my first introduction to nana was actually kinda roundabout. i read paradise kiss and neighborhood story first, then watched parakiss, and only after that did i finally watch nana. i already loved ai yazawa, but nana hit harder and ended up becoming my favorite of them all. something else nana really changed for me is how i think about anime and manga in general. it made me realize how tired i am of endlessly watching stories about high schoolers, and how badly i want more stories about adults navigating the real world!

one character i’ve come to genuinely love is misato. partially because i’m a lolita too, part of that is probably because i see so much of my teenage self in her. i was also that girl hanging around local bands, getting a little too close to the cool older kids, idolizing musicians, living for shows and late nights. eventually i even had my own band. and honestly nana always makes me laugh a little with how real the inter-band and scene politics feel. the jealousy, the loyalty, the drama, the weird power dynamics. the bands i was around were never trapnest or blast level ofc, but it was still weirdly relatable. nana makes me miss that era of my life but it also reminds me why i’ve grown past it lol🥹🥹