Title: Nana 2
Genre: Drama
Company: Outani Kentarou
Format: Movie; 115 mins
Date: 9 Dec 2006

Synopsis: The plot thickens as Komatsu Nana is entangled in a love triangle between Trapnest’s Takumi and Black Stones’ Nobu. This also happens to be just one of Osaki Nana’s many plights as she struggles to succeed with her music career and her love life with Ren.

The Highlights
Characterization: Changing the original cast proves to be the ultimate downfall.
Music: Fails to emulate the original impact of Nana.
Plot: Misses the emotional effect, and that one specific event to justify the rest.
The sad part about the film: Nowhere as good as the first Nana.

It was quite startling when I heard of all the unenthusiastic reviews circulating around Nana 2. After watching it, I can pretty much understand where all those negative vibes come from. The first Nana movie was such a success because of three aspects: the characters, the music and the plot. The contribution of the people behind them further propelled the movie into one of the best J-movie in 2005. Tampering with one of the aspect will naturally not help Nana 2, so imagine the consequences after messing with all three of them.

The characters are the catalysts that launched the original manga of the same name into stardom; this is also true of the live-action films. Swapping Aoi Miyazaki, who did a great job playing Nana Komatsu in the first movie, with Yui Ichikawa proves to be a big no-no. I won’t say that Yui did a horrible job at portraying Nana; it’s just that rather than portraying the bubbly side of Nana, she ends up trying to do so forcefully behind her otherwise often subdued expression. Two more swapping include actors for Nana’s lover Ren and rebellious adolescent Shin. Nobuo Kyou fared well as Ren, but he lacks the charisma of previous actor Ryuhei Matsuda. On the other hand, adolescent star Hongo Kanata did much better at playing wild child Shin who was inappropriately played by otherwise veteran actor Kenichi Matsuyama, famous for his roles in the Death Note live-action films. To my relief, Mika Nakashima who retained her role still maintains her excellent idiosyncratic portrayal of Nana Osaki.

The casting department is not the only thing at fault. The music is not much to harp about either. Mika Nakashima and Yuna Ito both mesmerized the viewers with unforgettable hits in the form of songs like ‘Glamorous Sky’ and ‘Precious Memories’ respectively back in Nana. This time around, Mika’s ‘Hitoiro’ and ‘Eyes for the Moon’ are unmemorable and, more importantly, fail to elevate the important drama scenes in the film itself. Thank goodness that at least Ito’s ‘Truth’ is able to stand tall on its own two feet.

The third rusty nail is the plot. I admit that it’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not good either. Viewers who follow the original manga will realize that there is one event that paves way to the second half of the entire story. I was left scratching my head, wondering where “that event” went, especially since this gap will likely confuse non-Nana followers. More significantly, the lackluster plot combined with the performances of the new cast significantly weakens the impact of the movie’s more poignant moments, which in my opinion are more critical than the first-half of the whole Nana story.

In the end, I was left dissatisfied by the end of the movie. As I think about it more and more, I am starting to understand the ranting of those who despise the movie. Both the Nana characters need to act as two hands clapping in unison to make the movie a success. No matter how good one hand is, if the other one fails, the movie is doomed.

The Rating: 5

Reviewed by: AC