Thanks to barnesandnoble.com for the above image.

Rated “M” for “Mature”

Two young women named “Nana,” meet in Tokyo.  Nana “Hachi” Komatsu moves to Tokyo to leave her old erratic love life behind and start her entire life over.  Nana Osaki moves to the city to make it big as a rock star and becomes part of the rock band, Blast.  Chance unites the two Nanas, and together they navigate the world of fashion, gossip, rock and roll, sex, and all-night parties.

In Nana, Vol. 12, Nana Osaki and Ren Honjo, a member of rival band, Trapnest, announce their engagement/wedding.  Hachi puts nuptials to Trapnest leader, Takumi Ichinose (who may be the father of the child she carries), on hold so as not to interfere with Osaki’s big day and deny her old friend happiness.  Meanwhile, Blast band member, Shin, is having a birthday party, and Hachi reluctantly accepts an invite.  Could confrontations be in the air?

THE LOWDOWN:  It’s like the ultimate combination of josei manga (comics for adult women) and shoujo manga (comics for teenage girls) – adult sexual relationships and fashion, but Nana is an embarrassment of riches when it come to ensemble character drama.  To describe the machinations, motivations, conflicts, sub-plots as complicated might be selling this title short.  Manga-ka Ai Yazawa is dedicated to great character writing in terms of relationships and conflicts.  Her art is good, but the draw here is the soap opera.  It’s (as the cover copy reads) where the real drama begins.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  While Nana is like a nighttime soap, it is for fans, particularly adult women, who like involved drama.

B