Sora Tanka
Lifelong otaku who spends her free time hunting down overlooked anime classics, rare retro VHS tapes, and unnecessarily complicated home theater upgrades.
Published: September 16, 2026 | 5 min read | Last updated: September 16, 2026
Two women named Nana meet on a train, become roommates out of pure coincidence, and spend the next 47 episodes dragging each other through the best and worst years of their twenties. That's NANA in one sentence — and yet every few months someone resurfaces online asking why they can't find NANA anime where to watch anywhere. It didn't disappear. It just moved, and a lot of old blog posts never got the memo. If you landed here after a search result confidently told you to check Crunchyroll or Funimation, that's the problem: both lost the license back in 2021. Here's the actual, checked-today answer for 2026 — where to legally stream NANA, where to buy the Blu-ray and manga, and why a 25-year-old shoujo classic is suddenly showing up on beer cans and apparel racks in Japan.
⚡ Quick Answer
NANA streams on HIDIVE and Hulu with English dub and sub as of September 2026, following Sentai Filmworks' 2021 re-license. You can also rent or buy episodes digitally on Apple TV and Amazon Video, or grab the 2022 Blu-ray SteelBook. The manga (21 volumes, VIZ Media) has been on hiatus since 2009, with 25th-anniversary English editions rolling out through 2026.
What Is NANA, For Anyone Just Catching Up?
NANA is based on Ai Yazawa's manga, serialized in Shueisha's Cookie magazine from 2000 to 2009. The anime adaptation — 47 episodes, animated by Madhouse and directed by Morio Asaka — aired on Nippon TV between April 2006 and March 2007. It follows Nana Osaki, a guarded punk-rock vocalist chasing musical stardom, and Nana Komatsu, a hopeless romantic chasing, well, romance. A chance meeting on a train to Tokyo lands them in the same apartment, and the show spends its run watching their friendship survive fame, heartbreak, and everything Tokyo throws at two twenty-somethings figuring out who they are.
📊 Key Stat: The NANA manga has sold more than 43 million copies in Japan, and the anime currently holds an 8.81 score on MyAnimeList, ranking it #42 out of every manga on the site.
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"A chance meeting on a train bound for Tokyo."
Where to Watch NANA Anime in 2026
NANA spent years being genuinely hard to track down legally, which is exactly why so much outdated advice is still floating around. Sentai Filmworks picked up the license in January 2021, and HIDIVE has been its streaming home ever since. Hulu added a bilingual version later, and a couple of digital storefronts carry it too. Here's what's actually confirmed right now:
| Platform | Access | Format |
|---|---|---|
| HIDIVE | Subscription, free trial available | All 47 episodes, dub + sub |
| Hulu | Subscription / bundle | Bilingual (dub + sub) |
| Apple TV | Digital purchase / rent per episode | Subtitled |
| Amazon Video | Digital purchase / rent | Varies by region |
One caveat worth repeating: streaming rights are regional. Some libraries outside the US (Netflix in the Philippines, for example) carry NANA even though US Netflix doesn't. Always check inside your own account before assuming a platform list applies to you.
Where to Buy NANA — Blu-ray and Manga
The Blu-ray
Sentai Filmworks released a remastered NANA Complete Collection SteelBook on February 22, 2022 — all 47 episodes across roughly 1,250 minutes, with both dub and sub, at an original $149.98 SRP. It's the only HD home release the show has ever gotten, and it regularly turns up discounted through Amazon and other retailers if you don't need it at full price.
The Manga
VIZ Media has published NANA in English under its Shojo Beat imprint since 2005, and in late 2025 started reissuing it as 25th Anniversary Edition omnibus volumes to mark a quarter-century since the manga's 2000 debut. Volume 2 landed in January 2026, Volume 3 in March 2026, and Volume 6 is scheduled for December 2026, with more following. You'll find them at Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, and most manga retailers.
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Why Is NANA Trending Again in 2026?
It's not a coincidence that NANA content is spiking right now. The manga hit its 25th anniversary since debuting in Cookie in 2000, which is driving the English omnibus reissues above. In Japan, that same anniversary energy has spilled into pop culture in stranger ways — Sapporo's Yebisu Beer released an Ai Yazawa-designed can in January 2026, and apparel brand ADDIXY launched a NANA-inspired capsule collection referencing Nana, Ren, and Shin in early February 2026. It's the same pattern that hit the 2005 live-action film, which got a 20th-anniversary theatrical re-release in Tokyo in mid-2025.
In my experience tracking down out-of-print anime and manga for years — I still have a shelf of VHS tapes to prove it — this is exactly the moment a licensed series either gets rediscovered properly or slips back into obscurity for another decade. NANA landing a stable streaming home on HIDIVE in 2021, right before this anniversary wave hit, is the reason it's actually watchable this time instead of being another "I heard it's really good but I can't find it anywhere" title.
Is the NANA Manga Finished?
No — and this trips up a lot of new readers. Ai Yazawa put NANA on indefinite hiatus in June 2009 due to a serious illness, after 21 volumes and 84 chapters. The story stops mid-arc. Yazawa has made rare public appearances since, including a 2022 art exhibition and an ongoing Instagram presence, and in an interview for her 40th-anniversary retrospective book "NANA no Sekai," she indicated she still hopes to bring the story to its conclusion someday. Nothing has been promised beyond that, so if you're the type who needs closure before investing in a series, that's worth knowing going in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I legally watch NANA anime in 2026?
HIDIVE and Hulu both carry NANA with English dub and Japanese sub as of 2026. You can also buy or rent individual episodes digitally through Apple TV or Amazon Video, depending on your region.
Is NANA anime on Netflix?
Not in the US. Netflix's catalog is regional, and some libraries outside the US have carried NANA even when the US library hasn't, so check your own account rather than trusting a global answer.
Is the NANA manga finished?
No. Ai Yazawa put NANA on indefinite hiatus in 2009 due to illness, after 21 volumes. She has said in later interviews that she still hopes to complete it, but no return date has been announced.
How many episodes does NANA anime have?
NANA has 47 episodes across a single season, totaling about 1,250 minutes. It originally aired on Nippon TV from April 2006 to March 2007 and was animated by Madhouse.
Where can I buy the NANA manga in English?
VIZ Media publishes NANA in English under its Shojo Beat imprint. New 25th Anniversary Edition omnibus volumes are releasing through 2026, available at Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, and most manga retailers.
Is NANA anime dubbed?
Yes. Both HIDIVE and Hulu carry an English dub produced by The Ocean Group, alongside the original Japanese audio with subtitles.
The Bottom Line
NANA isn't hard to find anymore — it's just outdated blog posts making it seem that way. HIDIVE and Hulu have it streaming right now, physical media collectors can grab the 2022 Blu-ray, and manga readers have a fresh entry point with the 25th Anniversary omnibus editions rolling out through 2026. Whether or not Ai Yazawa ever finishes the story, this is the best-supported the series has been in years — so if you've been meaning to watch it, there's genuinely no better time.
📚 Sources & References
- Nana Coming to HIDIVE April 22, Available Dubbed and Subbed — Otaku USA Magazine
- Sentai Filmworks Brings NANA Anime Bilingual Streaming to Hulu — The Fandom Post
- NANA – Complete Collection [SteelBook] (Blu-ray) — Anime News Network Encyclopedia
- VIZ Media to Release NANA Anime Uncut DVD Box Set — SciFi Japan
- Nana — MyAnimeList
- A Glimmer of Hope? NANA Creator Ai Yazawa Still Wants to Finish the Manga — Toy People
- Nana's Ai Yazawa Puts Manga on Hold Due to Illness — Anime News Network
- Nana 25th Anniversary Edition, Vol. 2 — Waterstones
