Nana to Kaoru

Nana to Kaoru (ナナとカオル, Nana and Kaoru) is an ongoing Japanese erotic romantic comedy seinen manga series written and illustrated by Ryuta Amazume.^[1] It was serialized on Hakusensha's Young Animal Arashi manga magazine and is now serialized on Young Animal.^[2] 15 volumes have been published so far.^[3] Two other manga series have also been released, as well as an original video animation and two live action films.

Plot

Kaoru Sugimura is a 17-year-old virgin who has an S&M fetish. He has always dreamt about an SM relationship with his childhood friend and next-door neighbor Nana Chigusa, who is looked upon as perfect and is always the target of boys' eyes. Their relationship has somewhat deteriorated through the years, due to them hanging out with different people and because Kaoru is not taking his education too seriously. Nana has become very stressed at school, that a teacher suggests she find a way to relax. One day though, Kaoru's mother gives some of his S&M toys to Nana for safekeeping. Nana finds the leather one-piece that Kaoru bought and tries it on but accidentally locks herself in it and doesn't have the key! After Kaoru frees her of the one-piece, Nana soon discovers that the activity has caused her to relax and improve her academic performance. The two of them start engaging in more S&M activities which they call "breathers." The story follows their activities as they explore the world of S&M while keeping it a secret from some of their schoolmates and family.

Characters

Nana Chigusa

Nana is a very popular and beautiful high school student who excels in all sorts of activities including academics, being vice-president on the student council, and on the track team. With so much riding on her, a teacher suggests she find a way to take a breather to relieve stress. She discovers that participating in the erotic S&M play as a masochist to her next-door neighbor Kaoru has completely improved her academic situation. In the live-action films, Nana is played by Maho Nagase in the first film and by Miku Aono in the second one. In the OVA anime, Nana is voiced by Kaoru Mizuhara^[4]

Kaoru Sugimura

Kaoru is a 17-year-old virgin whose main hobby is S&M; in particular, the purchase and maintenance of S&M gear since he does not have a partner. He is secretly in love with his next-door neighbor Nana, whom he has known since they were kids, and becomes secretly overjoyed that Nana has agreed to be participate in the S&M play. An average student, he rues the thought of eventually having to let Nana go on with her life after high school. In the live-action film he is portrayed by Rakuto Tochihara. In the OVA anime, he is voiced by Junji Majima^[4]

Mitsuko Tachibana

Tachibana runs the S&M store that Kaoru frequents. She has vast knowledge of S&M and teaches Nana about various things involved in the lifestyle. Little is said about Tachibana in the main series; however, in the spin off "Arashi" more is revealed. She majored in Japanese history at Todai, studying culture and customs since the Meiji period. She even went to grad school.

Ryoko Tachi

A girl Kaoru meets one day while he is on one of his early morning stamina building runs. Kaoru mistakes her for a boy until she mentions participating in a heptathlon, the female version of a decathlon. Annoyed at the misunderstanding and/or her lack of an obvious chest, she shows him her modest cleavage as proof of her gender. After learning of Kaoru's secret hobby, she develops an interest herself and tries to have Kaoru involve her in some of the activities.

Media

Manga

The manga is published in French by Pika.^[5] It is also published in German.

Nana to Kaoru Black Label is set 8 months after the events in Nana to Kaoru.^[6] The first volume was published in June 29, 2011 and the series ended on April 4, 2014.^[7][8]

Nana Kao Pink Pure, a yonkoma spin-off manga by Tamami Momose, started being serialized on Young Animal Arashi on October 7, 2011.^[9] A single complete volume of the series was published on January 29, 2014.^[10]

Volumes

Nana to Kaoru

• 1 (November 28, 2008)^[11]
• 2 (May 29, 2009)^[12]
• 3 (January 29, 2010)^[13]
• 4 (May 28, 2010)^[14]
• 5 (October 29, 2010)^[15]
• 6 (March 29, 2011)^[16]
• 7 (October 28, 2011)^[17]
• 8 (April 27, 2012)^[18]
• 9 (September 28, 2012)^[19]
• 10 (April 26, 2013)^[20]
• 11 (July 29, 2013)^[21]
• 12 (January 29, 2014)^[22]
• 13 (August 29, 2014)^[23]
• 14 (December 26, 2014)^[24]

Nana to Kaoru Black Label

• 1 (June 29, 2011)^[7]
• 2 (May 29, 2012)^[25]
• 3 (February 28, 2013)^[26]
• 4 (December 27, 2013)^[27]
• 5 (July 29, 2014)^[28]

Live action films

Two youth romance erotic films based on the manga were released, both directed by Atsushi Shimizu. The first, on March 19, 2011 and the second, Nana to Kaoru: Chapter 2 (ナナとカオル　第２章), on September 8, 2012.^[1][29][30]

Anime

An original video animation produced by AIC PLUS+, directed by Hideki Okamoto and with character designs by Atsuko Watanabe was released on March 29, 2011.^[31]

Reception

Volume 3 reached the 30th place on the weekly Oricon manga chart and, as of January 31, 2010, has sold 25,008 copies;^[32] volume 5 reached th 22nd place and, as of October 31, 2010, has sold 34,146 copies;^[33] volume 6 reached the 15th place and, as of April 3, 2011, has sold 34,792 copies;^[34] Nana to Kaoru Black Label volume 1 reached the 23rd place and, as of July 3, 2011, has sold 33,619 copies;^[35] Nana to Kaoru Black Label volume 2 reached the 28th place and, as of June 3, 2012, has sold 21,655 copies;^[36] volume 9 reached the 24th place^[37] and, as of October 7, 2012, has sold 55,005 copies;^[38] Nana to Kaoru Black Label volume 3 reached the 46th place and, as of March 2, 2013, has sold 18,741 copies;^[39] volume 11 reached the 22nd place and, as of August 4, 2013, has sold 40,873 copies.^[40]

At Manga Sanctuary, two of the staff members gave the series a combined grade of 5.5 out of 10.^[41]

References

External links

• Official manga website (Japanese)
• Film official website (Japanese)
• Nana to Kaoru 2 official website (Japanese)
• Nana to Kaoru (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Nana to Kaoru at the Internet Movie Database
• Nana to Kaoru: Chapter 2 at the Internet Movie Database