Manga Monday: Nana Vol. 18

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 where love and heartbreak go hand in hand.

Description (from the back of the volume): Things aren't looking good for Blast. Shin, under extreme stress from the band's rising success and his relationship with Reira, seeks out reconciliation wherever he can. Reestablishing ties with his own family turns out to be a horrible failure, and before he can connect Nana with her unknown little sister, Shin gets arrested! Is this the end of Blast?!

Review: I can clearly see why many readers would be incredibly frustrated with Nana. Nothing is simple and all the relationships that I would like to be over and done with continue, which infuriates me to no end. The two story lines, one from the future and one from the present, still remain and are cleverly placed with enough teasers to capture our attention.
In the future, Nana O. remains in hiding and singing in some remote pub in England according to the latest Japanese paparazzi photos. From what I gather in the bleak monologues, Nana O. has lost all hope. She is extremely depressed and quite possibly suicidal. Blast is no longer though the band mates still remain incredibly close. Nobu has partnered with his family business and running a club for aspiring musicians while Shin is a famous actor. It's unclear what Yasu seems to be doing, but it's possible that he picked his law degree back up. Nana K. seems have gone into a fashion business and she seems to have another kid.
  Meanwhile in the present, Blast is all set for their first tour and they are ready to prove everyone that they are not just a manufactured one hit wonder. Things seem to be falling into place until Shin routinely shows up late for rehearsals and then suddenly is missing causing ripples of panic and frustration for his band. After a frantic search, Shin found in jail and is arrested. When we hear of Shin's arrest, we also find out through his texts that he has reached out to Nana's half sister's best friend and has requested her to meet and tell Nana O. everything about her family.
  Like many of the side characters, I adore Shin. He and Nana O. share many similarities. They are both ostracized by their family, believed to be unloved and strongly attach themselves to others in order to feel whole. Now that Shin has lost his anchor with Reira, he is struggling to not only make a connection somewhere, but trying to find his purpose in life. The one good thing about this arrest is that it will hopefully give him some time to re-evaluate things and grow-up.  Due to Shin's fiascos, Blast's tour is in jeopardy. The agency cancels the tour all together and I have to say that's a bit extreme. Now I'm left with several unanswered questions: Will Nana O's dream of becoming Japan's most famous rock star dream end or is she willing to leave her band and start a solo career? Will Nana O's half sister's best friend make it to Nana O and tell all about the family that she has never known? What drove Nana O. away from her friends and is it at all possible for a happy reunion? I guess the only way to find out is to read the next volume! 

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 19 by Ai Yazawa, Honey and Clover by Chica Umino, Tramps Like Us by Yayoi Ogawa