Print Review: Nana volumes 1-3

Review Nana volumes 1-3Written by WarpshadowRating very good/ excellent

In Japan Nana is the most popular shojo manga there is and after reading some of it myself that it is not popular without good reason.

Nana Komatsu has had her heart broken by an older man, the latest in a string of infatuations. Nana Osaki is the singer of a band who has just lost one of it's members to a signed band. Both women decide to move to Tokyo in order to make their fortunes there.By coincidence the two meet on the train there and hit it off. Fate throws them together again when they are searching for an apartment and end up living together.

In my experience a good sign of bad or mediocre shojo is an overuse of bishonen to distract it's female target audience from the story's inadequacies. Nana on the other hand is a strong story with the focus clearly on the pair of female leads. Also these women are young adults as oposed to the teenagers that overpopulate most manga even if Nana Komatsu still retains a somewhat childish personality since it looks like she will be growing out of it as the manga progresses. While there are pretty boys in this manga they are more a side benefit as opposed to a crutch. The first volume of Nana is the back-story of the the main characters and is a bit slow compared to later volumes so I suggest reading until at least volume two before you make any judgments. Overall Nana is a good example of what shojo can be when it is at it's best.