Whether you’re a rabid Ai Yazawa fan or a sucker for three-hankie drama, you’ll want to check out the live-action Nana movie, coming soon to screens in New York and Los Angeles. I just watched Nana this weekend and loved it. The movie captures the look and feel of the manga, telescoping the first six volumes into a coherent, compelling story without trimming too many characters or important plot details. Scandalous though it may be, I developed a slight preference for the movie over the manga, largely on the strength of Aoi Miyazaki’s sympathetic portrayal of Hachi (a.k.a. Nana Komatsu). Her sweet, enthusiastic demeanor seems more plausible and endearing on screen than in the manga. (Hachi’s fecklessness frequently annoyed the hell out of me when I was reading the early volumes of the series.) Read on for more details!
VIZ PICTURES ANNOUNCES THEATRICAL SCREENINGS OF MANGA INSPIRED FILM - NANA IN LOS ANGELES AND NEW YORK
San Francisco, CA, February 26, 2008 – VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced a pair of new theatrical runs scheduled for New York and Los Angeles of NANA, a live action film directed by Ootani Kentarou and based on the best-selling shojo manga (graphic novel) series by Ai Yazawa…
NANA follows the adventures of two girls both named Nana. While they share the same name, they couldn’t be more different. Nana “Hachi” Komatsu follows her boyfriend to Tokyo and hopes to make a new start, while Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, is a punk rock beauty who has the ambition to make it big in the world of rock and roll. Although these two young women come from vastly different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends. What sets them apart, however, is the stark difference between their lives. One Nana comes from a small town, following her friends and boyfriend but ultimately looking for her own goal to obtain, while the other Nana has a single-minded aim to make her dream and band, the Black Stones, among the best in Japan.
NANA performed well at the Japanese box office upon its release in 2006, grossing more than 4 billion yen and staying in the Top 10 for several weeks. The main theme from the film, “Glamorous Sky,” took the number 1 spot on Japan’s Oricon charts in its first two weeks of sales and quickly sold over 450,000 copies. Another song from the film, “Endless Story,” took the number 2 spot on the same chart in its first week of release and sold over 300,000 copies. The English version of the manga series, rated ‘M’ for Mature readers has sold over 22 million copies in Japan, is published domestically by VIZ Media under its SHOJO BEAT imprint.
“NANA presents a realistic and sometimes gritty portrayal of two modern women searching for love, careers and a sense of purpose amidst the urban bustle of Tokyo,” says Manami Iboshi, Director, Marketing, VIZ Pictures. “The manga series on which the film is based has been critically acclaimed and demonstrates the versatility of manga-inspired plots to transition from print to film in such a compelling way. NANA was warmly received at its U.S. premiere at the 2007 New York Anime Festival, and we look forward to audiences in Los Angeles and New York enjoying the film.”
LOS ANGELES
Imaginasian Center, March 21-27
251 South Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-1033
NEW YORK
Imaginasian Theater, April 4-10
239 East 59th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Ave.)
New York 10022
(212) 371-6682
