Love? Friendship? Nana and Shoji (Nana episode)

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Love? Friendship? Nana and Shoji
Episode Length:	22 minutes 50 seconds
Episode Code:	02
Episode Airdate:	April 12, 2006

"Love? Friendship? Nana and Shoji" (「恋？友情？奈々と章司」, "Koi? Yuujou? Nana to Shouji"^?) is the second episode of the Nana TV series aired in Japan on April 12, 2006.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Komatsu Nana begins the episode with some self reflection. She's from a relatively small town that's described as neither a city or the countryside. Being the middle child of a middle class family, she is a normal high school girl on the verge of graduation. The scene forwards as she sits in a car with someone who is clearly her lover. The man is wearing a suit and is much older than Nana. She doesn't know anything about his private life (except that he's married), suspects that the name he gave her is fake, and only meets with him 2 or 3 times a month to have sex. He tells her that his company is transferring him to Tokyo, so he breaks up with her. Nana is devastated by this. In a bathroom stall at school, she cries her heart out to her best friend Junko, who reminds Nana that high school girls should not be having affairs with older married men. Nana, who is really in love with "Asano Takashi," did not like her relationship being labeled as an affair. But Junko explained that older men all see high school girls as easy kogals. Therefore, Nana decided to change her hair style so she would never be mistaken for a kogal again. The girls graduate high school after this.

Thinking back on her high school days, Nana finds that she has "fallen" for many men. First was her art teacher, then the guy from the local video store, then a man working at a family restaurant, then the pizza delivery boy; They’re all good looking. None of her crushes ever developed into any relationship and she wondered if it was because she lacked sex appeal. Nana decided to go on a diet, hoping to look better. Then one day, while she was at the movies, Nana almost fainted. She didn't have a friend there to help her because she liked watching movies alone. All of a sudden, a very good looking man came to help her up. He introduced himself as Asano Takashi, 29 years old. She was immediately impressed by him. He bought her a drink and waited to make sure she got better. Nana explained that she was feeling faint because she was on a diet. But the man said she was cute enough without the diet. She realized that she really liked this guy because he's hot, nice, and a gentleman. She wanted to repay the favor so as he was leaving, she told him where she worked.

For two weeks, Nana waited for Asano, who did not show up. He was the only person she could think of. Then one night, while she was leaving work, she found him waiting outside for her. It was that moment that she fell in love with him, with no way of falling out. That was the beginning of their affair. Nana had always known about the ring on his finger, but she chose not to think about it. Whether it was in a car or in a love motel, she just loved being with him. She knew that if he didn't break up with her, she would've wasted her whole youth on a relationship that could never have lasted.

After high school, Nana (who is now sporting a really short hair cut) attends a community art college with Junko. Junko correctly accuses Nana of going to school only to meet guys, even though she denies this. As the two girls are walking into class for the first time, Nana's eyes immediately meet with a hot guy's eyes. She freaks out as he gets up and starts approaching her-- Only to realize that he was approaching Junko! The guy introduces himself as Endou Shouji, a friend of Junko's from middle school. He also introduces his friend Takakura Kyousuke, who Nana also think is hot. Junko completely notices Nana's wandering eyes. At Junko's apartment, Nana chats excitedly about campus life. But Junko pointed out that the only reason why Nana is excited about "college" is because of good looking guys. Nana wonders why she never had any guy friends, like Junko does. She decides in determination to make Shouji her guy friend, so she wouldn't make the same mistake of falling for men so easily.

Shouji and his friend Kyousuke later comes to Junko's apartment with beer. Nana finds that she is extremely nervous around Shouji and tries her best not to fall for him. Hoping to help Nana with her nervousness, Junko suggests that everyone talk casually to get to know one another. Nana drinks and drinks until she is completely drunk. She is not a good drunk because she blabbed everything about her past "loves" to Shouji and Kyousuke, who both found her to be hilarious. But as she was reminiscing, she remembered her heartbreak with Asano and has a nervous breakdown. Worried, Junko tried to calm Nana and tucked her into bed. After Nana falls asleep, Shouji decides to leave. He came over to the apartment because he was interested in Nana and wanted to go after her. But now, he fears that she hates him. Junko assures him that Nana disliking him is far from the truth.

The next morning, Nana woke up with a hangover but could not remember anything about her nervous breakdown. She entered the living room to find Kyousuke and Junko making out, with his hand feeling up her shirt. Nana's friend tried to play it off like nothing happened, but Kyousuke casually inserted that he thought Junko was great from the moment he first saw her. Nana completely understands this, because like Kyousuke assessed, Nana is the "queen of falling in love at first sight." She is appalled to find that she blurted everything out to Kyousuke and Shouji, the night before.

On the way to class, Junko insists that she can hook Nana up with Shouji if she wishes so. But Nana declines, saying that she will try her best to make Shouji a friend. It was at that moment that Shouji shows up and sweeps Nana away from Junko, who knows that Nana would never take the "friend" thing seriously. In class, Shouji asks Nana out to the movies, but she turns him down. She said that she only watch movies by herself. At that moment, Nana once again remembers Asano and feels depressed. Her breakup with the married man is hurting her more than she thought it would. While in deep though, she accidentally hurts herself with a pair of scissors.

Shouji patches up Nana in the nurse's office and tells her that wounds must be tended to properly in order for it to heal; If not, the wound would only grow and become worse. She takes the advice as a simile for her situation: The only way to heal completely is to love again. Shouji agrees with Nana, hoping that she will turn to him as a new love. But his hopes are quickly shot down when she asks his opinion for the best place to look for people her age, where she can meet someone new. The episode ends as Komatsu Nana is walking to a night club, all dressed up with a new goal of finding love.