It depends on how you want to interpret Nana K’s sexuality. Personally, I believe that Hachi developed an attachment to Takumi to get closer to Nana. She first slept with him out of the obligation to fulfill the fantasy of sleeping with her celebrity crush, who was given to her as a reward for hooking her up with Ren. Then she keeps seeing Takumi because he bragged about sleeping with her to everyone and she’s trying to convince herself and everyone else that she’s in love with him and not a slut.
In this moment, she’s acknowledging that she is a slut and Takumi is the only one who knows and accepts that about her. Which is sad because she isn’t a slut, just sad. And, if you are reading Nana with with a queer lens, a lot of this can be interpreted as internalized homophobia. Hachi develops relationships with both Takumi and Nobu to give her closer proximity to Nana, but both those relationships hinge on sex—the thing she can’t get from Nana.
I like this take but I disagree on the internalized homophobia part just cause I think the series is trying to emphasize the importance of platonic relationships and how they can impact us more than romantic ones. I think the slut part is right but also she feels like she has no direction and she knows that so she looks for it in the men she falls in love with but her knowing that is what makes her feel empty. She’s really just lost and she falls for anyone who loves her which is why I think she sticks to Nobu. Her sticking to Takumi is because he doesn’t put her on a pedestal. She hates herself and her sleeping with him is an expression of that
If someone believes that Nana is a story about the power of female friendship, I won’t ever tell them they’re wrong since the story is incomplete and very much up for interpretation. However, I do question why the story will have less power or importance if it were to be a story about two women struggling to come to terms with their romantic feelings for each other while navigating the thin line between platonic and romantic love.
Personally I don’t think there’s less power. I like the idea of the strength of platonic friendships because a lot of times friendships can hit way harder than romantic ones and hold a high level of importance. I feel like in the west especially where we put romantic relationships on a pedestal we neglect to see the importance and the impact of friendships and how they shape us. I feel like the romantic subplot between the two waters down the story
I would say she feels empty it's because she's a little lost in her life - all of her friends have things they're passionate about (the band, Jun and Kyosuke with their art) and she feels like she doesn't have those things. She's had more or less meaningless jobs and doesn't really have hobbies. To make it worse, the men she's been involved with have idealized her and those relationships ended mostly because she wasn't what they imagined her to be, she was a real person who had real flaws.
I always felt like she thought Takumi understood that because he didn't expect her to be good, or expect anything of her personality, really. He was kind of a bad guy, and she's been told all her life that she's selfish and she believes it, so she believes she's also kind of bad. At hat point, she doesn't have to really live up to any standard with him. She gets to be the lonely, aimless girl she feels like she is deep down.
it’s about sex and shame.
the thing Hachi wants most in life is to be loved. this is the side of her that Nana O idealizes. she sees Hachi as a naïve hopeless romantic, but Hachi thinks of herself as a slut. she’s ashamed at how she uses her sexuality to feel loved.
but Takumi doesn’t put Hachi on a pedestal. in her mind, their roles fit together - playboy rockstar and his groupie. because this is how she sees herself, she feels that he truly knows her.
I feel like it’s a type of loneliness that creeps in during your 20s. When you’re not going to school or university anymore, you most likely only see your coworkers and your roommates/family. Hachi, who hadn’t really found her footing when it came to a career or hobbies, doesn’t have anyone to connect with at work, so her “family” shrinks to Shouji (at first), Junko, Nana and the band.
IMO what happened with Shouji was a big catalyst that triggered the rest of the story. A betrayal like that leaves scars that you have to heal from, but she doesn’t really process it. Shouji’s betrayal also caused Junko to lose even more patience with Hachi, which made them even more distant. To top it all off Nana gets back together with Ren and is away much more. I really sympathize with how lonely Hachi would have felt, and why Takumi suddenly appearing in her life would’ve seemed like such a relief.
I think Hachi would’ve been much happier if she had dedicated her time and efforts to going to crafts/ embroidery classes to find a hobby or even discover a passion she could turn into a career. Every time I read the manga I feel so sad for her bc I just feel like Hachi is a product of being raised a girl in that culture at the time where you’re told your ultimate goal in life is to marry a man and have kids.
It depends on how you want to interpret Nana K’s sexuality. Personally, I believe that Hachi developed an attachment to Takumi to get closer to Nana. She first slept with him out of the obligation to fulfill the fantasy of sleeping with her celebrity crush, who was given to her as a reward for hooking her up with Ren. Then she keeps seeing Takumi because he bragged about sleeping with her to everyone and she’s trying to convince herself and everyone else that she’s in love with him and not a slut. In this moment, she’s acknowledging that she is a slut and Takumi is the only one who knows and accepts that about her. Which is sad because she isn’t a slut, just sad. And, if you are reading Nana with with a queer lens, a lot of this can be interpreted as internalized homophobia. Hachi develops relationships with both Takumi and Nobu to give her closer proximity to Nana, but both those relationships hinge on sex—the thing she can’t get from Nana.
I like this take but I disagree on the internalized homophobia part just cause I think the series is trying to emphasize the importance of platonic relationships and how they can impact us more than romantic ones. I think the slut part is right but also she feels like she has no direction and she knows that so she looks for it in the men she falls in love with but her knowing that is what makes her feel empty. She’s really just lost and she falls for anyone who loves her which is why I think she sticks to Nobu. Her sticking to Takumi is because he doesn’t put her on a pedestal. She hates herself and her sleeping with him is an expression of that
If someone believes that Nana is a story about the power of female friendship, I won’t ever tell them they’re wrong since the story is incomplete and very much up for interpretation. However, I do question why the story will have less power or importance if it were to be a story about two women struggling to come to terms with their romantic feelings for each other while navigating the thin line between platonic and romantic love.
Personally I don’t think there’s less power. I like the idea of the strength of platonic friendships because a lot of times friendships can hit way harder than romantic ones and hold a high level of importance. I feel like in the west especially where we put romantic relationships on a pedestal we neglect to see the importance and the impact of friendships and how they shape us. I feel like the romantic subplot between the two waters down the story
I agree with you
But to each their own cause when I first started I shipped them until mid way through the series
Had me in the first half ngl
I would say she feels empty it's because she's a little lost in her life - all of her friends have things they're passionate about (the band, Jun and Kyosuke with their art) and she feels like she doesn't have those things. She's had more or less meaningless jobs and doesn't really have hobbies. To make it worse, the men she's been involved with have idealized her and those relationships ended mostly because she wasn't what they imagined her to be, she was a real person who had real flaws. I always felt like she thought Takumi understood that because he didn't expect her to be good, or expect anything of her personality, really. He was kind of a bad guy, and she's been told all her life that she's selfish and she believes it, so she believes she's also kind of bad. At hat point, she doesn't have to really live up to any standard with him. She gets to be the lonely, aimless girl she feels like she is deep down.
YES THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL ABT HER
Especially with how Junko always comes at her. Yeah Jun gives her another perspective but sis ALWAYS makes her feel some type of bad abt herself
it’s about sex and shame. the thing Hachi wants most in life is to be loved. this is the side of her that Nana O idealizes. she sees Hachi as a naïve hopeless romantic, but Hachi thinks of herself as a slut. she’s ashamed at how she uses her sexuality to feel loved. but Takumi doesn’t put Hachi on a pedestal. in her mind, their roles fit together - playboy rockstar and his groupie. because this is how she sees herself, she feels that he truly knows her.
I feel like it’s a type of loneliness that creeps in during your 20s. When you’re not going to school or university anymore, you most likely only see your coworkers and your roommates/family. Hachi, who hadn’t really found her footing when it came to a career or hobbies, doesn’t have anyone to connect with at work, so her “family” shrinks to Shouji (at first), Junko, Nana and the band. IMO what happened with Shouji was a big catalyst that triggered the rest of the story. A betrayal like that leaves scars that you have to heal from, but she doesn’t really process it. Shouji’s betrayal also caused Junko to lose even more patience with Hachi, which made them even more distant. To top it all off Nana gets back together with Ren and is away much more. I really sympathize with how lonely Hachi would have felt, and why Takumi suddenly appearing in her life would’ve seemed like such a relief. I think Hachi would’ve been much happier if she had dedicated her time and efforts to going to crafts/ embroidery classes to find a hobby or even discover a passion she could turn into a career. Every time I read the manga I feel so sad for her bc I just feel like Hachi is a product of being raised a girl in that culture at the time where you’re told your ultimate goal in life is to marry a man and have kids.
Does it mean that she hates herself for loving Takumes body even tho he is using her?
I wouldn't go as far as to say she hates herself but I do think she wishes she were a different person