NANA
Ai Yazawa
VIZ Media, 2005
ISBN: 1421501082

Two girls named Nana meet on a train heading to Tokyo --- one nursing a broken heart and aiming to make it as a punk rock musician, while the other is rejoining her boyfriend and embraces life in the big city. Nana O. is a tough-as-nails punk ready to shed her ex's ghostly presence and prove once and for all she is just as much of a star. Nana K. may be naive, but her sweet optimism and determination to be an adult show her best sides. These two make an unlikely pair, but when the same perfect apartment catches both Nanas' eyes, how can they not become roommates?

A realistic romantic drama, NANA concentrates on how love, sisterhood and serendipity can make a lasting impact on a life. Creator Ai Yazawa is not one to sugarcoat the perils of romance and friendship, and the two Nanas will not have as idyllic a road ahead of them as they'd like. What Yazawa knows, and shows, is that together they can take on the world. Yazawa's artwork is immediately recognizable with its slender figures and dramatic style, and as one of the most popular titles in Japan, it's already a hit through serialization in Shojo Beat.

   --- Reviewed by Robin Brenner

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