NANA ep.1

April 5, 2006 | 37 Comments

Opening Theme: Rose by ANNA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES) (11MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

What a relief! I finally find a manga adaptation that is actually worth watching this season. I have to say that this is probably one of the best series that are released this season. Everything from the animation, the maturity of the acting, the soundtrack, down to the super-deformed facial expression is perfect. I especially love the soundtrack which is quite jazz influenced. If there is one thing I have to criticise it's probably the way the storyline has been modified a bit just like in the movie but this is not a big deal since if they had followed the manga to a T, I don't think they'll have enough time to cover every single part of the story. If you like the live-action version, then this is definitely better. The opening theme itself is not as good as the ending theme but it gets better after repeat listening.

The episode opens with Komatsu Nana (Hachi) quietly asking Nana if she remembers the first time they met. Since Hachi is superstitious, she believes that their meeting was fated and doesn't care if anyone laugh about her saying this. After the credit, Hachi is seen praying to God and other deities that the text message she's about to open is from someone that she knows. As a result, she's very happy when she opens it and finds a message from her boyfriend, Shoji, that the sakura is blooming and that he's been accepted into a university in Tokyo. Hachi is excited to read this and decides to quit her job and heads to Tokyo to see him this spring. Once she boards the train, however, Hachi realises that the carriage is packed with passangers. She notices an empty seat next to a punk look-alike girl but hesitates to approach her because a guitar is resting against that said chair. Somehow, as if it's a fate, the train starts to shake, causing Hachi to fall into the lap of the punk girl.

Hachi immediately apologises and after some hesitation decides to ask if she can sit next to the girl. Much to her surprise, the girl smiles and tells her to sit down. Hachi immediately swoons over the punk girl, thinking to herself how beautiful and cool the other girl looks. The other girl eventually realises that she's been observed by Hachi so she asks Hachi if she's disturbed by her smoking. Hachi becomes embarassed and tells the other girl that she's okay with it. The other girl then tells Hachi that it seems the train is not moving. Hachi becomes panic because she alreayd promised to meet Shoji at a certain time. She, however, has the idea of sending a message by text-messaging him. Upon seeing Hachi's quick dial finger, the other girl makes a remark that today's high school girls are so quick with that kind of thing. Hachi is surprised to hear this and tells the other girl that he's actually a 20 year old. The other girl immediately laugh upon hearing this and tells Hachi that she is also a 20 year old.

Their conversation, however, is interrupted by a phone call from Hachi's boyfriend. Nana lets Shonji know that she'll probably be late arriving in Tokyo because the train has temporarily stopped. Through this phone conversation, the other girl finds out that Hachi's real name is actually Nana. After the phone conversation is over, Hachi tells the other girl that she's actually going to Tokyo to meet her boyfriend. That boyfriend, Shoji, actually came from her hometown but he went to Tokyo one year earlier so he can get into an art school. Hachi didn't come with him back then because back then she didn't have any plan or money. However, the two promised each other that Hachi will move to Tokyo once Shoji gets into a university. The two then decide to have a drink together and the other girl lets Hachi know that her real name is also Nana. In the present day, Hachi narrates how back then she talked for 5 hours without knowing anything about the other Nana.

Once the train arrives in Tokyo station, Hachi immediately runs towards her boyfriend upon spotting the guy. She, however, quickly realises that she's lost track of the other Nana and regrets the fact that she didn't get her cell phone number. Hachi, however, cheers up a bit when she sees the face of her old friends, Junko and Kyousuke. Later on that night, Shoji decides to take Hachi into his apartment because Junko and Kyousuke are living together now. Hachi is surprised to find out about this since she didn't have any idea before. She, however, is happy with the fact that she gets to live with Shoji and hopes that one day their time to be like Junko and Kyousuke will arrive. The next day, Hachi is horrified when she realises that she's overslept. Because of this she decides to clean up Shoji's apartment and cook for his boyfriend. Unfortunately for her, Shoji is not happy when he finds out that Hachi didn't go to look for an apartment or a job.

Shoji also tells Hachi that she didn't come all the way to Tokyo to become a housewife when she points out that she couldn't do either of those because she spent her time cleaning up and cooking for her. This obviously upsets Hachi and because of this, she decides to look for an apartment the next day. Unfortunately the real estate agent tells her that it'll be hard to find something under 50,000 Yen. On the real estate agent's suggestion, Hachi decides to look at an older apartment priced at 70,000 Yen. The apartment happens to be overlooking into a river and is numbered 707. Much to Hachi's surprise, however, there is already someone else interested in the apartment. And that person is Oosaki Nana that she met in the train a few days ago. The two reacquint themself and since both of them are interested in the same apartment, the real estate agent suggests that they live together and split the bill. After some hesitation, Nana agrees to share the apartment with Hachi.

Impression:

I can't emphasised how happy I am with this particular adaptation. While I was watching this, I felt that I was really immersed in the environment that the anime has created. I especially think that the train scene perfectly captures the mood of being in Japan during winter time. In terms of story, the anime seems to jump straight into the second volume of the manga just like the live action film. I personally have no problem with this because I think the writers want to introduce both Nana right away. In addition to this, they only have one season to cover a large amount of manga volumes. This Japanese TV series listing indicates that so far 13 episodes have been reserved for the anime. I certainly hope that it'll at least get extended to 26 episodes. For the time being, however, I think it's safe to say that the pace is quite good and that nothing is rushed.

In fact, the first episode ends just right after Nana and Hachi sign a contract for their apartment. I think that is a relatively short amount of the manga covered just within one episode. Character-design wise, the anime is perfect. I think the anime designer has successfully adapted the manga's design. Not only that the characters actually look similar to its manga counterpart, even the super-deformed face is also similar. This is such a relief after the debacle that was Paradise Kiss. In general, the voice acting is also quite good. Both Paku Romi (as Oosaki Nana) and Kaori (as Komatsu Nana) delivered a good performance here. There is a subdue and almost sad-quality to Kaori's words as she asks Nana if she remembers the first time they met. I think sometimes you meet a friend whose presence you enjoy so much that being apart from them can sometimes hurt you. It's nice to be able to hear this emotion expressed through the characters.

Music is another top performer in this series. Well, to be honest, I'm not that keen over the opening and ending theme. They are simply not the kind of music that I normally listen to. I think neither the opening nor the ending tops Endless Story as far as Nana related music is concerned. Having said that, the background music for this series is awesome. I like the way the composer blends jazz and classic music together in order to create a unique infusion for the series. I simply love this kind of music and happy to be able to hear it in a series that I like. Overall, I think this is one of the best anime series that have been released this season. And that's quite an achievement considering the fact that there are several lousy manga to anime adaptation this season. Props to MadHouse for creating this impressive first episode. I'm looking forward for the next one.

Ending Theme: A little Pain by OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST) (14.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

This is a slow rock type of song which is quite appropriate for the series. In general, I think this is a bit easier to listen to than the opening but there is nothing particularly offensive with either of them.

© memento 2003