NANA ep.2

April 12, 2006 | 18 Comments

This is another impressive episode for the series. I was a bit worried that we won't get to see Komatsu Nana's and Oosaki Nana's individual story prior to their meeting with each other. Thankfully that does not seem to be the case. This episode basically covers the first half of Komatsu Nana/Hachi's past. I am quite surprised to see this as I thought the anime writers will speed things up and show Hachi's and Nana's story in only one episode. But as it appears now, I think each girl will get at least 2 episodes to flesh out their background before the story will get back to their time together in Tokyo. The most notable part of this episode is probably the manga-like static scenes which show Hachi's experience as she fell in and out of love with various men. It was quite hilarious to see the first time around.

This episode begins with Komatsu Nana/Hachi saying that her birthplace is a town that is neither big nor small. Her story began when she was about to graduate from high school and was secretly involved with a man. The man, however, had just told her that he's moving to Tokyo due to his job. Hachi was upset about this and tried to remain calm by telling herself that Tokyo is only two hours away using Shinkansen so she can still see him if she wants to. Unfortunately for Hachi, her man told her that he's sad that he's not going to be able to see her anymore and thanked her for their time together. At this point, a nice but melancholic jazz tune quietly underscores the scene. Hachi then continues her narration by saying that back then she understood that there is no future to this relationship but she didn't expect it to end so suddenly. She claims that she refused to shed any tears over it but the truth is far from it because she ended up crying in a girl's restroom during school.

Hachi's then school friend, Junko, told Hachi that this is the reason why she wanted Hachi to end the affair as soon as possible. Hachi, however, refused to admit that the relationship she had with Asano was an "affair" nor that it was a form of prostitution since she never received any money from Asano, the man she was involved with. Junko then decided to be a bit nicer to her friend by telling her that she knows Hachi was serious about the guy. Back then Hachi told Junko that she believes that this misfortune happens because her real name (Nana) is an unlucky name. In return Junko told her that regardless what, she believed the man would still go to Tokyo. Upon hearing this, Hachi decided that she too would like to go to Tokyo after graduation. Hachi then continues to narrate her past by saying that looking back to her high school life, she feels that it started and ended with love. It appears that she fell in and out of love with almost every man she encountered.

The first one was her art teacher, Okamoto. Although Hachi wasn't good at art, she and Jun ended up enrolling in art class just to see the man. However, after one year, Okamoto left to teach at another high school and Hachi was devastated by it especially since according to the static still, she has styled her hair to make it look similar to Okamoto. The next person that Hachi fell in love with is Nakamura, a guy who works at a video rental shop. She tried to confess to him but he ended up rejecting her. After this Hachi fell for a chef called Kawasaki and a pizza delivery boy called Yoshida. But unfortunately, none of her infatuations evolved into a true relationship. Then one day after almost fainting at a cinema due to extreme dieting, Hachi met Asano Takashi, the man that she ended up having an affair with. Hachi immediately fell head over heels for Asano and as a thank you for buying her a drink, she told him to come to the restaurant where she was working.

It's not until two weeks later that Hachi got to see Asano again. Back then she noticed that he had a wedding ring on his finger but she chose to ignore this fact. Hachi believes that back then she really loved Asano and he, in return, loved her back. However, the only thing that Hachi knew about Asano was his mobile phone number. She had no idea where he lived or worked. She believes now that if this relationship had continued further, it may have completely destroyed her youth. Because of this, Hachi tried to think that it was a good thing that they broke up and tried to move on with her life. When spring came, Hachi decided to enrol in an Art school, hoping that she can finally get the chance to meet that special someone. Junko, became exasperated when she found out about this but Hachi claimed that she also wants to study art. Junko was relieved by this but can't stop herself from joking that Hachi can't get a man with her new hairstyle anyway.

Hachi, however, quickly revealed her true intentions when she told Jun that prior to these, the men she was interested in were older than her. She thought she could find herself in a good romantic relationship if she finds a guy of her age. And predictably, Hachi immediately fell head over heels for Endou Shouji, a guy who once went to the same junior high school with Junko. After the two introduced one another, Shouji decided to introduce both Hachi and Junko to his friend, Takakura Kyousuke. Hachi also developed a crush on him right away. ^_^;; Nevertheless, Hachi thought that Junko actually like Shouji so she promised to not steal him from her. Junko became annoyed by this and told Hachi that she and Shouji are just friends and unlike Hachi, she has had a lot of male friends whom she didn't fall in love with. Upon hearing this Hachi realised that she never had a male friend because she had always fell in love with them right away.

Because of this Hachi promised herself to make Shouji and Kyousuke her male friends. Junko was surprised to hear this and advised Hachi that one can't plan to make friends with someone. Friendship should happen naturally. After some more thoughts, however, Junko believed that it might not be a bad idea for Hachi to just be friends with Shouji and Kyousuke. Unfortunately, Hachi's resolve melt right away when Shouji called the two to let them know that he and Kyousuke were coming to visit. She, however, tried her best to act as if she's only interested to be Shouji's friend. After a few beers, Hachi even revealed that she once had a crush on many men. Hachi laughed at her own story until she remembered her time with Asano. She became distraught because she was not sure if Asano actually ever gave her his real name. That night, Shouji decided to return back to his apartment but asked Junko to let Kyousuke sleep in her place since he already passed out.

Junko decided to ask Shouji if he has no girlfriend right now, prompting Shouji to ask her if she fell in love with him. Junko, however, gave him a scary-looking face before telling him that she knows that he came here tonight to see Hachi. She assured him that Hachi also has interest in him and wished him luck. The next day, Hachi woke up and exit her room only to find Junko and Kyousuke in a compromising position. Junko quickly acted as if nothing had happened but Kyousuke told Hachi that he found Junko to be attractive right from the start. Hachi cheered on Kyousuke's bravery but became embarrassed when she found out that he knew about her many love conquests. At first she thought Junko blabbed it all out but quickly realised that she had done it all on her own. Junko then told Hachi that she had mentioned all of her experiences with the men in her life except when it came to Asano. Because of this, Junko believed that Hachi still loves Asano.

Hachi tried to deny this but became melancholic when Junko told her that she started crying after mentioning Asano's name. Junko, who feels sorry for Hachi, told her friend that she could help her when it comes to Shouji. Hachi thought that Junko simply feel guilty for getting caught with Kyousuke but Junko told Hachi that she really think that Shouji could be a loyal boyfriend for her. Hachi thanked her friend for the offer but she claimed that at the moment, she just want to become friends with Shouji. During class, Shouji asked Hachi if she wants to come with him for a movie but Hachi rejected him, claiming that she only goes to the movie on her own. In the middle of doing her project, however, Hachi cut her finger because she saw the face of Asano on the paper that she's about to cut. While being bandaged by Shouji, Hachi realised that she still can't forget about Asano. Because of this, Hachi intends on falling in love with other guys so she can forget about Asano.

Impression:

Overall, this episode did a good job in fleshing out Komatsu Nana/Hachi's personality. I'm trying to figure out a word to describe her but nothing that came up in my mind precisely describes her or her personality. In general, however, she does come off as someone who's a little bit flighty and doesn't think through before making a decision. For example, it is a really bad idea for her to hook up with other guys just to forget her experience with Asano. In most cases, this kind of relationship won't last long. Understandably she was too hurt to even think the decision through. Having said that, normally when someone has been hurt in a relationship, he/she will be a bit more careful before getting into the next one. It's also strange that she won't consider Shouji even though she clearly feels something for him. In general, it's not difficult to feel sorry for Hachi because all she wants is for someone to fall in love with her but she always end up getting hurt because of it.

Animation wise, this episode pretty much retains the look and feel of the previous episode. There are, however, some obvious cost-cutting measures in place such as the use of comic book static images. But maybe this is not a bad idea since I'm not sure how well some of Hachi's silly little monologues would translate to screen if it were spoken instead of written. For example, there was one screen, which shows that she was disappointed that nothing happened between her and Okamoto, her art teacher, even though she already styled her hair to look like his. Moving on to other element, this series' background music continues to impress me especially the one that was used early in the episode. I am also starting to get used to the opening and ending theme and actually enjoyed them so much that I didn't skip them. The ending was particularly nice this time around because it blends in nicely with the last few frames of the animation showing Hachi entering a bar.

© memento 2003