About Nana
Nana, stylised NANA, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. After a two-part prologue in Shueisha's monthly magazine Cookie in 1999, it was serialised there from May 2000 until May 2009, when it went on indefinite hiatus after chapter 84 because Yazawa fell ill. Its chapters fill 21 volumes, Viz Media publishes it in English, and by 2019 it had more than 50 million copies in circulation. Madhouse adapted it as the anime Nana, directed by Morio Asaka with series composition by Tomoko Konparu and music by Tomoki Hasegawa. It ran on Nippon TV from April 2006 to March 2007: 47 episodes, plus three recap specials. The story was also filmed in live action, as Nana (2005) and Nana 2 (2006).
In March 2001, two 20-year-olds named Nana meet on a snow-delayed train to Tokyo. Nana Komatsu is following her boyfriend, Shoji, and her friends from art school, Junko and Kyosuke; Nana Osaki, a punk singer, has come to make it in music. A few days later they turn up to view the same apartment, room 707, and decide to share it to split the rent. Osaki nicknames her new flatmate Hachi, after Hachikō, the famously loyal dog. Osaki's band, Black Stones (Blast for short), re-forms in Tokyo with Nobu on guitar, Yasu on drums and a 15-year-old called Shin on bass. Its original bassist, Ren, Osaki's ex-boyfriend, now plays guitar for Trapnest, the chart-topping band that Hachi adores.
From there, Ai Yazawa's Nana follows the two Nanas through 2001. Black Stones chase a record deal with Gaia Records. Hachi loses Shoji, drifts between jobs and is caught between Nobu and Trapnest's leader, Takumi, choosing Takumi when she finds she is pregnant. A tabloid scoop about Nana and Ren then turns the band's debut into national news. At the centre of it all is the friendship between two young women who could hardly be more different. Hachi narrates, looking back, and brief flash-forwards show the friends years later, gathered in room 707 without Nana Osaki. The manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga in 2003, and critics have noted its mature themes.
Want the archetype rather than the character? The dere type quiz scores you across all eight anime dere types — tsundere, yandere, kuudere, dandere and four more — and explains where each word comes from.
What the Nana Quiz Tests
Our Nana quiz covers the 47-episode anime and Ai Yazawa's published manga, which has been on hiatus since 2009, so nothing here guesses at an ending. Easy levels cover the premise: who made it, how the two Nanas meet, room 707, the nickname Hachi, and who plays what in Black Stones and Trapnest. The middle levels move through the story in order: Nana and Ren's break-up, the padlock necklace, Nobu's arrival and Shin's audition, Black Stones' first Tokyo show, the Trapnest concert in Hachi's hometown, the mahjong night that brings Takumi to 707, Tanabata, the Gaia Records deal, Trapnest's trip to London and the debut single that lands on the same day as Trapnest's. The hard levels go to the details a fan remembers: Hachi's imaginary rival, the vintage shop she works in, the man from Gaia, where the first street gig happens, the song Shin plays for Reira, and one reveal that so far only the manga has made.
Key Characters
Nana Osaki is proud, sharp-tongued and determined to succeed on her own: a punk singer, raised by her grandmother, who would rather lose Ren than follow him to Tokyo as his girlfriend. Nana "Hachi" Komatsu is her opposite, cheerful, impulsive and quick to fall in love, and the story is about what each gives the other. Around them stand the members of two bands. In Black Stones, Nobu is the warm-hearted guitarist who walked away from his family's inn, Yasu the calm, shaven-headed drummer and trainee lawyer whom everyone calls in a crisis, and Shin the 15-year-old bassist from Sweden who looks on Hachi almost as a mother. In Trapnest, Ren is the laid-back guitarist who still wears Nana's padlock necklace, Takumi the workaholic leader who sweeps Hachi off her feet, and Reira the half-American singer who has loved Takumi since childhood.
Available Quizzes
Nana Trivia
50 hand-crafted questions across 5 categories. 10 levels of increasing difficulty.
Which Nana Character Are You?
Answer 10 questions to discover which Nana character matches your personality!
Random Mix
Questions from all 43 anime including Nana. The ultimate challenge.
Characters
Nana Osaki
Hachi (Nana Komatsu)
Ren Honjo
Nobu
Yasu
Nana Fun Facts
- Ai Yazawa had wanted to draw a story about a rockabilly band since working on I'm No Angel in the early 1990s. She chose punk for Nana instead, because she had already drawn one of I'm No Angel's leads with a pompadour.
- Vivienne Westwood clothes and jewellery appear all through the series because Yazawa is a fan of the brand, and some of the outfits in it come from her own wardrobe.
- The two bands have real voices. Anna Tsuchiya, credited as "Anna inspi' Nana (Black Stones)", sang Nana's songs and the openings "Rose" and "Lucy". Olivia Lufkin, credited as "Olivia inspi' Reira (Trapnest)", sang Reira's, including the opening "Wish" and the endings "A Little Pain" and "Starless Night".
- Romi Park, Nana Osaki's Japanese voice, won Best Actress at the first Seiyu Awards for the role. She is also the voice of Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist.
- In the 2005 live-action film Mika Nakashima played Nana Osaki, and she released the single "Glamorous Sky" as "Nana starring Mika Nakashima". Yazawa wrote the lyrics and Hyde the music, and it became Nakashima's first number one on the Oricon chart.
- Every manga volume includes a short bonus comic, Junko's Room, in which Junko runs a bar visited by characters from Yazawa's other series. The anime borrowed the name for its three recap specials, which Junko hosts.
Nana Quiz — Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes of Nana are there?
Forty-seven. The anime aired on Nippon TV from 5 April 2006 to 28 March 2007. There are also three recap specials called Junko's Room, numbered 11.5, 21.5 and 36.5, which are not counted. Episode 6 mostly replays episode 1 with extra scenes before the story moves on.
Is Nana finished?
No. Ai Yazawa's manga has been on indefinite hiatus since chapter 84 was published in May 2009, after she fell ill. Its 21 volumes stop short of the last four chapters, which have not yet been collected, and in 2022 Yazawa said she would like to continue the series when she can. The anime ends around the start of volume 12; in 2007 the manga's editor at Shueisha and Madhouse's managing director said they would wait for the manga to end before making more, and no second season has been made.
What order should I watch Nana in?
Straight through, episodes 1 to 47. The three Junko's Room specials only recap earlier episodes, so they can be skipped. The live-action films Nana (2005) and Nana 2 (2006) retell the early story with a different cast and are separate from the anime; Nana 2 recast Hachi, Ren and Shin. To carry on after the last episode, pick up the manga in volume 12.
Where can I watch Nana?
Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime in 2021 and premiered it on its HIDIVE service on 22 April that year, followed by Blu-ray releases in 2022. Viz Media had released it earlier on DVD with an English dub. Availability differs by country and changes over time, so check your local services.
What is Nana about?
Two 20-year-old women, both called Nana, meet on a train to Tokyo and end up sharing apartment 707. Nana Osaki is a punk singer determined to make it with her band, Black Stones; Nana "Hachi" Komatsu is a romantic who moved for her boyfriend. The series follows their friendship through a year of love, ambition and the music business, alongside the rival band Trapnest. It is a drama about young adults, and critics have noted its mature themes.
