This anime really makes my heart ache whenever I think about it. I don't think any anime, film or series I have watched in my entire life has made me feel the same way. Nana is a very different experience. I have re-watched it a few times and every time I watch it I feel very different emotions than the last time, likely because the more I watch it, the better I understand the characters. But there is one unchanging feeling inside me about this anime and that is sadness, I'm sure of it.

The story starts with the meeting of two young women on a train to Tokyo. They have the same name, but they have very opposite characters. Nana Osaki is a talented punk vocalist who wants to go to Tokyo to form a band and make music, while Nana Komatsu wants to join her boyfriend who has moved to Tokyo. You can understand how different their personalities are from their motives already xD. They later come across each other again while looking for an apartment, and they decide to rent the place together and become roommates. Apartment 707 (7 = nana) is where the actual story starts.

It may sound like a sweet and cute story but It actually isn't like that most of the time. It has a story that will make you laugh, but in a minute will make you question life, cry, feel devastated.. You'll experience an emotional roller coaster throughout this journey.

Nana is known as a shoujo series cuz of the magazine it was published in, but it's actually a josei series. So the sweet couples, happy relationships, fairytale like love stories you see in most of the shoujo series are absolutely not in this story. We see both Nanas struggling to achieve their goals, discovering themselves, and finding what they want to do in their lives. We watch them as they grow and change, facing problems, heartbreaks, betrayers, making mistakes but also having fun whenever they can. I can say it's pretty realistic.

As the story goes on, we are introduced to lots of unique and interesting supporting characters. The character development and story of each character are conveyed perfectly. Everyone has their traumas, dreams, or way of seeing life, and all of them have a purpose in the story. You'll fall in love with some of them, or you'll hate some from the bottom of your heart. Some characters will act so stupid that you will go crazy, but most importantly, you will probably find something of yourself in some of the characters, and that's what'll hurt..

As for the art style, I can say I'm in love with it. I've always liked Ai Yazawa's art style. I know those long legs, crazy fashion styles etc. might not seem appealing to some people but I personally really love it. The character designs are absolutely stunning.

Also, the music in this anime is a major highlight, they did such an amazing job on that part. Since It's already a story about some music bands, it has a lot of songs other than the openings and endings. So music is not just a background thing but a very important part of the story and characters in this anime. If you like punk, rock etc. especially, I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lot more. And I must also say this, the VAs fit the characters perfectly.

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The ending of the anime will feel incomplete by the way, which is technically incomplete yes, but it still has an ending even though it's not very satisfying. So you'll probably want to continue the story with the manga after that, but If what you're looking for is a completed story I recommend you not to read it, because it's not completed there either. Plus you'll experience serious emotional damage and you'll want to turn the page, but what is it, there is no other page O_o. So don't do it to yourself unless you enjoy emotionally torturing yourself like I do xD

Lastly, I have to mention that Hachi (Nana Komatsu) is a very misunderstood character by most of the people. So I recommend putting yourself in her shoes a bit to understand her view better on some things.

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“Nana... How come being happy and making your dreams come true are two different things? Even now, I still don't know why...” – Nana Komatsu

“People can have lovers. They can have friends. They can be together. But when you think about it, you’ll see that originally, we’re alone.” – Nana Osaki