Title: Nana Uncut Box Set 1
Viz Media
Rated: M for Mature

The story of Nana is about two women that find themselves on a journey going to Tokyo to start a new life. The women meet accidentally on a train and learn that they are both 20, headed to Tokyo and both named Nana. But that is where the similarities end. Nana Komatsu wants to start her life in Tokyo and be with her friends and boyfriend. She has a cute personality and is dresses preppy/sweet lolita style. Nana Osaki wants to be a singer of a rock ‘n’ roll band and had a heartbreak but is looking to make a name for herself. Nana Osaki has a kickback nature and wears Vivienne Westwood.

The two meet again when looking for an apartment and decide to become roommates. The anime Box set #1 contains 11.5 episodes. 11.5 is a character spoof that is a summation of what has happened.

What I love about it
I am in love with the story of the two. To me, they are an example of two personalities women go through when deciding who they want to be. Sometimes I want to be the strong, rock star that doesn’t let anything or anyone get to me. Other times, I want to be kawaii and make others happy over everything else. The story is easy to relate to. There is a point in our lives where we have to figure out our loves, our careers, create our own destiny. This story allows us to follow two women that are doing just that.

I have read the manga series and am a huge fan of the story. I’m also a fan of the first live action dvd (I have to buy the second!). I was really excited to get the Box set for the anime to watch a new interpretation of Nana. What I enjoyed about it is that it stays true to the manga. The artwork is almost identical and you feel the characters come alive. The Japanese voices are great (I watched with subtitles) and fit the characters well.

What I hated about it
I have to say I was most disappointed with the amount of repetition in the anime. I felt like 5 or 6 of the episodes were merely repeats of the last episode. Many of the episodes traced back to information and even the same animation that was already covered instead of moving the story along. We’d get a flashback to how they met, which I must have seen like 5 times throughout the whole box set. I was incredibly disappointed with episode 11.5 which basically was another repeat of everything that had happened already! The box set could have been slimmed down to half the amount of episodes and I would have gotten the full story. For me the repetition is a huge problem. I’m busy and don’t have much free time, so when I sit down for a few hours to watch anime, I don’t want to watch episodes that re-cap what has already happened. It was so disappointing and I really felt like it was wasting my time.

End Verdict
If you are not familiar with the Nana story, then you should pick this box set up. It’s a great story and you fall in love with the characters. I highly recommend getting the Live Action Nana dvd if you are interested in the story because I felt that was a great representation of Nana and it moved the story along faster.

I do have to say that I’m looking forward to the next Animated Uncut Box Set which comes out on November 24, 2009. I have high hopes that this set will just continue to move forward with the story and not do so much background now that we know the setting. I really can’t recommend the story enough no matter how you get it. Viz Media has done a great job bringing this story to fans and I hope we continue to get titles that resonate with the older female anime/manga fans.