Reviewed by celinenyx on
We start out with Barbie, who has an affair with a grown man she knows almost nothing about. When he ends things, she's having a hard time getting over him. Barbie always falls head over heels for older guys, and usually within the first ten seconds of meeting them. Influenced by her best friend, she tries being best friends with a guy for once.
Punky is the archetypical character with a bad past. She sings in a band, where her boyfriend is the lead guitar. Her boyfriend has his big break, and leaves for Tokyo, leaving Punky behind. She is forced to make some tough choices.
Although Barbie is superficial and annoying at times, I liked her part of the story best. Punky's just didn't have the same amount of humour and heart. I felt that Punky didn't have anything that made her unique in any way, and I didn't feel invested in her story.
Some issues I had with the story probably stem from the fact that I know absolutely nothing about Japanese culture, and some story lines just got a bit weird for me. At one point a male character doesn't say "I love you" to a female character, because that's apparently the Western way, but instead just kinda says it by kissing her. I'm not much of a romantic, but I did find this a bit lame. It's easy to kiss someone, but it takes balls to tell someone you love them. But I guess that kind of sentiment doesn't agree with the Japanese view of masculinity.
Nana is entertaining, especially Barbie's half of the novel. I might read a few more in the series, as my library has them, but I'm not sure whether I'm hooked enough to read the full 21 volumes of this manga. Also, the author didn't finish the series, and might never write the last volume. I don't want to become invested in a series that might not get an ending.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 13 March, 2014: Finished reading
- 13 March, 2014: Reviewed