Manga Monday: Nana Vol. 17

  Manga Mondays is a meme hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read where bloggers can share their passion for reading mangas. It's a great place to get new manga titles to try and to meet new bloggers. At the moment, I've got sucked into the world of Nana where music is the back drop and fuels the characters' passions and love and heartbreak go hand in hand. It seems that the closer that I get to volume 21 where the series is at a stand still, the more ominous the tone gets. I hope my characters will be alright.

Description (from back of the volume): Ever since she got engaged to Takumi and moved out of apartment 707, Nana K. has felt like she's slipping out of Nana O's life. When the tabloids start digging up Nana O's troubled family history, Nana K tries to step in and take care of things. But will her good intentions stir up more trouble? Blast is rocketing to stardom, and the price for bringing them down keeps going up.

Review: In the last few volumes of Nana that I've read, we are steered to the more personal aspects of Nana O.'s life. Volume 17 gives us a little more insight into Nana O's family and her past. There are two story lines going on, one of the future and one of the present. In the future, Nana O. has gone missing. People in the music industry believe she is dead, much like many young rock stars who diffuse easily once they reach the flames of popularity. Her bandmates, however,  strongly believe that is she is alive but just doesn't want to be found.  One day when Nana K. comes to apartment 707, the apartment she shared with Nana O. when they first moved to Tokyo, and checks the mail, she finds an envelope addressed to her with pictures of a girl with long hair and the same tattoo as Nana on her arm, singing at a bar. With clues such as this photo, the band is beginning to investigate Nana O. possible whereabouts. Blast's band status is still unknown, but I'm guessing that they either completely broken up or just put on pause until they reunite with their lead singer.
  After a stressful and anxiety ridden first chapter in the future, we are now taken to the present as Nana K. has been approached by a tabloid reporter saying he knows about Nana O's past and hints at Nana O's family's current location will publish it as the next big story. Nana K., who is always noted for her brilliance (yes, that's sarcasm) decides to go to Nana O's hometown and warn Nana's mother about the paparazzi blitz that will surely take place, but the woman denies having a daughter named Nana though they share many familiar physical features. As readers, we know that the woman is lying and is indeed Nana O's mother. We are also given more information about Nana O's family background, particularly of the strained relationship between Nana O's mother and grandmother, which might explain the nonexistent mother and daughter relationship between Nana O. and her mother. To cheer Nana O. up when she realizes that the story will break, Nana K. comes to live with her until Takumi returns from his trip. After this sudden turn of events, we are left with several questions. Will Nana O. be fine? Now that Misato, Nana O's half-sister who is a fan of hers, knows about their relationship, how will she react? And will she leave Nana O. alone? Will Nana O's mother's life be the same and will she ever reunite with her daughter?
 In other plot developments, Reira have broken up with Shin because she said she wanted to focus on her career. Hurt and heart broken Shin cuts all ties with Reira, but Reira seems to be the one who can't let go by sending him text messages and proposals for nightly visits. What is interesting is that the more time Ren spends with Reira and the two openly talk, we suspect that Reira's real plans are of wanting to be near Takumi. And in a scene from Reira's childhood, we see her telling Takumi that she loves him. What are Reira's true intentions? And does she really have feelings besides lust for Shin?

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: Language, sexual situations, and crude humor. Recommended for mature teens and adults only.

If you like this book try: We Were There by Yuuki Obata, Nana Vol 18 by Ai Yazawa, Honey and Clover by Chica Umino, Tramps Like Us by Yayoi Ogawa