NanaPodcast

The space where we post about our podcast talking about our favorite manga by Ai Yazawa: Nana

[nanapodcast]

It's my 1 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

[nanapodcast]

Our Lady Hatchiko

[nanapodcast]

YazawaVerse

The different translations make me giggle. In this episode's fan translations we received the gift if 'success slut'! •K

[nanapodcast]

I don't often draw men, but when I do...

[nanapodcast]

First fanart for the podcast! by moth_lace

[nanapodcast]

Nana: A Review

"Nana Komatsu is a young woman who's endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she's hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She's looking for love and she's hoping to find it in the big city. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo's underground punk scene. She's got a dream and won't give up until she becomes Japan's No. 1 rock'n'roll superstar. This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties."

This is actually the first review I've done for a manga and I'm kind of excited and nervous. And if you want to know why it is because this is one of my favorite mangas to date, but I'm also nervous because there are a lot of people out there who don't consider manga a form of literature. They use words like "kiddie stuff" or "boring comics" to describe what I consider to be one of the highest art forms that we have. Better even than Marvel and DC, which I don't consider to be very interesting or worthy of review because they have gone through so many changes and re-tellings and parallel universes for me to care. Also superheroes who aren't Sailor Moon bore me (sorry). Now you know my stance and those of you who don't appreciate my sentiment are welcome to leave if you are offended. But to get back to the review. Where to start? Well, without giving too much away, I'd like to say that this series is perfect for any of you out there who really enjoy "slice-of-life" manga. Or just books in general that deal with people and their day to day lives where no magic or supernatural elements come along to gum up the works. It is also perfect for those who love rock bands and enjoy reading autobiographies about popular heavy hitters such as The Sex Pistols, Marylin Manson, and The Red-Hot Chili Peppers. This story follows the lives of two girls with the same name: Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki, who meet on a train and end up living together in Toyko while they each pursue their dreams of love and career choices. Again without giving too much away, the trails that each of the girls go through are things that many of us can relate to in our day to day lives. And I'm not talking about whether or not that cute boy in biology class likes us, as most shojo-manga and many teen novels seem to do. The story tackles real life issues such as abortion, sex, cheating, abuse, lack of parental guidance, underage prostitution, as well as what it means to be individually independent. It is a gut-wrenchingly sad story that I think every young person should read because, even though the story has not been completed as of yet, there are pieces in it that will call to you and moments that you will have to revisit again and again as you grow older and begin to understand what it means to make adult choices. That's really all I can say about it for now because this is one review where I don't want to spoil any bit of the plot. Be aware though that copies of the Nana manga are not sold in Barnes and Noble anymore and are becoming increasingly hard to find. But if you keep your eyes peeled in second-hand bookstores there is usually a copy floating around somewhere and if that fails the internet is a solid back up. I promise it's worth every penny.

[nanapodcast]

The Myth

[nanapodcast]

Today's Mood

"Right now I'm working while polishing the shards of my dream."

-Nana

[nanapodcast]

What Do I Need?

I need more Nana

[nanapodcast]

Still Waiting...Always

[nanapodcast]

The Links ;)

Nana Pod | Instagram | Linktree

View nanapod’s Linktree. Listen to their music on Spotify here.

[nanapodcast]

Memory

I was standing in Uwajimaya and they were playing Wish by Trapnest. I was so happy and wished you could have been there to listen with me!

[nanapodcast]

Yazawa is Everywhere!

Vivenna Westwood cameo in How I Met Your Mother. 😱

[nanapodcast]

Vivienne Westwood Package Opening

So this is going to be my first post in quite some time and it's going to be a bit different from the ones I usually write, but it still has to do with fashion and whatnot.

Recently I've been re-reading Nana by Ai Yazawa which is a great manga which couples trendy styles and punk styles beautifully. Since i have read it I have been obsessed with getting my hands on some of Vivienne Westwood's jewelry because it's just so damn beautiful and my chance came about three weeks ago when a lady was selling her Saturn orb on Ebay for a very reasonable price. I jumped on it and the necklace just arrived today and I wanted to share the very special package opening with all of you.

This is the little package that it came in. It was all smooshed up when I went to get it from the post office and I remember thinking to myself: "God, I hope the necklace isn't broken in there!"

I opened the package and this gigantic box was inside with Vivienne's official trademark stamped right on the front.

So excited!

And inside that huge to-do was a very delicate crystal orb set with beautiful stones.

I put it on right away and I must say it looks pretty bitchin' with a black dress. A part of me would like to get a longer chain so that it hangs down to the center of my breast-bone. I think it would be very eye-catching that way (and very Shin-like). :)

[nanapodcast]

Nana Confessions of My Own

I think that it's possible that Yasu convinced Ren to move to Tokyo and become Trapnest's guitarist because he was already in love with Nana and wanted an excuse for her to move on. It's a basic human emotion to want to break people up, even if you're a good person. Love cares not for circumstances.

Shoji was the worst partner for Hatchi after she broke up with Takashi. They had no chemistry whatsoever. It was a relationship born out of need rather than true affection. The fact that Junko practically pushed them to date was a little silly. Hatchi needed to be on her own after such a traumatic break-up, not cover it up with another relationship.

[nanapodcast]

Sometimes Others Have Pain

Two very good friends (one of them a very close friend to my heart and has been ever since day one), called it quits on their time together today and my head is spinning around so much that I felt I needed to write. It won't be anything describing who they are or what happened, but more writing a parallel to characters in one of my favorite novels: Nana. It seems right and maybe these words will help ease the pain of my Moon Princess.

In the manga Nana, Hatchi and Takumi get together because Hatchi is a very lonely girl who wants nothing more than to be loved and taken care of. Takumi is rather narcissistic and tends to use women more for their bodies than for anything else. When situations cause a change in Takumi, he is forced to become a stronger man in order to take care of Hatchi. Old habits die hard however and Hatchi is left to raise a little girl alone while her husband travels the world with his band and finally gives into his feelings for Reira, the singer of the group. But that is his nature and now that I'm older, I don't hate him for his actions. More, I chastise him for his weakness and for his inability to see what had been right in front of him all along and not coming clean with his wife when he really should have. As for Hatchi, she made a decision both for herself and for her child, and in the end we really don't know if she regrets it. But as there seems to be some sort of understanding between her and Takumi in later years, I'm going to take a stand and say she wouldn't trade her decision for one second.

Getting away from Takumi and Hatchi, there is also the matter of Nobu and Hatchi. Nobu is a gentle boy who only wants to play music and find the love of a good woman. For a while Hatchi seems to fulfill that role, but when a misunderstanding occurs and the two fall quickly in and out of love the situation becomes muddy. In the end Nobu is left to his own devices. Floating in a sea of uncertainly, until Miyu comes along to take up residence in his heart. She is a sultry vixen, a total opposite of Hatchi herself, but she is kind but it is unclear in the future whether or not she was able to keep Nobu's heart.

The there is Nana herself. In love with Ren, but unwilling to give up her dreams of stardom they are torn apart as their bands duke it out to be the top selling artists in Toyko. Back in her small hometown she and Ren shared a kind of quiet romance. The kind that can only blossom when the noise of the city and the press of the crowd are nowhere to be seen. But when Ren leaves, Nana is left to her own devices. And when they get back together in the big city all is not as it was before and the love between them starts to wane. Nana finds herself spending more time with Yasu and Ren finds he is more comfortable on a best friend kick with Reira. The change these two undergo for one another makes the tragedy even more heart breaking in the end. The moral of the story here being, the ones we love are so precious. Don't let them slip from your fingers because you never know what the future holds.

[nanapodcast]

Nana Spot

Finally started episode 1 of American Horror Story. Is it sad that I got super excited because the character, Violet, was reading Nana in one scene. That was amazing to see!