NOTE: This review is a continuation of my reviews of this series. If you have not seen any of the volumes or my previous reviews, you risk spoilers by continuing.

Intro

Patiently I’ve stuck with this series from the beginning because as a reviewer, I didn’t have a choice. I was expecting nothing different when I put this volume into my DVD player last night interestingly enough, I found myself ever so slightly entertained.

The Story

Another four episodes are shown on this volume and even more importantly, enough character development to fill the Tokyo Dome! In the first episode, the focus is on the trio as they are all having a crisis as one of them has decided not to go to high school and instead study to become a Maiko (an apprentice Geisha) in order to fulfill a promise she made as a child. Now, the only reason why I’m mentioning this episode is because in this episode we see some incredible character development on the trio and we learn more about them which was something great to see because this entire time, all they’ve done is act like complete… um, not nice people but now we get to see a new side to them and even more so later in the volume.

The main focus on this volume though would be the continuing “romance” between Nana and Yuichi. It’s in this volume where very small steps in this department are taken (and it’s about bloody time!). Since the second semester has now started, Nana and Yuichi are actually working together now that the class has been split up into groups according to the school that each student is trying to apply to which is intended to create a friendly rivalry between them all and push them to work harder. I personally wasn’t sold on the idea when I heard it explained either but whatever, this is anime.

Throughout the volume however, Nana gets repeated chances to get closer to Yuichi but before she can finally muster up anything that even vaguely resembles courage and tell him how she feels about him, she learns the horrible truth… the only reason why Yuichi is trying out for his high school of choice is because he wants to be in the same school as the girl he likes. Heartbroken, Nana spends an entire episode trying to recover and then in the final episode, she finally gets to tell him how she feels… only in a very round about, very hypothetical way while wearing a fish costume. I’ll let you watch the volume yourself to figure out how that one comes about.

The Good And The Bad

I have to admit that while this volume was still no where near good or even really entertaining, I still had a good time with it and even didn’t feel the need to throw things at the TV more than a couple of times while watching the volume. While Nana was still very annoying and incredibly whiney (is it wrong that I almost laughed when she got her heart broken?), it was good to see the anime throw a little realism into the mix and have the main character learn some tough truths about life, most importantly… you can’t obtain what you don’t go after.

The biggest draw of the volume for me however was definitely all the character development of the trio! While I’ve spent this entire time absolutely despising them, I loved how in this volume we got to see a completely new side to them and the ironic twist of them suddenly cheering for Nana and pushing her forward to succeed (again, you can watch the volume yourself if you want to know why that happens, I’m not giving away spoilers!). It was great to see that these three characters that have had the depth of a fish bucket up until now reveal that they actually have another side to them.

Music

There was also lots of great music in this volume that I liked. Instead of just the usual piano background music, this one included a lot of great jazz numbers that really helped things along, especially in the Xmas episode.

Dub vs. Sub

The dub track on this volume still drives me absolutely nuts, especially when Veronica Taylor voices all seven Nana’s at once. For gods sake give your viewers a break! So with this volume I am going to wholeheartedly recommended the sub track. Give your ears a break, they’ll thank you later.

Extras

Absolutely none.

Overall

With four volumes down, this series has suddenly taken a very small step forward in the entertainment department. While this volume didn’t really do much to help out the main plot, it had lots of great character development that I enjoyed watching. I’m not going to give this a recommendation but I am going to say that for once, I am actually kind of curious to watch the next volume and see where this one is going.


Final Grade: 71% - C-

Related Reviews

Nana 7 of 7 Vol. 1: The Luckiest Number
Nana 7 of 7 Vol. 2: Test Of Love
Nana 7 of 7 Vol. 3: Greatest American Heroes
Nana 7 of 7 Vol. 5: Eight Is Enough





©L.B. Bryant 2005



Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12