Comments on: *Nana Book 8 — Recommended

By: Best of 2008 » Comics Worth Reading

Best of 2008 » Comics Worth Reading — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:29:57 +0000

[...] NanaAi Yazawa’s addictive manga series had six volumes, 8-13, released in English in 2008. It’s a briliant blend of character development — as the two young women who are its title characters learn about love and what they want from life — masquerading as a rock’n'roll soap opera. [...]

By: Best Manga of 2008 » Comics Worth Reading

Best Manga of 2008 » Comics Worth Reading — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:31:14 +0000

[...] easily. Brilliant stuff, with books 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 out this [...]

By: *Nana Book 9 — Recommended » Comics Worth Reading

*Nana Book 9 — Recommended » Comics Worth Reading — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:39:29 +0000

[...] been too long since I’ve checked in with this terrific series. I last talked about Book 8 at the beginning of the summer, and there’s been four more installments since then. Nana [...]

By: Miki

Miki — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:23:04 +0000

The manga gets better and better. You’d think that such an event happening to Hachi would seem natural, but it’s so little done (and when happened, done too lightly) that it doesn’t cover any of the real stress and pain someone goes through, but I think Ai Yazawa does that shock really well.

You think there is a change in tone? I think from this point on, the series is more serious and light-hearted moments are few (but thank god not entirely gone) but the air of regret and looking-back I’ve always felt even when Hachi was narrating. In fact, re-reading the manga, I can see quite a few hints about how Nana will later break down and the turning point shown in this volume.

By: MangaBlog » Blog Archive » Jesus, Buddha, Tite Kubo, they’re all in here somewhere

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:52:45 +0000

[...] gets an advance look at A Promise of Romance. At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson puts vol. 8 of Nana and vol. 1 of Aria on her Recommended list and suspects from vol. 2 of Honey and Clover that that [...]

By: Rivkah

Rivkah — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:45:14 +0000

I thought this volume was a beautiful turning point for the series. I love Hachi and somehow find her extremely relateable: she’s eager to please, but she also wants somebody to take care of because it makes HER happy as well. However, I think the surprise in this book is what it takes to teach her maturity; instead of running and shrinking away from responsibility, she rises to the occasion. And it gets even better in 9 and 10. :)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:43:25 +0000

Great point, yes, it makes sense for the character although I found it completely unexpected. (Maybe because those kinds of real-life problems aren’t often tackled in American serial comics, and when they are, they risk seeming like an afterschool special.) I have #9 on the reading stack.

By: James Schee

James Schee — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:34:15 +0000

Yeah the surprise in this volume really stunned me, but it works for how Hachi has been.

I just finished #9, which really blew me away. A bonus for it was a backup flashback tale of the Trapnest characters in their real youth. It was really enlightning, and well done.