Sound the alarm, everyone! It’s time for a morning license rescue!
In a press release issued on Tuesday, January 26th, Sentai Filmworks announced they had rescued the 47-episode anime series NANA and will put out a high definition digital and home video release at some point soon! If you’ve never heard of this series, it’s time to take a trip into the Wayback Machine and get educated on this classic piece of otaku history.
Originally a manga series created by Ai Yazawa (Paradise Kiss, Princess Ai), NANA was serialized from the year 2000 to 2009 in Cookie magazine when it went on indefinite hiatus. The series was collected into 21 volumes and released in English by Viz Media. The anime adaptation began airing in Japan in 2006 and was also released by Viz Media in English back in 2009, but this is the first time in many years that the anime series will be made available again in print. The series is an award winner, having won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in 2002, and has sold over 40 million copies around the world.
NANA features animation produced by famed studio Madhouse and features a who’s who of talented individuals in the cast and crew. Directed by Morio Asaka (Chihayafuru, My Love Story!!) working off series composition by Tomoko Konparu (Blue Spring Ride), the series also stars Romi Park (Edward in Fullmetal Alchemist, Ren in Shaman King) as the punk rocking Nana Osaki and KAORI (Haruka in Pokemon) as the other lead, Nana Komatsu.
Sentai Filmworks describes the story as:
Two twenty-somethings seemingly share nothing in common apart from their first name, but a chance meeting on a train bound for Tokyo sets Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki on a collision course with destiny. Nana Komatsu, a love-at-first-sight dreamer, aims to find enduring happiness in the big city. Nana Osaki, neo punk rock vocalist, pursues her burning ambitions of musical stardom and worldwide fame. As their fates increasingly intertwine, they each chase their dreams — until the harsh realities of life in big city Tokyo threaten to tear everything apart.
While the threat of an open ending might scare off some, this is still considered a truly classic series by many members of the critical anime community, and I personally can’t wait to see this series make its long-awaited re-debut into the modern anime conversation. Good on Sentai for seeing an opportunity and making the most of it with this license rescue! Will you be checking out this series for the first time?
Source: Sentai Filmworks
