It's squee time
Dec. 9th, 2006 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteAh, just got back from Uchihara/Jusco, and seeing NANA 2. It was good, and filled me in on those missing chunks of spoilers that I've been hearing about... sort of. For those of you anxious to know what the movie DOES and DOESN'T, I'll give you the low-down. A list:
* No Misato Uehara (or Mai Tsuzuki)
* Without Mai, there are a lot of scenes where things had to be altered, i.e. when Hachi first mailed Takumi "don't come over, I'm having a guest" and he called back asking if it was a guy or a girl... etc. Also, when she finally removes the Trapnest poster from her room, it hasn't bleached the wall paint enough for her to want to paint it, so that scene never happens, either. Also, NANA discovers the hoard of food Hachi made for BLAST after their successful live on her own-- Misato isn't there to explain anything.
* No Kurata or SEARCH magazine exposé (though there ARE annoying paparazzi)
* No "missing Nana found as a blonde singer in the UK!"
* No Shin x Reira (Hardly any Reira at all, actually, outside of the Trapnest events)
* No "Sachiko at age six"
* Nobu rather BLUNTLY confesses his love; much of the build-up between him and Hachi was cut. Shin still sneakily got them to go out together (to get more alcohol), and they DID still end up together for a time, but Nobu having that courage sort of altered his character (for me).
* No Asami or Miu
* No "hidden pasts" (i.e. Ren had the hots for Reira once; Reira went out with Yasu; Reira liked Takumi, etc. etc.)
* Hardly any romantic scenes at all, let alone "sexy" ones involving Ren x Nana, Nobu x Hachi, or Takumi x Hachi. In fact, the closest anyone gets to "romance" is some light kisses, and then fade to black. Though it's implied that people slept together, it's NEVER shown-- even after the fact. Only Ren is seen shirtless after he dragged Nana away from a hoard of screaming fans; the fact that Nana's sitting in her lingerie implies they did something, but as for everyone else, we never see anything less than pajamas.
As for the ending, people were wondering "If the manga's not over, how will the movie end (since it IS the last movie)?" Well, it ended sort of mysteriously, but happily too, if you can imagine that. Now obviously we'd have to wait for it to come out on DVD (if I read the advertisements right, it's actually coming out on DVD rather soon! o_O) for someone to rip and subtitle it to be sure, but from what I could understand, Nana and Hachi reunited (after Hachi and Takumi married) and watched the fireworks together. Hachi then did her voice-over, and I think she said something like "I truly believe we will meet again like that," implying that Nana DOES disappear, but not where, why, or when she did. And Nana sounds so damn POSITIVE about it, you do end up walking away with a kind of happy "Okay, this is as resolved as it can get" kind of feeling.
I am still kind of mad that Nobu sort of "gave up" on Hachi (I don't understand what he asked Hachi when they were alone and she was crying her eyes out... this was after Takumi randomly showed up, found out she was pregnant, and proceeded to call Nobu to tell him... which was rather cruel, in retrospect. And why Nana didn't go with Nobu -or even tell him where she would be- after finding out that Hachi was pregnant bothered me too. Cowardice seems to play a large part in the NANA series), though it is interesting that he got "inspired" by the situation to write the BLACK STONES hit "Eyes for the Moon."
But the manga redeemed Nobu just a bit. So if you don't mind reading MORE spoilers, continue on.
I'm tempted to offer scans to the Nana_Takoyakis group just so they can translate this gloriously plot-ridden chapter into English already. For starters, HACHI AND NOBU REUNITE! It's not under the best of circumstances, and it's not like anything can blossom between them again (he's in a relationship with "porn star" Asami, and she's married to fuckwad Takumi, and pregnant with SOMEBODY'S child... could be Takumi's *OR* Nobu's), but at least there's no lasting hard feelings. And Ai Yazawa wouldn't have done that without reason. :} I know in 63, we already saw future!Nana with Shin (together, they find out that Nana is still very much alive and well, singing as a blonde in a tavern in the UK somewhere), and future!Nana does tell Shin that it's odd that the letter (with the Nana photos inside) is strangely addressed to "Ichinose Nana-sama" rather than "Komatsu Nana-sama," which was the name she used back when she lived at Apt. 707.
But plenty of women keep their married name even after they divorce or their husbands diehorrible, terrible deaths by castration bwahaha! , so I'm holding out hope that Hachi doesn't really stay in a relationship that was so horrid to her from the very beginning. That doesn't mean she HAS to get together with Nobu to be happy, but... it would be nice. :P
Also in Chapter 64:
* Reira admits the truth of why she wants to go to Sweden (and what's really bothering her) to Ren!
* Ren and Reira have a "moment"?!
* Yasu contacts a special someone(I'm sure I've seen the girl before, but I'm not sure who she is. Long, dark hair, a mole under her right eye, and a tattoo that looks vaguely like the Fullmetal Alchemist sigil on her left arm It's Shion, leader of the Blast fanclub, I think) regarding the tabloid issues about Nana and her mother
* Nana and Hachi reunite!
There are no flash forwards in this chapter. :P People on the Takoyakis list seemed to be theorizing that Nana might have run away because Hachi went to Osaka and talked to her mother without informing her, but once you read Ch. 64 and see Nana's reaction to the whole Search magazine affair, you'll find out that she wouldn't take such a drastic measure, even if Hachi DID admit that she found out about the article through some rather "seedy" sources (i.e. making a deal with Kurata). At least, I really don't think so. What Nana said was that she hated that the one fact (that she was abandoned) was thrust into the limelight, NOT the fact that her mother's alive and well, with a new home and a new family, and no care for what happened in the past. If Nana's not bothered by THAT, I don't think Hachi telling her "Well, I talked to her, and she corroborated what the article said!" would really break Nana's heart. That she did it because Kurata threatened to reveal the photo of Reira and Shin might tick Nana off, but... *shrug* I don't even know who knows about their little relationship, anyway.
Apparently Hachi's future child is called "Satsuki" and not "Sachiko," though, and Nobu and Hachi DO meet in the future... which I have yet to see for myself, so I want to try and download some more chapters until I get back to the States and can buy a TON of the translated manga... ^_^
After the NANA 2 movie, I went to the Toho Cinema Store and got myself a Nana cell phone strap (there were both Hachi and Nana varieties, but at 800 yen a piece, I only got one-- the black and red NANA edition), two Disney magazine parody postcards (I'll scan them in a bit; these are the things I mentioned before, when I first went to Kiddy Land at Mito Eki's EXCEL mall), and a present for Scott. :)
I looked around the whole JUSCO department store to try and find the book section Kevin mentioned (he said he bought bookmarks for his girlfriend; I happen to collect bookmarks, so I wanted to know where to get them), but I seriously could not find it at all. My knees were close to giving, and it was cold and rainy out, so I just headed back here. I want to ask Kevin whether he meant the department store or a store in AEON (the whole mall). The exchange students have a tendency of calling the entire mall "JUSCO," even though that's just ONE store in the whole place, kind of like Sears takes up several floors in American malls. But you don't call the entire mall "Sears."
Ah, I need some good Nana icons... But for now, I'll just pretend that these purple nails belong to Nana. :)
* No Misato Uehara (or Mai Tsuzuki)
* Without Mai, there are a lot of scenes where things had to be altered, i.e. when Hachi first mailed Takumi "don't come over, I'm having a guest" and he called back asking if it was a guy or a girl... etc. Also, when she finally removes the Trapnest poster from her room, it hasn't bleached the wall paint enough for her to want to paint it, so that scene never happens, either. Also, NANA discovers the hoard of food Hachi made for BLAST after their successful live on her own-- Misato isn't there to explain anything.
* No Kurata or SEARCH magazine exposé (though there ARE annoying paparazzi)
* No "missing Nana found as a blonde singer in the UK!"
* No Shin x Reira (Hardly any Reira at all, actually, outside of the Trapnest events)
* No "Sachiko at age six"
* Nobu rather BLUNTLY confesses his love; much of the build-up between him and Hachi was cut. Shin still sneakily got them to go out together (to get more alcohol), and they DID still end up together for a time, but Nobu having that courage sort of altered his character (for me).
* No Asami or Miu
* No "hidden pasts" (i.e. Ren had the hots for Reira once; Reira went out with Yasu; Reira liked Takumi, etc. etc.)
* Hardly any romantic scenes at all, let alone "sexy" ones involving Ren x Nana, Nobu x Hachi, or Takumi x Hachi. In fact, the closest anyone gets to "romance" is some light kisses, and then fade to black. Though it's implied that people slept together, it's NEVER shown-- even after the fact. Only Ren is seen shirtless after he dragged Nana away from a hoard of screaming fans; the fact that Nana's sitting in her lingerie implies they did something, but as for everyone else, we never see anything less than pajamas.
As for the ending, people were wondering "If the manga's not over, how will the movie end (since it IS the last movie)?" Well, it ended sort of mysteriously, but happily too, if you can imagine that. Now obviously we'd have to wait for it to come out on DVD (if I read the advertisements right, it's actually coming out on DVD rather soon! o_O) for someone to rip and subtitle it to be sure, but from what I could understand, Nana and Hachi reunited (after Hachi and Takumi married) and watched the fireworks together. Hachi then did her voice-over, and I think she said something like "I truly believe we will meet again like that," implying that Nana DOES disappear, but not where, why, or when she did. And Nana sounds so damn POSITIVE about it, you do end up walking away with a kind of happy "Okay, this is as resolved as it can get" kind of feeling.
I am still kind of mad that Nobu sort of "gave up" on Hachi (I don't understand what he asked Hachi when they were alone and she was crying her eyes out... this was after Takumi randomly showed up, found out she was pregnant, and proceeded to call Nobu to tell him... which was rather cruel, in retrospect. And why Nana didn't go with Nobu -or even tell him where she would be- after finding out that Hachi was pregnant bothered me too. Cowardice seems to play a large part in the NANA series), though it is interesting that he got "inspired" by the situation to write the BLACK STONES hit "Eyes for the Moon."
But the manga redeemed Nobu just a bit. So if you don't mind reading MORE spoilers, continue on.
I'm tempted to offer scans to the Nana_Takoyakis group just so they can translate this gloriously plot-ridden chapter into English already. For starters, HACHI AND NOBU REUNITE! It's not under the best of circumstances, and it's not like anything can blossom between them again (he's in a relationship with "porn star" Asami, and she's married to fuckwad Takumi, and pregnant with SOMEBODY'S child... could be Takumi's *OR* Nobu's), but at least there's no lasting hard feelings. And Ai Yazawa wouldn't have done that without reason. :} I know in 63, we already saw future!Nana with Shin (together, they find out that Nana is still very much alive and well, singing as a blonde in a tavern in the UK somewhere), and future!Nana does tell Shin that it's odd that the letter (with the Nana photos inside) is strangely addressed to "Ichinose Nana-sama" rather than "Komatsu Nana-sama," which was the name she used back when she lived at Apt. 707.
But plenty of women keep their married name even after they divorce or their husbands die
Also in Chapter 64:
* Reira admits the truth of why she wants to go to Sweden (and what's really bothering her) to Ren!
* Ren and Reira have a "moment"?!
* Yasu contacts a special someone
* Nana and Hachi reunite!
There are no flash forwards in this chapter. :P People on the Takoyakis list seemed to be theorizing that Nana might have run away because Hachi went to Osaka and talked to her mother without informing her, but once you read Ch. 64 and see Nana's reaction to the whole Search magazine affair, you'll find out that she wouldn't take such a drastic measure, even if Hachi DID admit that she found out about the article through some rather "seedy" sources (i.e. making a deal with Kurata). At least, I really don't think so. What Nana said was that she hated that the one fact (that she was abandoned) was thrust into the limelight, NOT the fact that her mother's alive and well, with a new home and a new family, and no care for what happened in the past. If Nana's not bothered by THAT, I don't think Hachi telling her "Well, I talked to her, and she corroborated what the article said!" would really break Nana's heart. That she did it because Kurata threatened to reveal the photo of Reira and Shin might tick Nana off, but... *shrug* I don't even know who knows about their little relationship, anyway.
Apparently Hachi's future child is called "Satsuki" and not "Sachiko," though, and Nobu and Hachi DO meet in the future... which I have yet to see for myself, so I want to try and download some more chapters until I get back to the States and can buy a TON of the translated manga... ^_^
After the NANA 2 movie, I went to the Toho Cinema Store and got myself a Nana cell phone strap (there were both Hachi and Nana varieties, but at 800 yen a piece, I only got one-- the black and red NANA edition), two Disney magazine parody postcards (I'll scan them in a bit; these are the things I mentioned before, when I first went to Kiddy Land at Mito Eki's EXCEL mall), and a present for Scott. :)
I looked around the whole JUSCO department store to try and find the book section Kevin mentioned (he said he bought bookmarks for his girlfriend; I happen to collect bookmarks, so I wanted to know where to get them), but I seriously could not find it at all. My knees were close to giving, and it was cold and rainy out, so I just headed back here. I want to ask Kevin whether he meant the department store or a store in AEON (the whole mall). The exchange students have a tendency of calling the entire mall "JUSCO," even though that's just ONE store in the whole place, kind of like Sears takes up several floors in American malls. But you don't call the entire mall "Sears."
Ah, I need some good Nana icons... But for now, I'll just pretend that these purple nails belong to Nana. :)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-12-10 02:46 am (UTC)(I came from the yahoo group btw...I'm not a stalker... xD)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 09:59 am (UTC)here's to hoping the DVD comes out real soon~ :) and hopefully the manga ends well with Nana & Hachi meeting and we get to find out all the missing tidbits here and there.
and I also came from the yahoo group~ not a stalker ^^;; and wow, the net really is a small place. I recognized thelamook's username from Pretty Boy Fansubs forum. XD