Nana is a live action movie adaption from the famous manga with the same title by Ai Yazawa. If you are familiar with Ai Yazawa's works before, then you're used to see such delicate characters with amazing fashion senses. Yes, Ai Yazawa herself took up fashion design major for a while before she dropped out and pursued career as a mangaka. Nana is no doubt one of her most successful mangas. The story goes by two female protagonist who shared the same name and yet they are the complete opposite. "Chipper Nana" is the happy-go-lucky bubbly girl who by chance encountered "gloomy Nana" on the train that's going to Tokyo. After they spent the night together on the way, they separaed ways until both of them ended up looking at the same apartment. 'White' Nana is a naive young woman who went to Tokyo to chase after Shoji, his boyfriend from her hometown, while 'Black' Nana is going to Tokyo to pursue her dream to become a singer. She's the vocalist of a punk-rock band Black Stones along with a couple other guys. From then, it follows both of their journeys as they tried to make their big city dreams come true.
Even if you have read the manga or watched the anime you're still in for a treat. Basically, this movie is perfect if you love slice-of-life, lighthearted type of movie with awesome J-rock music. Since Mika Nakashima (dark/black Nana) is a real life singer, you can only expect her to have great voice, but her acting definitely didn't disappoint either. The iconic Glamorous Sky song that she sung live with her band in the movie was probably my favorite part. Aoi Miyazaki (lovely/white Nana) was perfect for the role as well, kinda bummed that they recast her for the second movie. Black Nana and the boys of Black Stones have such consistent looks which I really dig. Since Ai Yazawa herself is a big fan of Vivienne Westwood, she did incorporate the designer's aesthetic within her characters.
Even if you have read the manga or watched the anime you're still in for a treat. Basically, this movie is perfect if you love slice-of-life, lighthearted type of movie with awesome J-rock music. Since Mika Nakashima (dark/black Nana) is a real life singer, you can only expect her to have great voice, but her acting definitely didn't disappoint either. The iconic Glamorous Sky song that she sung live with her band in the movie was probably my favorite part. Aoi Miyazaki (lovely/white Nana) was perfect for the role as well, kinda bummed that they recast her for the second movie. Black Nana and the boys of Black Stones have such consistent looks which I really dig. Since Ai Yazawa herself is a big fan of Vivienne Westwood, she did incorporate the designer's aesthetic within her characters.
This movie has a special place in my heart, because my very good friend actually introduced it to me about 9 years ago when we were still in junior high. I still feel the same no matter how many times I 've rewatched it.
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