I finally finished another epic-length series: after 47 episodes, NANA is over, and I’m already missing the characters and their stories very much. The fairly vague open-ended ending doesn’t help any either; forget about closure! Nonetheless, by its end I was quite satisfied and fairly fulfilled, but for all the unanswered questions. But consider: how many TV series end a season fully answering everything? Not too many!
Ai Yazawa's cover of the NANA manga
This is a series that screams its throat raw, lights its lighters until fingers burn, and stomps its feet in impatience for a second season. Sadly, its creator Ai Yazawa has been recuperating from an illness and the future of the manga is still uncertain (let alone the anime), so we hope for the creator’s speedy recovery, mainly for her better health, but also so that we can read, listen to, and watch her intriguing, deep, complex, and highly-charged story of the two Nanas and the rippling (and broken) concentric circles of their complicated lives.
Several of NANA's cast members
One of the best elements involved the two bands, Nana Osaki’s punkish Black Stones (or BLAST), and the farther-along-the-road Trapnest, which Nana’s ex now plays guitar with. Ren was BLAST’s first guitarist until he left it (and Nana) for Tokyo in order to pursue a professional career with the rising (and more conventional) star of Trapnest, which features a bewitching singer named Reira. Their bass player, Takumi, was a crush of Nana Komatsu (hereafter referred to as Hachi, which was Nana’s nickname for her, meaning “puppy”), and since a connection existed between Nana O., Ren, and Takumi, well… let’s just say that shit happens! Things get complicated. And that’s just the simple stuff!
All of the characters, ALL of them, are very well-written as are the various plots, subplots and twists, of which there are many. The role of Nana O. especially deserves praise, as she is just amazingly complex, driven, and utterly cool; a “broken rose” indeed. There’s quite a bit of laugh-out-loud comedy too, which serves to lighten things up considerably, which is definitely needed given its serious look(s) at relationships of various types. Despite the somewhat average animation, the direction by Morio Asaka is stellar, and you become so engrossed with the story that any faults become invisible. That’s how it was for me; I rated this anime as a “Masterpiece” despite the way-outweighed flaws that I don’t even remember anymore. I believe that we must be forgiving of an anime’s flaws and celebrate what it is that works, as long as the story delivers.
The uber-cool and tragic (but rarely emo) Nana Osaki
If you love music, and prefer realism and more mature themes of true-to-life relationships in your anime, then NANA is right up your alley. If you’ve known musicians (aspiring or successful), romantic-but-immature and mistake-prone young women, and the attractions that opposites have towards each other, do check this series out! You’ll most likely see someone you know…
Nana Komatsu, sweet yet self-centered, and mistake-prone in love
A short time ago I posted my mid-point thoughts about NANAhere, or just scroll down a bit to the “Slice(s) of Life” two posts below. This here post is just to say that, at its end, NANA was a great ride (despite the quixotic ending). And, you can watch it streaming at Anime News Network for free! Legally! Just go to the ANN Encyclopedia page and click the “Watch Now” button. Simple!
Speaking of ANN,this timely review of the final two box sets just appeared several days ago; if you want to read a very well-written and articulate review of the final episodes (by Carl Kimlinger), it’ll definitely wet your whistle He is a little harsh on Hachi, but since I “know” her (i.e. girls like her) I get her, even if I disagreed with most of her decisions, most of which caused me to headdesk repeatedly…
Now, a last word about the beat of NANA, the music. This OST must be amazing; when I get some money I’m going to buy it for sure! On the one hand we have the up-and-coming Black Stones, raw, punk, and rusty-razor-blade edged, fronted by Nana. In the opposite corner stands the established Trapnest; successful, wildly popular and idol-ized, who play a more traditional (and popular) sound with their precious vocalist Reira. Right smack-dab in the middle is Hachi, who would be torn between the two if she knew any better. But our little Hachi-Nana is a trifle clueless, let’s say…
Trapnest's enchanting (and insecure) Reira
Anyway, a treat! It took me a few hours to find a video that interspersed clips from the infrequent concert scenes in the anime with live footage from the singers who voiced Nana (Anna Tsuchiya) and Reira (OLIVIA Lufkin). Apparently there was a promotional event in Los Angeles where both took the stage performing some of the theme songs, two of which are here. You’ll be able to not only sample the two bands’ different styles but also glimpse the “real” bands in the anime. Kind of like “life imitating art imitating life,” which is a pretty cool concept! The first song is “Rose” and the second “A Little Pain”:
Personally, I prefer the “official” music video for “A Little Pain,” mainly because Olivia is just so damn beautiful; she really captures Reira’s essence here. Enjoy :-D
…and here’s Anna Tsuchiya, performing the music-video of another NANA theme, “Lucy”, done the Nana and BLAST way!
If the genre(s), theme(s), and character(s) of NANA suit your fancy, give it a shot! You won’t regret it; one of the best anime I’ve been priveleged to experience. All it needs and is lacking is a real resolution, and hopefully a continuation is in the works that will provide one
I was going to add an addendum to the previous post showing a few of the more interesting Openings for the shows listed below, but I kinda got carried away sidetracked during the typing of this. I didn’t want to put up too many vids in one post, and after my Visual Art’s/Key pieces it would have run pretty long. Make that very long. Now it’s short. -er :-P So basically, now this entry’s just an excuse to show the Angel Beats! OP since I’m a sucker for girls playing pianos (see the ef – a fairytale of the two trailer later on in this post), and it’s a typically great VA/K composition that I’d like to share. Plus, I love Angel/Tenshi/Kanade, or whatever name she’s going by! One of my newest favorite characters…
Sticking to the tried-and-true Visual Art’s/Key formula of having outstanding OPs and EDs, it sounds like they have another winning song on their hands. Performed by Lia, the Angel Beats! theme (”My Soul; Your Beats!”) carries on the tradition of very strong musical “bookends” for their shows, as the following samples will demonstrate. (The studio that created the above anime is P.A. Works, and the following shows are done by Kyoto Animation.)
(Before we embark, let me warn you against reading any of the YouTube comments if you manage to go there; too many losers and assholes enjoy spoiling these precious stories there. The Visual Art’s/Key stories are intricate and interwoven both technically and emotionally, replete with deeply felt tragedy and happiness, sorrow and joy which you won’t want ruined for you, or the experience lessened for you in any way. Don’t give those worthless miscreants the pleasure of reading their infantile remarks and spoil yourself in the process.)
That being said, first up is an extended version of the OP from Air, again composed by Key and performed by Lia, the moving “Tori no Uta”:
I should point out that a large part of each series’ budget goes toward the song production; there’s a lot of money generated from singles and CDs featuring anime OPs and EDs (not to mention Insert Songs) and their airplay over radio. Therefore the OPs and EDs quality oftentimes outshines much of the regular programming! Here’s another very popular song; Lia performs the gorgeous OP from Clannad ~After Story~ “Toki wo Kizamu Uta”:
Their (that is, Visual Art’s/Key & Kyoto Animation) work on Kanon’s OP is certainly memorable, as this clean (no text) Blu-Ray version for “Last Regrets” clearly shows, sung by Ayana this time (’cos Lia apparently can’t be everywhere). And if you find this version too short, here’s a link to an earlier post that includes towards the bottom an extended version of “Last Regrets” that will knock your socks off! Well, it will if you’re a Kanon fan (Plus, it has the lyrics in English and romanji as well.)
…not to mention their collaboration on the Kanon ED, entitled ”Kaze no Tadoritsuku Basho” (”The Place Where the Wind Arrives”). Pay attention as you listen, if you will, to the animation, backgrounds, and expressive features and mannerisms of these wonderful characters in this special extended version, and then go out and find the anime and watch it! (A word of advice: To get the highest detail (highly suggested), choose 480p from the video’s toolbar; I tried repeatedly to keep it from defaulting to 360p to no avail. Makes a BIIIIG difference!) Also, pay no attention to the brief and pretty lame rap verse near the end and its strange “translation”; just enjoy everything else:
…oddly enough, I can’t get enough of Ayu running to the beat of the song
So, the combination of visuals, direction, and music really make the OP/ED, but more importantly, the deep, well-developed characters even more deliberately drive the emotional impact home. But you’ll have to watch the animes to discover those little secrets It’s no coincidence that the Triple Crown of the Visual Art’s/Key titles of Air, Kanon, and Clannad are not only among my Top Ten anime of all time, but each features a main character who just happens to be among my top handful of “extra-special beloved girls” among all of anime: Misuzu, Ayu, and Nagisa, respectively. Many of the other characters are up there as well; even though they all start out as mysterious “blank slates”, by the end of each series we get to know them very well, and cherish them, and their stories, quite a lot. (Just check out those colorful li’l Anime News Network links for each shows’ ratings as evidence!) Now Angel Beats! continues in that tradition, although how the story plays out will determine where Angel finishes in that special niche
I mentioned girls playing piano being a weakness… here’s Yuuko (yet another in that select group) from an ef – a fairytale of the two trailer that features clips from both seasons where she speaks to you a little bit (it’s translated). The instrumental music by TENMON is nothing short of breathtaking, and the artwork by Studio SHAFT (what’s with all the capslock???) is sublime; probably their best work…
So yeah… I’m glad that I switched horses in the middle of the stream! Those other Spring 2010 OPs I was going to include just don’t compare, yet they are memorable in their own right. We’ll cover them soon
Being that the 2010 Spring anime season is well on its way and Winter far behind, I thought it’d be a good idea to appraise the newest season. And what a season it is! Ever since I’ve been watching currently-airing programs in 2007, never has a season provided such diversity, engaging stories, and honest-to-goodness quality as this one is. Normally I’m happy to have around eight series to track, but this time around it’s been tough to whittle down from the dozen or so series I was originally going to watch out of Spring’s approximately forty offerings. After dropping Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimou, Uragiri wa Boku o Namae Shittieru, and B Gata H Kei (ugh), I now have a total of NINE shows to watch and await weekly episodes for. And I hate waiting a week between eps. But sometimes ya gotta suffer just a bit…
I’m still watching Durarara!! and the once-a-month episode of Katanagatari from Winter, and STILL waiting for the last episode of Summer’s Bakemonogatari to be released and subbed. Not to forget the sublime NANA (see below)! Now I can add to this list the nine winners from Spring 2010:
The Working! crew
Working!:This show is probably the closest I am to dropping at this point, although once passing the “give a series four episodes” mark I usually will follow it to its end. After five eps it seems content to just keep doing its thing, which is depicting a comedic slice-of-life story about working in a restaurant. (Yeah, I know.) But still, a quirky cast of characters makes this sort of an antidote to the number of more serious shows out this season. I’d have to rate this series as “mostly harmless” at this point, but things can change. I doubt that it’s too harmless though, coinsidering that the main character keeps getting punched, pummelled and kicked by the normally-timid waitress who is scared to death of men. Every episode. That’s a joke that can only go so far, so I’m keeping one eye on the show and another on my “delete” key.
The girls in the band
K-ON!!(Season 2) Okay, K-ON! (and !!) is something of a guilty pleasure. This series about a group of five female high-school music afficionados wanting to form a lite-rock band seems as if cast straight from the Professional Moe League by its studio, Kyoto Animation. No matter what kind of character you like, K-ON!! has the girl for you. Because there are few, if any, guys around! I mean, why complicate matters with romance; it’s hard enough being a serious musician, right? (Just ask either of the NANAs!) So, bandmates Yui (gitah), Mio (bass), Ritsu (drums), Tsumugi (keyboards), and Azusa (guitar) somehow manage to practice playing their instruments around their “Afternoon Tea Time” snacking and after school adventures (or rather, playing around with their instruments, pretty much). Somehow. They really like their snacks! Technically it’s a joy to watch, as direction, animation, backgrounds, and character designs flow smoothly into a unified whole that, while certainly not for everyone, is an enjoyable watch. Oh. There’s music too (even Keith Moon and Cozy Powell (!) references in the last episode)! And I think I’ve just used up my allottment of exclamation points!!!! For some reason, a Season Favorite! (I really like it when you just enjoy a show so much and don’t even know why; it indicates that the Studio had all of its parts right (or right enough), and succeeded in delivering an Entertainment Experience worth your time.)
Heaven on Earth in Heaven? wtf...
Angel Beats!:(Okay, what’s with all the exclamation points???!!!?!?!!) A collaboration between Visual Novel developer Visual Art’s/Key and studio PA Works, the story involves an afterlife of sorts set in (of course) a high school, where a subversive group of students fight against a girl known only as “Angel.” Why? WHO KNOWS? In fact, there’s a lot of unknowns in this story as of yet, since they’re going very slowly about revealing the world to the viewer. Which can be a teasingly good thing! Given Key’s long history of superlative, emotional rollercoaster-type stories (Planetarian, Little Busters, Air, Kanon, Clannad, etc) I think it’s safe to say that this one will be pretty much in the same vein. At this early point I’m not sold on its story, but it’s intriguing enough so that I’ll stick with it to find out. Plus, I think that their girl rock band outplays K-ON!!’s!
The loonies under the Bridge
Arakawa Under the Bridge: Wow. What can I say? This series is whack! Ko is a businessman who hates being in debt more than anything. So, naturally, one day he slips from a bridge over the Arakawa River and is saved by an odd girl named Nino. The fact that he owes her his life induces him to consent to him becoming her lover, which is all that she requests of him. We’re not entirely sure at this point whether she really understands what a “lover” is, she’s so … well. Let’s just say that she insists that she’s a Venusian. And the rest of the group of homeless misfits living under the bridge include a guy dressed in a turtle suit, a fellow who fancies himself a musical superstar (aka “legend in his own mind”) and wears a star-shaped mask, a towering possible malcontent who strolls around in nun’s garb and is called “Sister”… you get the idea. I think. Compounding its insanity is that the anime is done by Studio SHAFT, and the whole package is scattershot, pretty random, and very funny. Most likely a keeper. A Season Favorite.
They're a rainbow. Or something.
RAINBOW: This one is dark, drab, and depressing. Set in the 1950’s just after the war tore Japan apart, a group of seven young men must work out how to survive in a youth detention facility. Living together in a single cell and tormented by their sadistic keeper, they strive to learn how to live together and figure a way out, if possible, of their plight. Little by little their pasts are becoming known, although the parcelling out of such info has been minimal so far. What has come forth has been nothing short of compelling, disturbing, and traumatizing for these men. And probably the viewer as well. Gets plus points for trying something different; in a season filled with moe-fests this one sticks out like a sore thumb. And feels like one, too! A Season Favorite, though a bit too dark to love LOL
Shanghai'd
Senkou no Night Raid: This story is set in Shanghai in 1931, where a Japanese spy unit is working to subvert Chinese rule. I think. We’re not entirely sure exactly what they’re up to yet. It’s possible that they may be working against their own army, but if so the plot hasn’t been revealed. I’m not sure how the spies’ time-limited “superpowers” will be explained, but I’m curious about how these super-humans are the only ones so gifted (apparently, although some others with powers have been shown recently). Can’t say I’m entirely sold yet, but still watching its story pan out. I learned long ago that you shouldn’t drop a series prematurely
The five leaves?
House of Five Leaves: This story is set in the Edo Period, and evokes those ancient times quite well; there’s a genuine feel to the dress, customs, and culture that existed in that distant time and place.The man protagonist is a timid, withdrawn, and contemplative samurai, who, starving, consents to be hired as a bodyguard. What he doesn’t know (at first) is that his new boss is a kidnapper, who is trying to have him join their gang, the House of Five Leaves. More a character study at this point, the story is liesurely-paced and gives its characters room to breathe, grow, and develop in their own time. The show’s decidedly unique character designs and animation plays to its strengths very well; the characters are almost half-drawn looking until you just “let yourself go” and simply enjoy the show without criticizing its editorial and creative decisions. It works really well, so far. Studio Manglobe has created an intriguing and eyecatching-in-spite-of-itself story, and it’s fun watching it take its own sweet time about telling it. A Season Favorite.
One of them is a girl. I think.
Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan: Another story set in the past, apparently in feudal times, this is an interesting setting where main heroine Chizuru is taken in by a group of handsome and talented samurai while looking for her father, who’s disappeared. Since they’re looking for him as well, they decide to allow her to stay with them in their compound. Normally I pay no attention to catch-all descriptions such as “harem” “reverse-harem” and so on, because it might affect my (or others’) unbiased and uncynical judgement. People who fling those descriptors around usually are of the type too lazy or unwilling to consider something seemingly familiar as actually being different, and use the first simplistic, dismissive description they can think of. I mean, look at all the titles with attractive female stars circulating around one male; why can’t there be a story which does the opposite? Of course, I feel that the more girls the merrier, but why should everything have to be tried-and-true? People complain about formulaic anime, and then squawk when something different comes along. Go figure.
weird weird weird...
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei ( aka Tatami Galaxy): Another (very) highly-unusual series, this one is told by an unnamed college student who seems to be an A-Class cock-blocker. And, for that matter, blocker of other pleasurable sensations in his fellow-students and citizens. To be honest, I don’t know HOW to describe this zany show. Somehow, this shmuck befriends a demonic-looking pal who seems his cohort-in-crime, though who’s zooming who is largely a question of responsibility. Which neither of them has. At times surreal, silly, irreverent, and INSANE, this is probably the most unique show in a season that is full of them. Studio Madhouse really pulled no punches with this one, and the art direction you’ll either love or hate. I’m loving it so far. In a weird sort of way, which is fitting! A Season Favorite.
So: Keyword for this Spring 2010 Season is “UNIQUE”. In spades!
on the water
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He is a little harsh on Hachi, but since I “know” her (i.e. girls like her) I get her, even if I disagreed with most of her decisions, most of which caused me to headdesk repeatedly…
