Nana (2005 film)

Nana
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kentarō Ōtani
Written by	Ai Yazawa (manga) Taeko Asano Kentarō Ōtani
Starring	Mika Nakashima Aoi Miyazaki
Music by	Tadashi Ueda
Cinematography	Kazuhiro Suzuki
Editing by	Shuichi Kakesu
Release date(s)	September 3, 2005 (2005-09-03)
Running time	113 min
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Nana (Japanese: ナナ, Nana) is a 2005 Japanese film adaption of the manga by Ai Yazawa, directed by Kentarō Ōtani. The film was released on September 3, 2005. It stars Mika Nakashima as the punk star Nana Osaki, and Aoi Miyazaki as Hachi (Nana Komatsu).

The film was followed by a 2006 sequel, NANA 2, in which Nakashima reprised her role as the title character. Some of the original cast, including Miyazaki and Ryuhei Matsuda, did not reprise their roles in Nana 2.

Synopsis

Based on events in the manga by Ai Yazawa, NANA is about the adventures of two girls, who are both named Nana. Although the name is the same, their lives are completely different. One of them is an ambitious punk who is looking to break into the world of rock and roll, while the other simply wants to have a new life with her boyfriend. After moving to Tokyo while chasing their hopes and dreams, their lives greatly change after meeting each other.

Cast

• Mika Nakashima - Nana Osaki
• Aoi Miyazaki - Nana "Hachi" Komatsu
• Hiroki Narimiya - Nobuo Terashima
• Kenichi Matsuyama - Shin
• Ryuhei Matsuda - Ren Honjo
• Yuna Ito - Reira Serizawa
• Saeko - Sachiko
• Momosuke Mizutani - Naoki
• Anna Nose - Junko
• Takehisa Takayama - Kyosuke
• Tomomi Maruyama - Yasu
• Tetsuji Tamayama - Takumi
• Yūta Hiraoka - Shoji Endo
• Gou Ayano

DVD

The DVD edition was released on March 3, 2006.

Reception

The film did quite well at the Japanese box office, grossing more than 4 billion yen (roughly $50 million USD) and staying in the top 10 for several weeks.

Theme songs

In addition to creating a Nana craze throughout Asia, the film also helped launch Mika Nakashima to the peak of her career as she released the single "Glamorous Sky" under the name Nana starring Mika Nakashima. The single created topicality with its special collaboration between Nakashima, Hyde (who wrote the song), and Nana author Yazawa Ai (who wrote the lyrics). The single became Nakashima's first number one single on the Oricon charts. It was also featured in Osu! Tatakae! Ōendan 2 and Konami's drum simulation game Drum Mania.

The film also helped promote another artist, Yuna Ito, who starred in the film as Trapnest vocal Reira, released her debut single "Endless Story," the insert song of the film, under the name Reira starring Yuna Ito. The single ranked second on the Oricon charts, next to Nakashima's "Glamorous Sky," and made Yuna Ito one of the most successful debuting artists of 2005.

External links

• Nana at the Internet Movie Database