Manga
Written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, Nana first appeared as a two-part prologue in 1999 in Shueisha's Cookie manga magazine (volumes 1 and 2), a sister magazine of Ribon.[5] Initially, Yazawa was asked to create two one-shots to accompany the launch of Cookie, and she decided to make both stories related to each other so that they would be easier to read in case they were picked up for serialization.[6] Yazawa stated that while creating I'm No Angel in the early 1990s, she had wanted to draw a story centered on a rockabilly band.[6] For Nana, she decided to focus on a punk band instead because she had already drawn one of the main characters for I'm No Angel with a pompadour.[6]
Nana was later serialized in Cookie, starting on May 26, 2000 (July 2000 issue),[7][8][9] when it was relaunched as a monthly magazine.[5] Nana ran in the magazine for 84 chapters, until May 26, 2009 (July 2009 issue),[10] and in June of that same year it was announced that the series would be put on hiatus due to Yazawa falling ill.[11] Yazawa returned from the hospital in early April 2010, but it was unspecified when or if she would resume the manga.[12] During Yazawa's 2022 art exhibition, she expressed interest in continuing the series once she could.[13]
The individual chapters of Nana have been collected by Shueisha into 21 volumes, published under the Ribon Mascot Comics Cookie imprint, between May 15, 2000,[14] and March 13, 2009.[15] Its latest four chapters have not been published in a volume.[5] In addition to Nana, each volume features a short bonus comic called Junko's Room (淳子の部屋), featuring Junko as the owner of a bar, with characters from Yazawa's works making guest appearances.[16]
Nana is licensed for English-language release in North America by Viz Media. It was serialized in Viz Media's manga anthology Shojo Beat, premiering in the July 2005 debut issue and continuing until the August 2007 issue.[17][18] The 21 volumes were published between December 6, 2005,[19] and July 6, 2010.[20] Viz Media added the series to its Viz Manga digital service in May 2023.[21] On January 24, 2025, Viz Media announced that it would publish the series in a 2-in-1 omnibus edition starting in Q4 of the same year.[22]
Nana prominently features the brand Vivienne Westwood, as Yazawa herself is a fan of the brand. Some outfits featured in the series are clothing from her personal collection.[23]
Films
Two live-action film adaptations were produced. The first, Nana, was released on September 3, 2005. The film stars Mika Nakashima as Nana Osaki, Aoi Miyazaki as Hachi (Nana Komatsu), Ryuhei Matsuda as Ren Honjou, Tetsuji Tamayama as Takumi Ichinose, Hiroki Narimiya as Nobuo Terashima, and Kenichi Matsuyama as Shinichi Okazaki. The DVD edition was released on March 3, 2006. The film grossed more than ¥4 billion at Japanese box office and stayed in the top 10 for several weeks.[24]
A sequel, Nana 2, premiered on December 9, 2006.[25] Miyazaki, Matsuda and Matsuyama would not be reprising their respective roles as Hachi, Ren, and Shin; as such, their roles were assigned to Yui Ichikawa, Nobuo Kyo, and Kanata Hongō, respectively.[26][27][28]
Anime
An anime adaptation of Nana was produced by Nippon Television, VAP, Shueisha and Madhouse and directed by Morio Asaka, with Tomoko Konparu handling series composition, Kunihiko Hamada designing the characters and Tomoki Hasegawa composing the music. The series aired on Nippon TV from April 5, 2006, to March 28, 2007.[29][30] The first and third opening song, "Rose" and "Lucy", respectively, and the third ending song, "Kuroi Namida" (黒い涙), were performed by Anna Tsuchiya (credited as Anna inspi' Nana), who provided the singing voice for Nana Osaki; Tsuchiya also performed the ending song "Stand By Me" for episodes 45 and 46. The second opening song, "Wish", and the first two ending songs, "A Litte Pain" and "Starless Night", were performed by Olivia Lufkin (credited as Olivia inspi' Reira), who provided the singing voice for Reira Serizawa;[31] Lufkin also performed the ending song "Winter Sleep" (for episodes 43 and 44). The episodes were collected and distributed on 17 DVD volumes by VAP from July 7, 2006,[32]
Image and tribute albums
Nana inspired two image albums; Punk Night: From Nana, released by King Records on September 26, 2003;[44] and Nana's Song is My Song, released by Momo & Grapes on November 6 of that same year.[45] A tribute album, Love for Nana: Only 1 Tribute, was released by EMI Music Japan on March 16, 2005; several famous artists contributed to it, including English musician Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Canadian singer-songwriter Skye Sweetnam, and various Japanese artists.[46]
