In a chat with a Nana fanzine, Ai Yazawa dropped a major (albeit somewhat familiar) update for longtime fans of the series. She confirmed the manga is officially in its final stage and that she has plans to finish it one day.
According to Yazawa, the main story beats for the ending are already mapped out, and she’s putting in her best effort to deliver the long-awaited finale.
Since 2009, the series has been on hiatus due to her health, leaving readers hanging on a massive cliffhanger. After more than a decade of silence, this news has fans buzzing with excitement and hope that Nana will eventually resume and finally reach its conclusion.
The manga entered an indefinite hiatus after Yazawa was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness. Neither she nor her publisher has ever confirmed the exact nature of her condition, but fans have long speculated, based on scattered reports and cryptic hints from Yazawa, that it could be an autoimmune disorder, possibly rheumatoid arthritis.
Nana is often hailed as one of the most groundbreaking and influential shojo manga ever created, even though it remains unfinished.
Its massive success and cultural footprint place it alongside other genre-defining manga aimed at young girls like Sailor Moon and Boys Over Flowers.
However, what set Nana apart was its bold approach to storytelling as it tackled ambition, love, heartbreak, drug use, and complicated relationships with a raw honesty rarely seen in shojo at the time. Because of this maturity, many readers even mistake it for josei.
The manga became a true cultural phenomenon in Japan. The punk-inspired style of its characters, inspired by Vivienne Westwood’s iconic designs, sparked a fashion craze, while its fictional bands became so beloved that their songs were produced in real life and climbed the music charts. In both storytelling and style, Nana reshaped what shojo manga could be.
Nana Komatsu is a young woman who's endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she's hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She's looking for love and she's hoping to find it in the big city.
Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo's underground punk scene. She's got a dream and won't give up until she becomes Japan's No. 1 rock'n'roll superstar.
This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties.