Ai Yazawa’s NANA Lands a Second Chinese Drama Adaptation Even as the First One Hasn’t Aired

Manga fans, here’s a nice little surprise for you as it was just announced yesterday that a Chinese makeover is in the works for Japanese manga artist Ai Yazawa‘s super popular series NANA 娜娜. Titled after the two girls both named Nana whose lives are chronicled in the hit noughties series, NANA follows the story of the two young dreamers chasing their dreams in the hope of making it big in the city.  After a series of coincidences find a small town girl and a punk rocker bumping into each other a couple of times, the unlikely pair end up becoming roomies. Eventually, the two Nanas become good friends as they continue their pursuit happiness and fulfilment.

Thanks to the manga’s popularity, Nana has both a Japanese live action adaption released in 2005 as well as an anime version. In China however, this is actually its second remake although the first one – Another Me in the World 世界上的另一个我 (2012) with actresses Qi Wei and Lu Chen never did quite make it into the small screens. It’s a drama Qi Wei shot with now-husband Korean-American actor Lee Seung-hyun.

What do you guys think of this remake? News of Nana’s Chinese adaptation immediately made it into the trending list after fans of the original manga expressed their worry that the live adaptation might mess with their beloved memories of the story. I reckon this is always the hesitation when it comes to remakes. Hopefully though, they’ll be able to do the original story justice with just a few minor tweaks!

As we wait for more news of the cast – most particularly the two ladies who will nab the titular roles of Nana, here are the teaser posters shared by the production on its official page. It will be directed by Taiwanese director Leste Chen.

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