NANA anniversary magazine-book gets a reprint after selling out in less than a month

A new, special “mook” or magazine-book, titled “The World of Ai Yazawa’s NANA,” has become a massive success, necessitating a major reprint just one month after its initial release.

The book was published to celebrate two major milestones: the 40th anniversary of the career of the legendary manga artist Ai Yazawa, and the 25th anniversary of the original serialization of her most famous work, NANA.

The book is a comprehensive, deep-dive exploration of the iconic shōjo manga, which became a cultural phenomenon in the 2000s.

Created with the full cooperation of Ai Yazawa and her publisher, Shueisha, the mook is filled with a wealth of exclusive and rare content.

It features a large number of never-before-seen preliminary sketches and production materials, a new, special original illustration, and an in-depth interview with the creator herself.

The book analyzes the world of the series through the lenses of fashion and music, which were central to its story.

It includes a special “Illustration Gallery” with Yazawa’s own commentary, and a “Character Journey” section where she provides personal analysis of the main characters, their designs, and their motivations.

The book also contains a number of critical essays from experts, which explore the series’ connection to British punk culture, the fashion of Vivienne Westwood, and its place in the history of Japanese “coming to Tokyo” stories.

The character-focused sections include analysis of Nana Osaki’s connection to “girl punk,” Ren Honjo’s link to the fashion of Sid Vicious, and Nobuo Terashima’s ties to the style of Johnny Rotten.

The full table of contents for the book is as follows:

Special Foreword & Illustrations
- NANA Illustration Gallery (with drawing commentary by Ai Yazawa)
- Foreword: “Our Standard” that Ai Yazawa’s Works Gave Us (by Mizuki Tsujimura)
Special Features
- 110 Questions to Get to Know Ai Yazawa
- Ai Yazawa Talks: The Secrets of Drawing
Introduction to NANA
- An introduction to the “legendary shōjo manga” of the 2000s
- NANA Character Relationship Chart & Character Guide

A Journey Through the Characters of NANA
- Nana Komatsu
- Nana Osaki (and an analysis of “girl punk”)
- Ren Honjo (and an analysis of Sid Vicious as a fashion icon)
- Nobuo Terashima (and an analysis of Johnny Rotten’s fashion)
- Yasushi Takagi (and an analysis of “Rude Boy” and “Skins” fashion)
- Shinichi Okazaki (and an analysis of the “lip chain” and body modification)
- Takumi Ichinose (and a comparison to Malcolm McLaren)
Critical Essays
- The Era of London Punk and the “Sex Pistols”
- Everyone Wears Their Own Battle Uniform – The Eternal Vivienne Westwood
- NANA, Shiina Ringo, and the “Month of July, 1999”
- NANA as a part of the “Coming to Tokyo Story” lineage
- Why the live-action movie NANA was an epoch-making work

Columns: A Deeper Dive into NANA
- Shoji Endo and Grunge Fashion
- Room 707 and New York’s “Chelsea Hotel”
- Misato Uehara (Mai Tsuzuki), “Gothic Lolita,” and Music
- “Layla” and Persian Literature
- Ren’s Beloved Car: The 1965 Shelby GT350
Me and NANA
- An interview with the actress Kurumi Nakata
Famous Location Map & Pilgrimage
- A Walk Through 1970s London, the Cradle of the “Punk Spirit”
- Visiting the Stage of the Masterpiece: Nana and Hachi’s “Tokyo” Life at Age 20
Ai Yazawa – Complete Works Data & Chronology