NANA

NANA is a slice of life drama that aired in Japan in 2006 and 2007 for 47 episodes.  The series is based on the manga of the same name by Ai Yazawa

    NANA is the story of two women who's lives inexplicably become intertwinned in sharred ambitions and sorrows.  Nana Komatsu (who we will now refer to as Hachi) is a spunky and gullible art student who has taken the leap to move to Tokyo in order to be with her boyfriend Shoji and their friends, Junko and Kyosuke.  A year earlier all three left their distant town to seek a better life in the nations capitol.  Hachi had to stay behind because she was unable to transfer schools.  After a year of saving her money she heads off to Toyko to be with them.  She takes the shinkansen during a snow storm and when the train suddenly brakes while looking for a seat she ends up in the lap of a severe looking woman.  The woman, named Nana Osaki, has more in common with the good girl in her lap than either realize.  This Nana is also on her way to Tokyo after her boyfriend left her two years prior to join an up and coming rock band.  Her goal is to becomine a professional musician.

    While both converse the entire way to Toyko, the distant and cold Nana doesn't do anything to remain in contact with the bubbly Hachi.  Hachi leaves with her friends but isn't comfortable living with Shoji and looks for a place of her own the next day.  By chance both Hachiko and Nana fall in love with the same apartment and are convinced to become roommates.  Hachiko's spunk grates on the serious and moody Nana but their friendship blossoms from a shared lonelyness.  When Nana's band mates from her hometown decide to move to Tokyo to pursue the dream together Sachiko becomes split between two words, the relationship with her still distant boyfriend and the hard living punk musicians.  Sachiko has to figure out what she wants to do with her life and what Shoji and Nana mean for her.  Nana has to come to terms with her boyfriend abandoning her for fame as they come in contact with each other due to Shachi's meddling.  Will both women be able to find the happiness and life they dream of?

    Aside from the annoying character designs and the emphasis on the crappy music this was actually a pretty mature and enjoyable drama.  It started to get a little too soap opera like in the mid 30s but finished strong.  The stories major themes are self doubt, personal ambition and fate.  Sachi's character grated on me, but I was still sympathetic to her plight, even if it was mostly her doing.  Through most of the series the naration is done from Sachi's perspective and switches to Nana's near the last dozen episodes or so.  Aside from the flashbacks and some parts of the last episode the entire series encompasses abut 7 months worth of time.  There was hope at the end of the final episode that there would be a second series for the show.  There are a few things that seem to have prevented that from happening.  The last episode does put a bit of a resolution on the story and the manga-ka has been dealing with unknown health issues since 2009 and the manga has been on hold since then.  So, I don't think there will be more Nana anime.  I am not sure how much more exists in the manga but there are also 2 live action movies that were made.

    The anime and manga are both available in North America on DVD and streaming.