with her,  and the Shouji says he also wants to go. This breaks Nana's heart but in the end, she decides she will go too. 

They all go to Tokyo to apply for schools but Nana doesn't get in. She doesn't want to go back alone because she thinks she will be lonely without her friends but she doesn't really have a plan either. So she has an arguement with Shouji in which he pretty much tells her she's needy and leaves her alone in the street. She doesn't know how to return to the hotel and she randomly bumps into Asano-san. They have dinner together and chat for a bit, then he helps her return to the hotel. This meeting gives closure to Nana in a way and makes her realize she's really in love with Shouji. On the other hand, when Shouji returns to the hotel without Nana, Jun-chan and Kyousuke scold him for leving her like that and make him admit his feeling for her. They all start looking for her, when Nana is close to the hotel she meets Shouji and they both apologize, they return to the hotel where they have to share a room again. They start talking about the future and how she really wants to move to Tokyo. Shouji explains why he's worried about her staying with him, specially since they are both unemployed. So Nana decides that she will go back home and start working to make enough money for a year and move to Tokyo in a year, when Shouji enters University. 

That night Nana sleeps with Shouji for the first time and they become a couple. She returns to Tokyo and starts working at a movie rental place to make enough money while having a long distance relationship with Shouji. 

And that is the end of Komatsu Nana's part. This Nana is one of my favorites and the one I identify with the most. I know she has a lot of flaws and issues but, who doesn't? In this story, most, if not all characters have very deep and sad backgrounds. I think this is why I love the story so much, they are relatable and real, not everything is perfect and happy. 

It is kinda sad how Nana can be such a cheerful girl and feel so lonely at the same time. I feel I understand her in a way cuz, I was there once. Dating people just to fill emptiness and feel like someone is taking care of you, being so attached and dependent on people that you feel left behind when you can no longer keep up with them. It is just so real! I also used to believe in courses. I lived mine too and it lasted for a long, long time. Haha. But I also love her loyalty to the ones she loves, her happy spirit and how caring she can be. She's a little clueless and lost in life but it is part of what makes her a good character. Plus, I love her fashion!!!

I do have to mention though, Shouji was my first husbando in the story but then I changed him. He is good looking and sweet but I'll end up hating him in a few volumes. I liked many guys in this show guys. I just realize I also like Kyousuke!!!! Mostly because I love him with Jun-chan. ♡

Let's to move on to my woman crush, Osaki Nana...

Her chapter starts with a short self introduction. Nana has a sad story. She didn't meet her dad and her mom abandoned her when she was very young, leaving her with her grandma, who took care of her. When she died, Nana was pretty much on her own.

Then we have a Blast concert, Blast is a band Nana had with her friend Yasu, Nobu and boyfriend at the time, Ren. Even tho they were not big, they were very popular in their hometown. After the concert they are all greeted by fans who shower them with gifts and compliments. This is the first time we see Misato-chan, who is a big Blast and Nana fan. Later, they all go to have a drink and celebrate another successful concert, they split and go separate ways: Nobu with Yasu and, Nana with Ren. Before they leave, Yasu asks Ren to talk to Nana and he will take care of Nobu, none of them have an idea of what is going on.

Nana and Ren walk to their house even tho they are freezing cuz it's a snowy night. Ren finds a handmade skarf as a part of the gifts he received and they share it as they continue walking. They look all happy and cute! I have to say tho, I'm not the biggest Ren fan, but I fotgot how happy they were. They made it look as if they had a healthy, happy relationship.

Nana and Ren

Nobu and Yasu

When they arrive to their apartment(?) they take a bath together and Nana starts remembering the first time they met when Nobu invited her at a concert Ren had with his previous band and how she left school around that time and started working at her grandma's Restaurant/store (I'm not sure cuz at the beginning they say restaurant and then she just calls it "store", oh well) cuz she wanted money and her grandma never gave her any. She also talks about how her grandma never let her wear girly clothes with bright, "girly" colors like pink and red because that'd make guys pay too much attention to her. That was why, the first thing she did when her grandma died, and to cheer her up a little was to buy a red dress. (same dress she wore when she met Ren for the first time). Nevertheless, she was thankful for everything her grandma did to raise and take care of her.

She also explains that, even tho she wasn't really interested in meeting Ren at first, she fell for him as soon as she saw him on stage. They both share a bit of a similar background cuz Ren was also abandoned as a child. For Nana, living with Ren is like a dream that makes her feel anxious every now and then. After the bath, they go to bedand Nana starts talking about how she wants to sing in a bigger place with a bigger audience, then Ren mentions something about having children but she says that she would rather sing than having to raise children and then she asks him about the thing that Yasu asked him to tell her which was that he decided to go to Tokyo. It was something like: "live your life the way you want, I'm going to Tokyo". Of course, Nana was shocked.

Then we see Yasu telling Nobu the same thing. Nobu couldn't believe it, he was worried about the band and, of course, about Nana. Yasu tells him that the old band they used to play against in contests moved to Tokyo and they needed a guitarist so they decided to call Ren and since they were becoming big and were about to have a debut, he agreed to become a part of the band. This band is, Trapnest. Nobu was on denial and even tho Yasu seemed to be pretty chill about it, he said that if Nana decided to go to Tokyo, he'd quit music. 

After that we ahve a flashback of when Yasu, Ren and Nobu were talking about finding a singer for their band and how Ren wanted it to be a woman cuz he was sick of working with "dirty musicians". At that time they were all students and Nana was they new, akward girl in the class but, she was friends with Nobu. So, when the guys were having this conversation, Nana arrived to Nobu's house to return a CD and, she meets Ren again, this time he's the one falling for her. So they decide Nana should be the new singer.

The next day Nobu goes visit Nana at work cuz he's worried about her. He ven tells her that he is willing to follow her to Tokyo if she decides to go but Nana says she's not going. And even tho Ren taught her to play the guitar and gave her her passion for music, she didn't want to follow him cuz she wasn't singing for him, she was doing it for her. I really liked it cuz she said her life was not just "sleeping with Ren" and that she wanted to become a stronger person and a successful singer on her own. So she wanted to save some money and one day, move to Tokyo. She also asked Nobu if he could wait for her so they could go together. I thought that was kinda cute.

We see another flashback where Nana explains how she started dating Ren around Christmas and started living together almost right away but she also mentions how she felt like he did so much for her but, she didn't do much for him. That she could just follow him to Tokyo and become the mother of his kids but, it wasn't what she wanted.

When that flashback ends, they show the day Ren leaves to Tokyo, Nobu, Yasu and Nana are there to say goodbye, of course Nana is really sad and cries but, she moves on with her life and continues making music. In a picture we see a new guitarist I don't remember seeing before.

After almost 2 years of ending the relationship, Nana has enough money to go to Tokyo and follow her dream. She says she only needs her guitar and cigarettes...

That is the end of volume one. I feel like Osaki Nana's part was shorter than Komatsu Nana, maybe because the scenes were longer? Idk. Maybe it's just me. I'm a big Osaki Nana fan, she's so cool and strong. And I like how she's so willing to make her dreams come true and do what makes her happy instead of trying to please others. At the same time I feel like hugging her cuz she went through so much. 💔 Like I mentioned before, I'm not a big Ren fan, guess we'll get to that later in the story. I always wanted Yaso to be with Nana~ oh well.

At the end of the manga, we have the forst part of Junko's room that is like a "behind the scenes" random couple of pages that show Jun-chan, Kyousuke, Shouji and Komatsu Nana in this type of bar owned by Jun-chan.

I think this volume is pretty close, if not the same, as the anime. Before I officially end this post, Nana is on Netflix now! I'm excited and I know I'll watch it again. For the 1000000th time, hehe.

I'm sorry, I keep making these manga posts super long, I just can't help it!!!

See you in the next one~! ♡