Nana
Nana is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Ai Yazawa about two young women who share a name, an apartment, and an increasingly complicated life in Tokyo.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Nana is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa and published by Shueisha. The story follows two women named Nana who meet while traveling to Tokyo at the age of twenty. Nana Osaki is a punk-influenced vocalist determined to establish herself as a professional musician, while Nana Komatsu, nicknamed Hachi, is more romantically oriented and seeks emotional security, companionship, and a place in the city. Their contrasting ambitions and temperaments become the foundation of an intense friendship shaped by love, jealousy, artistic ambition, pregnancy, fame, betrayal, grief, and media scrutiny. The series began with a two-part prologue in Cookie in 1999 and entered regular serialization in the same magazine in May 2000. Publication continued until May 2009, when the manga entered an indefinite hiatus. Twenty-one collected volumes have been released. Because the story remains unfinished, its later narrative introduces unresolved questions about the characters' futures, including rumors surrounding Nana Osaki's disappearance and the efforts of Hachi and their friends to find her. The central fictional music groups are Black Stones, commonly called Blast, and Trapnest. Black Stones is associated with Nana Osaki's raw punk identity and her desire to succeed on her own terms. Trapnest represents a more established and commercially successful music industry model, led by bassist Takumi Ichinose and featuring vocalist Reira Serizawa and guitarist Ren Honjo. The relationship between the two bands connects the personal and professional conflicts at the heart of the series. Nana Osaki's relationship with Ren, Hachi's relationships with Shoji Endo, Nobuo Terashima, and Takumi, and the pressures surrounding Hachi's pregnancy all drive major turning points. Nana became notable for combining josei-adjacent emotional complexity with the visual language of shōjo manga, including fashion, music subculture, urban adulthood, and emotionally difficult relationships. The series was adapted into two Japanese live-action films, released in 2005 and 2006, and into a 47-episode anime television series produced by Madhouse and broadcast on Nippon TV from April 2006 to March 2007. English-language rights in North America were handled by Viz Media for the manga, films, and anime; Sentai Filmworks later re-licensed the anime in 2021. The manga received the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category in 2003. By 2019, reported circulation exceeded 50 million copies, placing Nana among the most commercially successful manga series. Its cultural profile has also been supported by the adaptations, music tie-ins, fashion references, and the enduring popularity of its two protagonists. Although the manga's publication status is unresolved because of the long hiatus, Nana remains an influential Japanese comics property with continuing international recognition.
History
Ai Yazawa created Nana as a serialized Japanese shōjo manga for Shueisha's Cookie magazine. A two-part prologue appeared in 1999, followed by regular serialization beginning in May 2000. The narrative was designed around two protagonists who share the name Nana but differ sharply in personality, priorities, and life circumstances. Nana Osaki is an aspiring vocalist with a punk aesthetic and a strong desire for independence. Nana Komatsu, whom Osaki nicknames Hachi, is emotionally open, relationship-focused, and often dependent on the people around her. Their chance meeting on a train to Tokyo leads to a shared apartment and an unusually intense friendship. The early story establishes Tokyo as both an opportunity and a source of instability. Osaki arrives to pursue music with Black Stones, or Blast, while Hachi follows her boyfriend and hopes to build a new adult life with her friends. After the two become roommates, the series interweaves domestic comedy with more serious examinations of abandonment, infidelity, class, work, pregnancy, and artistic ambition. Their relationship is repeatedly tested by romantic entanglements and the growing success of the bands around them. Black Stones is built around Osaki's vocals, Nobuo Terashima's guitar, Yasu Takagi's drumming, and Shin'ichi Okazaki's bass. Ren Honjo, formerly the group's bassist and Osaki's partner, leaves to join Trapnest, a more commercially established band. Trapnest is led by Takumi Ichinose and includes vocalist and lyricist Reira Serizawa, drummer Naoki Fujieda, and Ren as guitarist. This movement between bands creates a continuing tension between personal loyalty and professional advancement. Osaki and Ren reunite, but their relationship is strained by fame, jealousy, substance abuse, and the demands of their respective careers. Hachi's storyline develops in parallel. Her relationship with Shoji Endo ends after infidelity, and she becomes involved with both Nobu and Takumi. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she marries Takumi, creating a permanent connection between the two social and musical circles. The series treats these developments not as simple romantic resolutions but as difficult compromises involving responsibility, dependency, and competing definitions of adulthood. As Blast gains attention, tabloid coverage and professional promotion increasingly shape the characters' lives. A media exposure of Osaki and Ren helps bring wider recognition to Blast, which eventually signs with Gaia Records. The band's progress is later disrupted when Shin is arrested, while Ren's drug dependence and increasing emotional distance from Osaki deepen the story's darker tone. Ren eventually dies in a car accident, a major turning point that leaves Osaki grieving and forces the surviving characters to reconsider their ambitions and relationships. Later sections use a time-shifted narrative structure. These passages suggest that years have passed and that Osaki may have disappeared or died, while Hachi and the wider group continue trying to understand what happened. The unresolved search for Osaki gives the series an intentionally unfinished emotional horizon. Serialization stopped in May 2009 and entered an indefinite hiatus, leaving the manga without a completed ending in the reference material. Nana expanded beyond print through a 2005 live-action film, a 2006 sequel, and a 47-episode anime television adaptation produced by Madhouse and directed by Morio Asaka. Viz Media handled North American English-language releases for the manga and films and initially distributed the anime, while Sentai Filmworks later obtained a new anime license in 2021. The property received the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category in 2003. Its reported circulation exceeded 50 million copies by 2019, reflecting substantial domestic and international reach despite the manga's unfinished publication history.
- 2021
Anime re-licensed in North America
[1]Sentai Filmworks obtained a new North American license for the anime.
- 2019
Circulation passes 50 million copies
[1]Reported circulation exceeded 50 million copies by this year.
- 2009
Indefinite hiatus begins
[1]Manga serialization paused in May after 21 collected volumes.
- 2006
Anime and film sequel
[1]The anime adaptation premiered and Nana 2 followed as a theatrical sequel.
- 2005
First live-action film
[1]The first live-action Nana film was released in Japan.
- 2003
Shogakukan Manga Award
[1]The series won the shōjo category at the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award.
- 2000
Regular serialization begins
[1]Regular serialization started in Cookie in May.
- 1999
Prologue published
[1]Nana appeared first as a two-part prologue in Shueisha's Cookie magazine.
Products and positioning
A character-driven shōjo manga property centered on friendship, romance, music, urban adulthood, fashion, and emotional melodrama.
Manga series · 1999
Nana manga
The original manga by Ai Yazawa follows Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu as they establish adult lives in Tokyo. Its story combines friendship, romance, music, fashion, work, family pressure, and media attention. The series began with a prologue in 1999, was serialized from 2000 to 2009, and has been collected in 21 tankōbon volumes. It remains unfinished because serialization entered an indefinite hiatus.
Live-action film · 2005
Nana
The first Japanese live-action adaptation translates the manga's central friendship and music-industry setting into a feature film. It focuses on the meeting and developing relationship between Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu and presents the Black Stones and Trapnest conflicts in cinematic form.
Live-action film sequel · 2006
Nana 2
Nana 2 continues the live-action interpretation of the manga's characters and relationships. The sequel expands the emotional and professional consequences of the protagonists' romantic choices and the competing trajectories of Black Stones and Trapnest.
Anime television series · 2006
Nana anime television series
Produced by Madhouse and directed by Morio Asaka, the anime ran for 47 episodes on Nippon TV from April 2006 to March 2007. It adapts the manga's intertwined stories of music, friendship, romance, and personal crisis. The series received English-language releases in North America and was later re-licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
Brand decisions
2021
Anime North American license renewedOtherBackground
The earlier North American anime licensing arrangement was followed by a new license for the series.
Action taken
Sentai Filmworks re-licensed the Nana anime for North America.
Aftermath
The anime remained available through a renewed regional rights arrangement.
2009
Serialization placed on indefinite hiatusOtherBackground
Publication of the manga stopped in May 2009, leaving the story unresolved.
Action taken
Cookie ceased regular publication of new Nana chapters, and no concluding continuation is identified in the supplied reference material.
Aftermath
The manga remains an unfinished property, although its collected volumes and adaptations continue to circulate.
Sources1 sources
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