NANA – 05

Summary:
Yasu tells Nobu the same thing that Nana just learned: Ren is going to Tokyo. Ren is going to be joining a band called Trapnest – a band that’s about to make its major debut. Nobu is concerned about the future of Blast, but Yasu says that they’ll just find a new bassist. Yasu understands that this is a rare opportunity for Ren and tries to convince Nobu to let him go. As for Nana, Yasu says that she’s like Ren’s pet cat right now, and it’s up to her to decide what to do. If she leaves though, Blast will disband. Nobu remembers when Ren and Yasu first recruited him to join their new band. Ren had also been searching for a female vocalist, and he knew immediately that he wanted Nana to sing for their band after seeing her. Nana says, however, that she started singing not for Ren, but rather for herself.
Nobu later meets with Nana and asks her about Ren going to Tokyo. Nobu suggests that they could all go there together and find the new Blast member there. He wants to play his guitar for only Nana’s voice, and really wants to try to become a professional artist. Nana, however, can’t go to Tokyo with Ren. She knows that if she did, her music career would never reach the same heights as his, and she’s just end up being like a housewife to him. Instead, she wants to aim higher and gather enough self-confidence so that she can go to Tokyo by herself. Nana reminisces about when she and Ren first started dating a year ago – she loved him so much that she was ready to die for him. Those feelings haven’t changed in all this time. She thinks that she’d probably be happy if she lived with Ren, cooked for him, and had a family with him. But for her dreams, she can’t do that.
When it’s time for Ren to leave on the train for Tokyo, the entire band sees him off. Nana and Ren share a goodbye kiss, and then she runs off his train – their relationship is over. The two never said goodbye, but parting like this is as good as breaking up. Without Ren, Nana feels lonely and hurt. But time goes on and Blast keeps playing, with a new member. Nana manages to pass through the next year and nine months until Christmas comes around again. One night, while the snow is falling, she sees an advertisement for Trapnest’s new single, which features Ren with his new band members. Nana’s 20th birthday is coming up the next March, and she knows that she’s working hard in order to buy herself a present: a one-way ticket to Tokyo. She’s going with just her guitar and her cigarettes.

I think this episode went a little slower paced than the previous ones, which may be partly due to the fact that they’re only covering about 40 pages worth of manga. I find it admirable that Nana wants to pursue her dream instead of living what she knows can be a happy life with Ren. And to do that, she had to break it off with him by not going with him to Tokyo. By finding her own footing and going to Tokyo on her own, she can now try to stand on the same level as him, instead of in his shadow.
But like I said, overall, the episode was a little on the slow side. They definitely still took the manga’s message and made it more powerful with their use of music and colors. To me, the best scene was when Ren chased Nana outside during the faded colors flashback, and the world suddenly lit up when he caught her.
Next week, we return to the present when the two Nanas move in with each other 🙂