Saturday, January 5, 2008

NANA - love might actually exist ... only in illusions
Maybe I’m getting more accepting as I get older or I’m just selling out and becoming a standard member of society, but I seem to be reading and watching more female directed titles that revolve around romance and actually enjoying them. First ‘The Devil Does Exist, then ‘Tramps Like Us’, then ‘Ouran High School Host Club’ and now ‘NANA’ *sigh*. But as I’ve discussed about most of these titles in previous post each one has an element of individuality that in some way fights against societies standard rules.
I’ve just started watching NANA and am only half way through it but I love it already especially the relationship between Nana and Ren.

It is Ren that shows a dependency on Nana but not in a pathetic grasping for constant affection and attention. In the beginning he is a known womaniser but after meeting Nana he changes that, but it’s not made overly important to the story line as would be expected, its only mentioned once.
He is the one that chases her, but he allows her freedom while making his intentions perfectly clear, yes he does want to create a family with her and grow old together but he is not selfish enough to demand that from her instantly he is happy to let her stay independent and follow her own selfish dreams. Then when he decides to leave for Tokyo he allows her absolute freedom to make her own decision where by she leaves him. But just as it breaks her to do so it has an equal affect on him too, they are both devastated but are still independent enough to keep moving forward which is refreshing. They don’t stop their lives there and dwell on the past, they both continue on their way through life. Although I found it really funny that when they are reunited after 2 years it is him that instantly breaks, she is crying in the audience but he is so overwhelmed that he breaks his normal composure during the performance and stuffs up his piece slightly then afterwards runs in a panic straight to Yasu for reassurance. He basically plays the high school girl who has just run into an Ex and panics. But Nana maintains her composure and dominance calling him to set things straight and when they are reunited she is surprised by his overwhelmed response he grabs her runs to his room and embraces while she struggles against him. But this scene played out much different to most anime’s he was not embracing a hysterical women in an attempt to calm her and supply her with secure warmth it was more like he was just soo afraid to be away from her he needed her for his own security he was once again dependant on her, not the other way around which is soo commonly portrayed in any kind of love story. Even afterwards when he wakes and to find that he’s alone again he has a look of panic and calls her name.
I love that he called out for her in panic he is a male character that is able to maintain his masculinity while being dependant on a women. There is no question posed about his manhood it’s just accepted. Its soo refreshing to see that he holds nothing back from her or the people around him everyone see’s this side to him and still they all idolise him, he isn’t classed as being kept or ‘whipped’ as in society he would be. And there are no comments made about her pursuit of independence either sure they say that she’s scary at times but there are not references to their relationship being abnormal or anything people just accept that that’s the way they are and ignore the difference to standard society, really the only comment made is about the abnormality that after 2 years with no contact they can return to the way they were.

I guess that this whole thing has gotten me thinking that if a relationship in reality were to be like this that maybe love does exist. They are entirely themselves they don’t constantly consider every little action before they perform it. And yes while they maintain a sexual relationship there is a level of dependency on one another but they are still able to maintain a level of independency. There’s none of this you must think about the other person before every little action you perform, they do what they themselves want because they respect each other.


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