Five British references in NANA

In all 47 episodes excluding the fill in episodes, there has been some references of different western influences in NANA some include America and Germany etc, so I've decided to do five British references that are in the episodes, hopefully when i watch more anime I can do more of these, so lets start:

1. BLAST likes Sex Pistols- No surprises there



No surprises to this really since BLAST have that punk rock look throughout the series but vocalist and one of the main characters who is in BLAST 'Nana Osaki' mentions it in the early stages of NANA when taking to her roommate, another main character 'Nana Komatsu' and mentioning back to Yasu's music collection who also has a Sex Pistol album.

Sex Pistols are mentioned a few times in Episode 8, Komatsu mentions Ren looking like Sid Vicious the Pistols bassist and when Shin first auditions for BLAST he is asked to play the bass 'Seventeen' to show that he is worthy to play bass for BLAST.

Even though i'm not a fan of Sex Pistols its good to see british music appericated in Japan even in anime.


2. Yasu's music collection - Radiohead lol



While Reria checks through Yasu's CD collection in episode 35, you can just see some band names like Rage Against The Machine and The Sex Pistols, one that caught my eye was a Radiohead album which was quite surprising since this anime took place in 2001, around that time Radiohead had a few albums around there belt.

Even though Radiohead is on the CD the title is removed, it could be because of copyright however some have it the other way around for example I know in Yasu's collection that 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' is a U2 album however you cannot see 'U2' on there. Still by the look of the CD I believe that the Radiohead album is 'OK Computer', I will post a picture of it here:

Note: Even though the NANA anime takes place in 2001 then YASU must of had a really early copy of 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' since that was made in 2004. Music Fail.

3. Trapnest go to England - 'Why helo thar Trapnest'



Although not technically a reference, Trapnest actually go to England to escape the media in episode 40 - 42, also they are there to make a kind of wedding music video plus a photo shoot.

While in England Ren moans about only eating bread (I guess he doesn't like are food) and only craves for

Although these England episodes last only a few episodes, not alot is shown only Big Ben, House Of Parliament and Tower Bridge are shown in good detail.

4. BLAST vs Trapnest - Oasis vs Blur much?



This one was kind of reminder, I mean two bands releasing there singles at the same time, absolutely determined to get the number one spot, while both singles are hyped as hell.
You could say that this could of been the Oasis vs Blur in Japanese punk rock. Except this is for singles than albums

Although both bands are more friendly to each other, than trading bad rumors to both bands, It still felt like that rivalry was there between BLAST vs Trapnest even at the televised event where they promote there singles.

5. Takumi's sister lives in England.

Mentioned quite alot but never seen in the anime, Takumi (The guitarist of Trapnest and smeghead of the series) has a sister who lives in England and members of Trapnest wanted to meet her, however for unknown reasons we never see her, even when they go to England.

We never get an explanation and its most likely that Takumi doesn't care about her. Unless it is explained in the Manga which I am yet to touch on.

I enjoyed the NANA anime and I've heard that the story continues, so I will pick up the manga soon, but I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good romance drama.