Nana the Movie

March 8, 2006 | 31 Comments

Since I'm going to include the upcoming Nana anime into my watching list next season, I figure I should check out the movie adaptation first just to compare and contrast it with the anime later on. I have to admit that I was rather apprehensive about this movie because the majority of manga to live action conversion usually don't end up well. Thankfully this turns out to be an exception. Most of these can be attributed to Nakashima Mika and Miyazaki Aoi's performance as Nana and Hachi. Both of them manage to convey the friendship between the two characters quite well. Having said that, this does't mean that this is a perfect adaptation. I personally disagree with some of the casting choices. But this is just a minor point and in general the movie gives me hope that the anime adaptation will turn out well.

The movie's story begin right away with Oosaki Nana's story after she and her band, Blast, have just completed a concert. After a little celebratory drinks with the band members which include her boyfriend Honjo Ren, guitarist Tareshima Nobuo, and drummer Takagi Yasushi, Nana and Ren go home together in the middle of night. As the two walk together in the snow, Komachi Nana aka Hachi narrates the story by asking the seemingly non-existent Nana if she remembers the first time they met. The story then movies forward to 2 years later when Hachi boards on a Shinkansen to Tokyo and sits next to Nana. The two women quickly find out that they have the same first name and end up having a conversation about Hachi's current boyfriend who currently lives in Tokyo, Endo Shoji. The train then arrives in Tokyo and Hachi is greeted by Shoji, and her two friends, Junko and Kyosuke. Before she can say goodbye to Nana, however, the other girl has disappeared.

The two girls eventually meet each other again when Shoji asks Hachi to find her own apartment instead of living with him. Hachi reluctantly agrees to do this and find a real estate agent which happens to lease a rather cheap apartment. The number of the apartment is 707, which is rather cute similarity because Nana also means 7 in Japanese. Hachi immediately falls in love with the apartment but before she can take it, Nana comes in with her own real estate agent and expresses interest in the apartment as well. The two women eventually agree to live together and split the bill. A few weeks later, they decide to go shopping together and end up going to a record store. Hachi decides to buy the latest CD from Trapnest, whose members include Honjo Ren, Nana's ex-boyfriend. Nana, however, chooses not to reveal this information to Hachi and only laughs when Hachi says that the only member of the band she doesn't like is Ren.

A quick flashback then reveals the time when Nana bid goodbye to Ren, who was going to Tokyo to pursue a career with Trapnest. Back then Nana gave Ren a locket in the form of chain padlock. Nana has been keeping the key to the padlock up till now. At the same time, Hachi's boyfriend, Shoji, starts to become attracted to a new girl in his workplace, Kawamura Sachiko. The two become close especially after they find out that they both study the same art course. Meanwhile, Nana and Hachi finds out that Nobuo has run away from his parents to pursue a music career just like Nana. Thanks to Yasu's suggestion, Nana eventually agrees to form a band with Nobuo and another guitarist, Okazaki Shinichi. While all of these happen, Hachi has her own problem. She has just been fired from her job as a shop assitant and her boyfriend is too busy having romantic moments with his co-worker. Despite this, Hachi is still unaware of Shoji's infidelity.

Being Nana's flatmate, however, gives Hachi the strength that she didn't know she had. She eventually manages to get another job at a publishing company. At the same time, Hachi's friends, Kyosuke and Junko spot Shoji having lunch together with Sachiko. So the two remind him that his real girlfriend is Hachi and not Sachiko. Shoji and Sachiko try to stop their relationship but find themselves unable to do so. If anything, the effort only drives them closer. Everything, however, unravels when Hachi and Nana visits the restaurant where Shoji and Sachiko work together. Hachi decides to wait for Shoji to finish his shift so she asks Nana to accompany her. In the middle of waiting for the guy, however, the two see Shoji having a minor argument with Sachiko about their affair. Hachi becomes numb upon hearing this and unable to do anything. Nana steps up for her friend and threatens to punch Shoji for what he's done.

After some minor scuffle, however, Hachi asks Nana to let Shoji and Sachiko go because she doesn't want to see either of them anymore. Hachi is heartbroken about this but thanks to Nana's friendship, she eventually pulls through. At the same time, Nana and her new band, the Blackstones, make their debut in Tokyo. In order to forget about her current situation, Hachi decides to go to a Trapnest concert and invites Nana to go with her. Nana at first refuses so Hachi does some investigation into Nana's past and finds out about Nana and Ren's past relationship. Eventually Nana relents and agree to come with Hachi to her parents' house and then to the concert. Nana is surprised to know that Hachi actually comes from a middle-class family with seemingly normal family. She tells Hachi that she didn't have normal family when she was young. Nana's mother apparently left her when she was four and her father was nowhere to be around right from the start.

As a result, Nana ended up living with her grandma. Unfortunately her grandma passed away when Nana when 15 years old. Hachi is glad to see Nana sharing her story with her and tells her friend that she's a bit lonely before because Nana never talks about herself. Upon finding out about this, Nana promises to tell Hachi a little bit more about herself. Hachi uses the opportunity to ask Nana if she is still in love with Ren even now. The question haunts Nana right down to the time when the two arrive at concert. After a few minutes of uncertainty if she wants to see Ren in the concert, Nana decides to enter the hall and join Hachi. As the concert is in progress and the lead singer, Reira, begins to sing Endless Story, Nana begins to remember the moment when Ren was about to take a train to Tokyo. The seperation clearly pained not only Nana but also Nobu and Yasu. Back in the present day, Hachi wishes that Ren will take notice of Nana's presence.

Her wish seems to be granted because after the concert is finished, Ren gives Yasu a call to ask his friend why he never told Ren that Nana is in the city. Because of this Yasu decides to give Nana a call, wishing her the best of luck with Ren. Upon finding out about this, Nana decides to return the padlock's key to Ren. Despite her resistance, however, she finds out that she is still in love with Ren and vice versa. Because of this, the two agree to see each other again in regular manner. While Nana's life turns for the better, however, Hachi's own turn for the worst. At the office, she's been continually harassed by her boss, scolded by her senior, and treated like a servant by her colleagues. Her sadness, however, is temporarily halted when Nana gives her a big surprise: a one to one meeting with Hachi's favourite Trapnest member, Ichinose Takumi. The movie then ends with Hachi expressing her happiness for being Nana's friend.

Impression:

Let's get the bad things out of the way first. I personally think that the actor who plays Ren looks a bit too young for the character. It also doesn't help that his scene with Nakashima Mika's Nana is rather chemistry-less. I also think that in general, the male characters don't survive the manga to live action translation that well. Most of this has to do with the physical appearance of the characters. I think what actually looks acceptable or even cool in the manga often looks ridiculous in the real-world context. For example, some of the hairstyle and wardrobe for the male characters don't look that bad in the manga but unfortunately they look a bit ridiculous in the movie. Some of the hairstyle actually makes the film looks like it's a throwback to the 80s. Another thing about the movie that I didn't like is the fact that the movie only adapted several parts of the first 5 volumes of the manga.

In other words, do not expect a full story on Komachi Nana's background. For example, her past romance with Asano Takashi and the development of her feelings for Shoji have been completely ignored in this film. The story starts right away with her moving to Tokyo to meet Shoji. In addition to this, the events jump around from present to past tense. I can't blame the writers for this though because condensing 3 manga volumes into a 2 hour movie surely was not an easy job. Plus, by making scrambling the events, the story does feel more grandeur and interesting. It felt as if one gets to find out a little bit of history from each character as the film progressed. The best thing about this method of story telling is that it allows us to get the Endless Story scene, which I thought was one of the best parts of the film. I attribute this mostly to the heart-wrenching song that is performed by Reira aka Yuna Ito.

In this scene, Reira from the Trapnest perform the song while Nana remembers about the time when she bid goodbye to Ren. I think the song perfectly captures the feeling of giving last farewell to your loved one or close friend who's about to move to a far away place. The scene was a bit too close to home to the point that it caught me off guard. Even then, I feel that the scene perfectly conveys the three main themes of the story: love, friendship and career. It shows how sometimes love and friendship become the casualty of one's desire to have a better career. In fact, the whole film actually revolves around the interchangeable nature of these three elements. Sometimes in the process of pursuing one of these elements, the others end up getting shafted. And as the story shows, none of these last forever. Feelings change, circumstances evolve, and the only thing a person can do is to keep up and do his/her best in the midst of the change.

The story, however, would not have been as convincing if the viewers don't believe in the friendship between Nana and Hachi. So a lot of props must go to both Nakashima Mika and Miyazaki Aoi. Seeing the two of them remind me a lot of my best friend who now lives far away. It doesn't help that Hachi's narration throughout the film suggests that the film is actually some kind of a flashback to their past life together. In this regard, the film was successful in selling the premise that it really is nice to have a friend who really cares about you and vice versa. Anyway, I was rather surprised at how charming Miyazaki Aoi in her portrayal of Hachi. She successfully brought out Hachi's naive but kind-hearted nature in this film. Nakashima Mika is also equally good in her portrayal of the Nana. Her facial expression itself was more than enough to show the loneliness that her character feels all of these times. It makes me wonder if Mika has actually acted in other films before.

It's unfortunate that the film ends rather abruptly towards the end. However, the anime adapatation is coming soon and there have been rumours about sequel to the movie. So I think it's safe to say that the story will continue in one form or another. Plus, there is always the manga, which hasn't reached any kind of conclusion at the time when this entry was written. Right now I'm just hoping that the anime adaptation will be as good or even better than the movie. It'll also be nice if they include Endless Story as a theme song for the anime series. I've also had a look at some of the earlier character design and I must say that I feel relieved because they are very similar to the original design. This gives me hope that the series won't be a repeat of Paradise Kiss anime. Anyway, let me know what you think about the film after you've seen it and what expectation you have as far as the anime adaptation goes.

© memento 2003