Nana & Kaoru
Nana & Kaoru is a Japanese erotic romantic comedy manga series written and illustrated by. It was serialized on Hakusensha's manga magazine Young Animal Arashi and Young Animal, with its chapters collected in eighteen volumes. Three other manga series have also been released, as well as an original video animation and two live action films.
Plot
Kaoru Sugimura is a 17-year-old virgin who has a sadomasochism fetish. He has always dreamt about an S&M relationship with his childhood friend and next-door neighbor Nana Chigusa, who is looked upon as perfect and is always the target of boys' eyes. Their relationship has somewhat deteriorated through the years, due to them hanging out with different people and because Kaoru is not taking his education too seriously. Nana has become very stressed at school, that a teacher suggests she find a way to relax. One day though, Kaoru's mother gives some of his S&M toys to Nana for safekeeping. Nana finds the leather one-piece that Kaoru bought and tries it on but accidentally locks herself in it and does not have the key. After Kaoru frees her of the one-piece, Nana soon discovers that the activity has caused her to relax and improve her academic performance. The two of them start engaging in more S&M activities which they call "breathers." The story follows their activities as they explore the world of S&M while keeping it a secret from some of their schoolmates and family.''Black Label''
The story takes place several months after the end of the main series and follows Nana and Kaoru during their vacation. Kaoru has met his idol, erotic novelist Shuutarou Sarashina, by chance— who, in turn, has been inspired by Kaoru's youthful enthusiasm on the subject of S&M and invites him to help on a new book—while Nana has asked Mitsuko to tutor her on various subjects. Unbeknownst to both Nana and Kaoru, Sarashina and Mitsuko are, in fact, lovers and Mitsuko is the main inspiration for Sarashina's novels, but their feelings for each other seem to have become twisted and broken over the years. Over the course of the vacation, Nana and Kaoru encounter severe depths of S&M that they had never considered before, slowly taking a step forward in their relationship while also helping Sarashina and Mitsuko come to terms with their own feelings for each other that they have hidden with S&M for so long.''Kōkōsei no SM Gokko''
A direct sequel to the original manga, which begins in Nana and Kaoru's third year of High-school. The first seven chapters take place before Black Label, with subsequent chapters taking place after.Characters
;Nana Chigusa;Kaoru Sugimura
;Mitsuko Tachibana
;Ryoko Tachi
;Shuutarou Sarashina
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by, Nana & Kaoru was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine Young Animal Arashi from January 4, 2008, to October 2, 2009. It was later transferred to Young Animal, where it was serialized from October 23, 2009, until its conclusion on August 12, 2016. Hakusensha collected its chapters in eighteen volumes, released from November 28, 2008, to October 28, 2016.In November 2021, it was announced that Fakku and Denpa would publish the manga in a 3-in-1 omnibus edition.
Other series
Nana & Kaoru: Black Label, set eight months after the events of the main series, was first launched as an extra edition to the main series in Young Animal Arashi on July 2, 2010, and finished on April 4, 2014. Its chapters were collected by Hakusensha in five volumes, released from June 29, 2011, to July 29, 2014. Fakku licensed the manga in English and the first volume is set to be released on April 15, 2025.A spin-off by, titled Nana Kao Pink Pure, was serialized in Young Animal Arashi from October 7, 2011, to November 1, 2013. A collected volume was released on January 29, 2014.
Another series, Nana & Kaoru: Last Year, serialized as Nana to Kaoru: Kōkōsei no SM Gokko, was published in Hakusensha's digital erotic magazine Harem from November 29, 2018, to October 29, 2021. Hakusensha collects the chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on July 29, 2019. The fifth and last volume was released on December 24, 2021.
Volumes
''Nana & Kaoru''
Japanese edition
North American edition
''Nana & Kaoru: Black Label''
''Nana & Kaoru: Last Year''
Live action films
Two youth romance erotic films based on the manga were released, both directed by Atsushi Shimizu. The first, on March 19, 2011, and the second, Nana & Kaoru: Chapter 2, on September 8, 2012.Anime
An original video animation produced by AIC PLUS+, directed by Hideki Okamoto and with character designs by Atsuko Watanabe was released on March 29, 2011.Reception
Volume 3 reached the 30th place on the weekly Oricon manga chart and, as of January 31, 2010, has sold 25,008 copies; volume 5 reached th 22nd place and, as of October 31, 2010, has sold 34,146 copies; volume 6 reached the 15th place and, as of April 3, 2011, has sold 34,792 copies; Nana & Kaoru: Black Label volume 1 reached the 23rd place and, as of July 3, 2011, has sold 33,619 copies; Nana & Kaoru: Black Label volume 2 reached the 28th place and, as of June 3, 2012, has sold 21,655 copies; volume 9 reached the 24th place and, as of October 7, 2012, has sold 55,005 copies; Nana & Kaoru: Black Label volume 3 reached the 46th place and, as of March 2, 2013, has sold 18,741 copies; volume 11 reached the 22nd place and, as of August 4, 2013, has sold 40,873 copies.Jean-Karlo Lemus from Anime News Network praised the first volume of the series, and described it as "While the story might have been off to a bumpy start, Nana & Kaoru sets up an enjoyable continuation. Nothing to do but lick our lips as we wait for the second volume. Denpa knows how to keep a fan waiting. Lovely art, fantastic details, Nana and Kaoru are a perfect leading couple, They Really Do Love Each Other, tons of actual research into BDSM philosophy".