List of Nana characters

The Japanese Josei manga series Nana, written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, features a cast of fictional characters of which the two main characters share the name Nana. The series chronicles their friendship and their lives as each chases her dreams. Nana Komatsu is a small town girl who goes to Tokyo to follow her boyfriend and college friends, with the hope of having her dream life. Nana Osaki was in a popular punk band in her home town. Nana Osaki's friends include her bandmates in the Black Stones (Blast) and her former bandmate who is involved in a band called Trapnest.

Main characters

Nana Osaki

Voiced by: Romi Park (Japanese); Rebecca Shoichet (English)

Played by: Mika Nakashima

Nana Osaki (大崎ナナ, Ōsaki Nana) a.k.a. Nana (ナナ), or "Nana O.", is the vocalist of the band Black Stones, also known as Blast. She considers the band Trapnest as her rival, most likely due to the facts that Ren decides to leave Blast for Trapnest and her roommate marrying Trapnest's leader. Though Nana may look like a tough punk rocker, she has a kind heart and is a devoted friend. However, she can be possessive and dark, easily becoming emotional to the extent where she has trouble breathing. She is particularly insecure about losing people close to her, readily admitting to using means like bringing Nobu and Nana Komatsu together so she can keep Hachi with her. Abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandmother, Nana never knew the identity of her biological father. Nana was expelled from high school after she was falsely accused of prostitution. Despite these hardships, Nana "polishes the shards of her dreams" and is determined to be successful as the lead vocalist of Blast. She gets engaged to her first love, Ren. In the future scenes (Chapter 58) it can be interpreted that Nana ran away from Japan and cut all ties with her friends. This may be triggered by the death of Ren, her fiance, and the events that followed. Her favorite designer is Vivienne Westwood, and her favorite band is the Sex Pistols.

Nana Komatsu

Voiced by: Kaori (Japanese); Kelly Sheridan (English)

Played by: Aoi Miyazaki, Yui Ichikawa

Nana Komatsu (小松奈々, Komatsu Nana) a.k.a. Hachi (ハチ), or "Nana K.", comes to Tokyo looking to find her dream, though she initially comes in order to stay in a relationship with her boyfriend, Shoji Endo. Unlike Osaki, however, she comes from a large and happy household, though her childish outlook prevents her from living on her own at first and she is prone to falling in love at first sight. Due to her kindness and faithfulness, Nana Osaki nicknames her "Hachi", after the dog Hachikō (ハチ公, Hachikō). Additionally, "hachi" means the number "eight" in Japanese, while "nana" is one reading for "seven". Nana Komatsu gradually becomes more mature as the series progresses and becomes extremely protective of Nana Osaki, who becomes increasingly dependent on Hachi for stability. During the series, Nana forms relationships with both Takumi and Nobu and winds up pregnant by one of them, though it is uncertain by who. Although she is in love with both, she chooses to marry Takumi since he could readily provide for the child's upbringing. During the scenes of future events, it is shown that Hachi's daughter was born and her name is Satsuki (as per Ren's advice). Nana is presumably still married to Takumi, although her marriage does not appear either to be happy or unhappy. They are separated, and Takumi lives in London with their other son, Ren. Though Junko suggests that Hachi should divorce Takumi, she says there's no need for it.

Black Stones

Black Stones — normally shortened to Blast (ブラスト, Burasuto) — is a popular punk band within the series. Ren was once a member of the group, but, after his departure to join Trapnest, they recruit a new member, Shin. They attract a large following, and ultimately sign a deal with Gaia Records. Nana Osaki is their main vocalist.

Nobu

Nobuo Terashima (寺島伸夫, Terashima Nobuo) a.k.a. Nobu (ノブ)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese); Matthew Erickson (English)

Played by: Hiroki Narimiya

He is the guitarist of Blast and was the only person able to befriend Nana Osaki during high school—which coincidentally began their shared love for punk music. He is friendly and optimistic, but at times, he tends to miss the focus of conversations around him. Before Nana's "smoking ban", he is the only non-smoking member of Blast. However, his threshold for alcohol is poor and he accidentally leaks many secrets while he is drunk (most notably, about Nana and Ren's relationship to Shin). Like Yasu, Nobu comes from a rich family (his parents own an inn). Despite this, he is still very passionate about music, even sharing Osaki's dream of making it big with a band one day. He falls in love with Hachi and they start a short but happy relationship. When Takumi tells Nobu about her pregnancy, Hachi painfully leaves him for Takumi. While he eventually accepts the reasons why she left him, he still fears the possibility of the child being his. He still has feelings for Hachi but decides to get in a relationship with Yuri. While he later claims he is "over" Hachi and appears happy in his relationship with Yuri, the aftermath of Ren's death allows him and Hachi to get closer. Following a heartfelt conversation in his dorm room, the two embrace and nearly share a kiss before Hachi pulls away, in fear that she will hurt both Nobu and Yuri. Nobu proclaims loudly that he "of course" still has feelings for Hachi, when scolded by Nana. He uses white Fender Stratocaster and black Gibson Les Paul Custom.

Shin

Shinichi Okazaki (岡崎真一, Okazaki Shin'ichi) a.k.a. Shin (シン、シンちゃん)

Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese); David A. Kaye (English)

Played by: Kanata Hongo

He is the bass player of Blast. He uses black Fender Precision Bass. Though mature and tall for his age, he is 15 years old and is the youngest member of the band. Although born and raised in Sweden, Shin's mother committed suicide while his mother's husband adopted him and refused to acknowledge him as his son. After moving to Japan, Shin met Ryōko Kawashigi, an airline stewardess, who works as his pimp and introduces him to alcohol and drugs. This leads Shin into moonlighting as a male prostitute with Reira being one of his "clients". Among other things, he is an expert mahjong player and a confidant and early roommate to Nobu. He sees Hachi as his surrogate mother when he voices out his wish to have been her child when she decides to keep her baby. He stops seeing Reira to protect her status and his own feelings—also possibly sparked from fear by Takumi's warning. After Shin retreats to Ryoko shortly after breaking up with Reira, the two were put under arrest for possession of marijuana which caused BLAST to withdraw from their tour. In the future it is shown he has become an actor.

Yasu

Yasushi Takagi (高木泰士, Takagi Yasushi) a.k.a. Yasu (ヤス,ヤッさん、ハゲ)

Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara (Japanese); Brian Drummond (English)

Played by: Tomomi Maruyama

He plays percussion and is the leader of Blast, usually handling the business partnerships and financial decisions needed for the band's success. His favorite cigarette brand is "Black Stones", from which the band got their name. He is also a lawyer in training, despite his "scary" appearance (clean shaven head, many earrings and dark glasses). He is the big brother figure for Nana O—and sometimes Nobu—and acted as Nana's "guardian" when she arrived in Tokyo. While he admits to being in love with her, he baits Ren to rekindle their love for each other. Ren says that Yasu "always stood back and let [Ren] have what ever he wanted" to Reira in chapter 53. Nana realizes that Yasu will always consider Ren's feelings first, and the reason Yasu will never pursue his feelings for Nana is not that he is "a prude" or loves her like a sister but because she is Ren's girlfriend. He looks after her in place of Ren, who can not. In the past, he shared several ties with Trapnest's members. Yasu and Ren grew up in the same orphanage and remained close friends when Yasu was adopted. He dated Reira while in high school and was jealous of Takumi's success and influence on her, which he later relates as the reasons for their break up. Also, he is the oldest member of Blast, which Nobu sometimes teases him about (by calling him "old man"). He is in a budding romance with Miu to the surprise of Ren and others—who were sure he would date Reira again. When Nana sees him with Miu having breakfast she immediately assumes they had sex and is obviously hurt by this thought, avoiding Yasu and even comically screaming that she does not care who he sleeps with after he asks her if she is alright (he was referring to the hangover she was complaining of when she entered his room).

Trapnest

Trapnest or Tranes (トラネス, Toranesu) for short, is a popular band in the manga. Nana wants her own band to overtake Trapnest as the leading one in Japan.

Ren Honjo

Ren Honjo (本城蓮, Honjō Ren) a.k.a. Ren (レン)

Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi (Japanese); Samuel Vincent (English)

Played by: Ryuhei Matsuda, Nobuo Kyo

Blast's former bassist, Ren is now Trapnest's guitarist. He uses white Fender Precision Bass and black Gibson Les Paul Standard. He is very popular and his music is well received by fans. He and Nana Osaki were once in a relationship when he was still with Blast. Even after two years apart he was still deeply in love with Nana. something that Nobuo acknowledges as very rare. He asks Nana to marry him in chapter 39, but he later admits to Reira that he only asked her "to drive Yasu out of Nana's heart." He says that he is sick, because he loves Nana so much that he wants her to give up everything and always be by his side, never thinking of anyone but him. He admits that he sometimes wants to kill her so that she'll never be his and only his forever. Ren is a big fan of the Sex Pistols; he participated in a tribute album to them, and wears a "Sid Vicious" padlock around his neck that he received from Nana. Nana had an image of a lotus tattooed on her upper arm in honor of him ("Ren" is a Japanese name for lotus). Ren grew up in an orphanage and learned to take care of himself by the age of 12. He finds school boring and only likes to play guitar, which he practiced alone to the point of perfection. The brand of the cigarettes he originally smoked was the "Seven Stars". In chapter 77, he dies in a car accident on the night before Nana's 21st birthday.

Layla Serizawa

Layla Serizawa (芹澤レイラ, Serizawa Reira) a.k.a. Reira (レイラ)

Voiced by: Aya Hirano (Japanese); Ashleigh Ball (English)

Played by: Yuna Ito

She is the half-American, half-Japanese lead singer of Trapnest who writes the lyrics for Trapnest's songs. Though her name is often romanized as "Reira," she is actually named "Layla" after the hit song by Eric Clapton. She secretly has trysts with Shin. Though in love with him, she eventually broke up with him to protect Trapnest from further scandal. She asked if they could still contact each other but Shin is reticent and urges her to break off entirely. It is unknown if they will reconcile though it is clear that they still love each other. Layla grew up with Takumi and she is in love with him. Takumi, however, continues to treasure her as a sister and not a lover. Layla has admitted that she is in love with Shin as well.

Takumi Ichinose

Takumi Ichinose (一ノ瀬巧, Ichinose Takumi) a.k.a. Takumi (タクミ)

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese); Andrew Francis (English)

Played by: Tetsuji Tamayama

The leader and bassist of Trapnest. He uses Fender Jazz Bass which the sunburst finish is used on. He is quite handsome and has a reputation of being a playboy. Despite his raw sexual charisma, Takumi can also be a cold and controlling workaholic. His favorite brand of cigarettes is Gitanes. His childhood was a sad one with his mother dying and his father being an alcoholic. Takumi has an older sister who married a man due to her pregnancy. Since childhood, Takumi looked after Layla and always harbored a brother-like care for her although Hachi believes he may actually love Layla. Takumi seduces a willing Hachi for a one night stand and several continued sexual encounters. Eventually Hachi breaks up with Takumi to be with Nobu however Takumi does not take this well. When Hachi learns of her pregnancy and expresses uncertainty over who the father is, Takumi offers to be the father regardless of whose child it actually is. This is unusual behaviour for Takumi as he had previously expressed distaste and annoyance with pregnancy and told Hachi to not bother him should she get pregnant. Possibly due to jealously that Hachi loved Nobu and because of his own family background, Takumi shows more possessive tendencies when it comes to Hachi. When Nana gets angry at Takumi for continually disrupting Hachi's relationship with Nobu, Takumi coldly retorts that Nobu should have stayed away from "his" woman. Other characters note Takumi's change in attitude such as when Naoki mentions Takumi was not letting the woman he was infatuated with "run away that easily". Takumi has expressed love for Hachi and her unborn child which he affectionately calls "Sa-chan". Despite this, in the manga, Takumi has once forcefully had sex with Hachi during her pregnancy and she reflects that she let him do what he wanted in order to avoid his aggression. Takumi also keeps his playboy habits, cheating on Hachi first with a soap-opera actress (although this was before they legally married) and later on when married with Layla, who had openly declared her desire to become one of his lovers. Layla feels as though Takumi raped her but Takumi retorts that he gave her exactly what she wanted. Takumi does confess, when Ren tells him he is going to hell for sleeping with Layla, that he would do anything to make sure Hachi and Satsuki (unborn child) are not dragged with him. During one of the views from the future (Chapter 74), we witness Takumi in London with a fair haired half-caucasian young boy by the name of Ren. It is implied that this boy is the child of Takumi, named Ren in honour of Honjou Ren. Takumi and Hachi had also another child, who they named Satsuki or "Sa-chan" (this name was suggested by Ren before he died) who lives with Hachi in Tokyo. We are told that the couple have not divorced, even though they are separated and Takumi lives in England with their son Ren, Takumi also calls on the phone frequently to speak with Hachi and Satsuki whom he still seems to care for. When Takumi and Naoki converse it is made clear that Hachi wants to remain in Japan to await Nana in case she ever returned to Room 707. It is uncertain whether or not Takumi and Hachi are separated due to an unhappy marriage or because of different problems.

Naoki Fujieda

Naoki Fujieda (藤枝直樹, Fujieda Naoki) a.k.a.

Voiced by: Anri Katsu (Japanese); Adrian Petriw (English)

Played by: Momosuke Mizutani

He is the drummer of Trapnest. Like Nobu in Black Stones, he is the "clueless", loud-mouthed member of his band. As with the rest of his bandmates, he is a friend of Yasu. His musical interest was awakened by Takumi during middle school. He hoped to achieve lots of attention from girls by playing in the band. He used to be the playboy of the band, tricking groupies to fund their cause, to which end is not explained. It is shown that in the future he has a daughter named Momo as he refers to her in conversation with Takumi. It is unknown who the mother or how old she is.

Supporting characters

People who have interacted with Nana K. personally at given times of her life. They do not address her with her nickname, Hachi, and have deeply affected her perceptions on certain situations. As they are not deeply involved with the two bands, she will often reflect on her experiences with them for reassurance when she is in doubt of her simultaneous loyalties to Blast and Trapnest.

Junko Saotome (早乙女淳子, Saotome Junko)

Voiced by: Takako Honda (Japanese); Saffron Henderson (English)

Played by: Anna Nose

Hachi's sensible, no-nonsense best friend. Junko is much more emotionally mature than Hachi and often pushes her to be more independent and responsible. She is the host of the omake (bonus) section at the end of each manga volume, reading fan mail and displaying fan art. She is often called "Jun-chan" by Hachi.

Kyosuke Takakura (高倉京助, Takakura Kyosuke)

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese); Michael Adamthwaite (English)

Played by: Takehisa Takayama

Junko's boyfriend who currently shares an apartment with her. He is also good friends with Hachi and Shoji. His laid-back attitude to life may deem him a slacker in the eyes of many, but he is actually quite perceptive and he coddles Hachi more than Junko would like. Both he and Junko are studying to become artists (his art being Romantic and hers being Post-Modernistic). Although Shoji has said several times that he used to be a player, Kyosuke says very seriously that he would never cheat on Junko because he is afraid of losing her. He also says that he liked Junko the moment he saw her.

Shoji Endo (遠藤章司, Endō Shōji)

Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi (Japanese); Jeremy From (English)

Played by: Yuta Hiraoka

Hachi's ex-boyfriend. He is a struggling art student and works as a waiter. He met Hachi through his old friend, Junko, and Hachi originally moved to Tokyo to be closer to him. However, their relationship gradually cooled and he cheated on her with Sachiko, a co-worker and classmate. Though he still has feelings for her, he leaves Hachi for Sachiko. Junko later guesses that Shoji felt rejected by Hachi when she refused to fight for him, and that the real reason he chose Sachiko was because she openly showed her love for him. This is opposed to Hachi who was so "one-way" and made Shoji feel as though she only loved him because he loved her. They meet by chance some time later at Jackson Hole and talk for the first time since breaking up. They speak casually, and Hachi admits that she thought that after the drama of him cheating on her died down that they would be friends again. When they part, Shoji tells her that he now realizes that what she was asking for was not really too much, and that he had fun talking to her. Because of this, he says sadly that would not see her again. They part in tears, and Shoji meets up with Sachiko to look at fireworks. He tells her that he can only see things clearly from far away and that the closer things are, the more he loses sight of them. She assures him that that is the same for everyone and they hold hands while watching the fireworks.

Sachiko Kawamura (川村幸子, Kawamura Sachiko)

Voiced by: Megumi Kojima

Played by: Saeko

Shoji's sweet-natured girlfriend. She works at the same restaurant as Shoji. Early on in the manga, Hachi once dreamt of Shoji two-timing her with a buxom, Prada-loving city girl named Sachiko (she thought of the name randomly). Ominously, it later turned out to be true, though the real Sachiko is nothing like "virtual" Sachiko. Shoji eventually leaves Hachi for Sachiko, who openly admits her love for Shoji and fights for him unlike Hachi. Shoji later moves in with her. Interestingly, Hachi also plays with the idea of naming her unborn daughter Sachiko. When she tells Shoji this, along with the possibility that the baby might be born on May 5th, the same as Sachiko Kawamura, he declares that if that happens the baby really will be the demon lord's child. Sachiko is describes as being "really short" by Shoji. She stands at 147cm.

Nami Komatsu (小松奈美, Komatsu Nami)

Hachi's younger sister, and the youngest in the Komatsu household, she has the appearance of a ganguro girl because of her suntan and bleached hair. Nami is very outgoing and loud, and is a Trapnest fan.

Nao Komatsu (小松奈緒, Komatsu Nao)

Hachi's older sister, who looks quite a bit like Natsuko. She is married, but still lives near the Komatsu family home.

Natsuko Komatsu (小松奈津子, Komatsu Natsuko)

Hachi's mother. Kind and understanding, she is a model mother to her daughters, and Nana Osaki considers Natsuko to be cool. Hachi, however finds it weird since she thought that her family is nothing but "normal".

Satsuki Ichinose (一ノ瀬皐, Ichinose Satsuki)

Voiced by: Yuko Katou

The daughter of Nana Komatsu. Not much known about her, and she makes only a few appearances later in the series. When she appears, she is six years old (presumably showing the future outlook of the story) and well loved by her mother's friends. It is not known if she is truly Takumi's or Nobu's child, but bears a striking resemblance to Takumi, with black hair and hazel eyes. She is revealed to have a crush on Shin, though his reciprocation (or even his knowledge of her feelings) is unlikely. During her pregnancy, Hachi and Takumi unofficially called her "Sachiko". Her name, Satsuki, was chosen by Ren at the request of Hachi, who was unable to think up any name other than "Sachiko". It is implied that Ren may be seen as her older brother as once her mother had asked whether she would give her Valentine chocolates to "older brother".

Ren (レン)

A morose young boy initially seen in the company of Reira during the segments depicting the future. He is depicted as being close to Takumi, who is assumed to be his father. It is implied that he is either Takumi's or Nobu's son and Satsuki Ichinose's brother. He is living in London with Takumi and does not want to return to Japan. In the future, Reira apparently has given up singing, but will sing when Ren plays the guitar for her, something she used to say of her former band member and, possibly, his namesake, Ren Honjo. He bears a surprising resemblance to a young Shin, having a very pretty face and light-amber hair, which caused some confusion when he first appeared in the manga sharing a bed with Takumi.

Takashi Asano (浅野崇, Asano Takashi)

Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka

Hachi's first lover. A handsome, older, married man, Asano carried on a secret affair with Hachi that ended when he was abruptly transferred to Tokyo. Though Hachi believed that she was in love with him, she was convinced that he saw her as just an easy girl to play around with. When Hachi encounters him again in Tokyo, later, it is implied that he actually had serious feelings for her, but never told her because of her insistence in describing their affair as a mere "fling". After resolving her own personal issues with him, tells him to stop cheating on his wife.

Music industry characters

Gaia Records

Black Stones eventually sign a full contract with Gaia Records. Due to the tabloids' interest over Nana and Ren's relationship, Blast members relocated to one of Gaia's facilities and voluntarily shared housing with other talented individuals under Gaia's name.

Gou Kanemoto (金本　豪, Kanemoto Gou)

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto

The leader of the corporation which owns Gaia Records.

Ginpei Shiroboshi (諸星銀平, Shiroboshi Ginpei)

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese); Richard Ian Cox (English)

Blast's manager. He talks in a very feminine way (unless angered), is openly gay, and he has a questionable interest in Yasu. In Nana's eyes, Ginpei is the second "baldie" related to Blast—the first being Yasu.

Mai Tsuzuki (都築舞, Tsuzuki Mai)/"Misato Uehara" (上原美里, Uehara Misato)

Voiced by: Mika Kanai (Japanese); Nicole Bouma (English)

An ardent fan of Blast since its inception, Misato loves Nana and has befriended the band. However, "Uehara Misato" is not her true name. Mai claims that a fortune teller told her that if she used the name "Uehara Misato" she could become closer to Nana, but may have actually chosen it because it is the name of Nana's half-sister. She later joins the staff at Gaia, Blast's record label. She came to know about Nana and Blast when she read her grandfather's diary and discovered that he and Nana's grandmother were once lovers. Recent chapters reveal that Mai may actually have a secret she prefers not to reveal since the tabloids have discovered Nana's father's surname may actually be "Tsuzuki", which would imply that she, like Uehara Misato, is Nana's half-sister.

Miu Shinoda (篠田美雨, Shinoda Miu) / "Myū"

Voiced by: Saeko Chiba

A placid and soft-spoken actress who shares a boarding house with Blast and Yuri. She is older than she looks (27) and her name is often mispronounced "Myū" by Nobu. Miu wears long sleeves to hide the scars on her wrists from self-mutilation. Also, in volume 11 (the volume where she first appears), it is shown that she is a very good mahjong player (she claimed that she learnt her skills by having special training for her role in a mahjong movie as a nameless rival). Miu was first introduced to Nobu during Nana's first hyperventilation attack, when she lends Nobu a paper bag to help Nana deal with it. After a few more confrontations with Nobu, they become fast friends, and he is immediately smitten by her. However when he makes a move on her, she reveals her age and indirectly rejects him for being "unreliable." She eventually begins dating Yasu, although it is implied that their relationship was built out of convenience - Yasu to give Nana independence and Miu because she thought Yasu was stable. However, Miu expresses jealousy towards women that Yasu appears to have strong emotional relationships with, particularly Nana and Shion, which Yasu becomes aware of. Although she was initially reluctant to have sex with Yasu, she gives in, feeling pressure that Nana might snatch him away.

Despite Miu's apparent aloofness, she is sincere and perceptive enough to predict what Yasu will do. She quickly befriends Hachi and Nana notes upon meeting Miu for the first time that Miu and Hachi got along well. Because of her close friendship with Hachi, Miu reveals to her that she would stop cutting herself because she did not want to upset Yasu. In the future, it is seen that Miu and Yasu remain together and she has cut her long hair. Her long standing friendship with Hachi is still evident.

Yuri Kousaka (香坂百合, Kōsaka Yuri)/Asami Matsumoto (松本朝海, Matsumoto Asami)

Voiced by: Reiko Suhou

A giggly, giddy AV idol (porn star) who shares a boarding house with Blast and Miu and tends to speak crudely. Her real name is Asami Matsumoto. Yuri was a teenage runaway before she starred in adult videos, and she has financial problems due to her sleazy manager and her own fickle nature. She has a large advance to pay off, but is pressured by her manager into continuing adult films when Yuri has nearly paid off the debt when he promises that her new contract will allow her to star in a movie adaptation of a popular novel. Nobu begins dating her after he is rejected by Miu. However, because Nobu still has feelings for Nana Komatsu, Yuri dislikes and is jealous of Hachi, whom Yuri refers to as "Takumi's wife". Her relationship with Nobu becomes increasingly strained when she expresses her frustration towards Hachi with insensitive remarks towards both Nana and Hachi after Ren's death.

Yamagishi (山岸)

Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda

The security guard who guards the hostel where Blast stays in. He has the look of a gangster, and frequently sleeps at his post.

Takafumi Kawano (川野高文, Kawano Takafumi)

One of Gaia's recording producers and the first to scout for Blast in Tokyo. He does not know much about punk or rock but is thoroughly impressed with the band's charm and Nana's charisma. He is kind-hearted and fully believes in Blast's success despite skepticism from executives and his peers. Though high enough in the company to have influence, he was unaware of Gaia's leak to the scandal surrounding Nana. Originally, he declined to sign Blast an official contract as the pay Gaia was willing to compensate for each member would have been less than they deserved. Yasu, however, privately convinced him that dreams were more important and he sealed the deal.

Shion (詩音, Shion)

President of Blast's Private Fan Club and a long-time fan of Yasu since his days in Brute. She keeps in contact with Mai and divides the fans by their interests in the members. Her devotion to Yasu is unfailing and she relays any news outside of Gaia's influence to him. When questioned about her financial situation, she replied to have some dependency from her rich "father"—though he is not biological. First seen in the story as a bobcut-haired groupie, later as a platinum blonde during her late teens, and re-introduced with curled black hair as an adult; Shion's only constant traits include the mole underneath her left eye and the tattoo on her right arm.

Cookie Music

Trapnest's official record label which is also a homage to the magazine that serialized the manga. Unlike Blast, members are assigned more managers who ensure that they meet their appointments and affirm each member's status.

Mitsuru Narita (成田　充, Narita Mitsuru)

Voiced by: Sho Hayami

The head of Cookie Music, Narita is flamboyant, but reasonably talented with music. He works frequently with Takumi when it comes to Trapnest's music and marketing strategies. Narita also provides Ren with drugs (a powder which Takumi later identifies as heroin). In exchange, Ren must continue to write hit songs. It is implied that Narita introduced Ren to heroin but later regretted this after Ren had become addicted.

Hideki Kasai (笠井秀樹, Kasai Hideki)

Trapnest's director. He is easily moved by tales of romanticism and love. Though he is supposed to direct during recordings, he usually sets appointments or sends requests to the president of the company, leaving all artistic direction in Takumi's hands.

Kinoshita (木下, Kinoshita)

One of Trapnest's assistants. Occasionally, he will check on Ren and take him to recordings. He loves the quality of Ren's cars.

Mari (マリ, Mari)

Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi

Reira's personal assistant and manager. She is intelligent and has experience as a student at a law university.

Takeda (竹田, Takeda)

Assistant in charge of Trapnest's publicity. Out of the assistants mentioned so far, he is the one that Takumi trusts the most. Members of the band often address him as "Take-chan".

Search Magazine

A magazine that shares similar characteristics to the Japanese magazine, Friday. They are a part of the "paparazzi" that track both bands. When Blast was becoming popular, they were given a leak that connected Nana O with Ren and have not stopped from spreading negative (and sometimes false) information about them.

Kudo (工藤, Kudo)

Voiced by: Masahiko Tanaka (Japanese); Michael Dobson (English)

The editor in charge of the tabloids surrounding Blast and Trapnest. According to Arai, he is supposed to answer to a higher supervisor, Yokoyama, but he chooses to be more impetuous in his actions. He employs Miyake and Kurada to investigate in his place.

Yoshiyuki Arai (新井良行, Arai Yoshiyuki)

Search magazine's editor-in-chief. He has already been married for two years. He is often the one to chide Kudo for his brash methods of investigations.

Minoru Kurada (倉田稔, Kurada Minoru)

Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (Japanese); Richard Ian Cox (English)

Photographer hired by Search magazine to track Nana O. and Ren. He has conflicting opinions with his employer, Kudou, and claims that once he sees a face, he will never forget it. Curiously, after investigating Nana at a later unspecified time, he reports that "Nana died at that sea". The depth of these words have yet to be explained.

Miyake (三宅, Miyake)

Kurada's partner in crime who frequently stalks Nana O. for a private interview. Yasu punched him on one occasion, which later lead to a negative article about Yasu being published in their magazine. He finds nothing wrong about pestering the couple, thinking that their relationship is fragile to begin with.

Fumie Sugiwara (菅原文江, Sugiwara Fumie)

The only woman in the editorial group. She does scold her peers for their cruelty, but also finds their harassments of Nana O and Ren as testing their love for one another.

Other characters

Keiichi Mizukoshi (水越誠一, Mizukoshi Keiichi)

Voiced by: Kenji Hamada

Owner to a cheap vintage furniture and clothing store near both Nana's apartment in Tokyo. He hired Hachi but soon closed the store to move back home. He later sends her a postcard with a wedding photo with him and his bride (a childhood friend), ironic to Hachi's lament at the time.

Ms. Sakagami (坂上-様, Sakagami-san)

Voiced by: Shinohara Emi

A 38-year-old woman who is Hachi's boss at her new job at the magazine production industry. She is crude and scornful, and will not hesitate to throw insults at all sorts of minor imperfections that Hachi has made.

Koichi Sato (佐藤公一, Satō Koichi)

Voiced by: Keisuke Fujii (Japanese); Michael Daingerfield (English)

A waiter at the Jackson's Burger restaurant. He is friendly with Hachi, Junko, and Shoji, who all curiously address him by his full name.

Miyuki Osaki (大崎美雪, Osaki Miyuki)

Nana Osaki's maternal grandmother, the owner of a small shop who adopted and raised Nana after she was abandoned by her mother. Nana and Miyuki's relationship did not seem particularly good and she was hard on Nana, though Miyuki's relationship with her own daughter did not seem to be much better. Miyuki dies shortly after Nana is kicked out of high school after she does not refute the false accusations of prostitution; Nana believes that her grandmother died of grief and would have fought against the charges if she had known that her grandmother would have lived.

Misato Uehara (上原美里, Uehara Misato) (real Misato Uehara)

Nana Osaki's half-sister who appears before Nana at a special "thank you" concert for Blast's fans. She lives in Osaka, her parents own an okonomiyaki shop. She is also known as "Misato Number Two" by Nana. Though she bares a striking similarity to her, she is unaware of her true relationship with Nana and ironically became one of her newer devoted fans. Mai has said that it is not a good idea for Nana and Misato to become too close because they share the same mother, who abandoned Nana O to her grandmother when Nana was just a child. When her mother's relationship to Nana is revealed, Misato's house is bombarded with paparazzi and Misato's mother disappears. Misato, stricken with the revelation, winds up running away to Tokyo and wandering for two days until she is found by Shion. Eventually, her mother takes responsibility to find Misato and bring her home.

Misuzu Uehara (上原美鈴, Uehara Misuzu)

Nana Osaki and Misato Uehara's mother. Shortly after the real Misato's appearance, Nana's mother is revealed to be living an life as a housewife and she refuses to acknowledge any connection with Nana. In response to learning who her mother is, Nana shows little emotional reaction, being only mildly disappointed at how ordinary her mother is, and still apparently unaware that the real Misato Uehara is her half-sister. When her relationship to Nana Osaki is publicly exposed, Misuzu flees from her family in Osaka, leaving them to the paparazzi. When Kurada tracks her down and implies that Misato is in danger after running away to Tokyo, Misuzu reluctantly reveals that she abandoned Nana because she wanted to be with a man who hated children. Afterward, she attempts to have her stepson bring Misato home and is forced to do so herself when he refuses because he wants her to take responsibility for her actions.

Takahiro Uehara (上原空広, Uehara Takahiro)

Misato Uehara's older half-brother from her father's previous marriage; as a result, he is not a blood relative of Nana Osaki. He is mostly uninterested in Nana or her music, but becomes involved when his family become a target of paparazzi as a result of his stepmother's relationship to the singer. He and his family take refuge with relatives in Okayama, but he becomes increasingly worried for his sister when she runs away to Tokyo until he learns of her whereabouts through his girlfriend, Kayoko (加世子), who is contacted by Shion because she happens to be a fan of Yasu. When Misuzu attempts to have him bring Misato home, he refuses because he knows Misato will not willingly return with him and because he wants Misuzu to take responsibility for her actions. He later becomes engaged to Kayoko.

Genichiro Tsuzuki (都築源一郎, Tsuzuki Genichiro)

The grandfather of Mai Tsuzuki. Mai learned through her grandfather's diaries that he and Miyuki Osaki may have been lovers, which suggests the possibility that she and Nana are somehow related by blood, though even Mai appears to be uncertain. Through her grandfather's diaries, Mai became acquainted with who Nana was, and eventually became one of Nana's earliest fans.

Chikage Fujimoto (藤本千景, Fujimoto Chikage)

She is the real Misato's friend, a fan of Blast and Shin in particular. She was among the trio selected to represent Kansai at Blast's special fan gathering.

Ryoko Kashiwagi (柏木凌子, Kashiwagi Ryōko)

A woman who resembles Reira, Shin seems to spend a great deal of time with her and she seems to favour sleeping with much younger men. When Shin first arrived in Tokyo, Ryoko took him under her wing and taught him about the adult world as well as how to get money from women. Shin came to view her as a foster mother of sorts and remarks that she does not resemble Reira as closely as he originally thought. She is eventually arrested along with Shin for the possession of marijuana.

Atsushi (アツシ)

The second generation guitarist for Trapnest and Ren's predescessor. He only appears in flashbacks, though is mentioned in a conversation between Takumi and Ren when they are reminiscing about Trapnest's past. Atsushi eventually quit the band after getting punched by Takumi after getting into too many disagreements with him, mostly because Atsushi was tired of following Takumi's vision without question or compromise. At the time, Naoki was upset that they had lost another guitarist and felt as though Atsushi had abandoned them, though he eventually gets over it.

Works cited

• ^ "Ch." is shortened form for chapter and refers to a chapter number of the Nana manga