News Archive >> "NANA 2's" Casting Problems

Yuna Ito Gossip
And Other Casting Issues
Written by Lisa

As much as I hate to do this, I must take back the report that Hiroki Narimiya and Kenichi Matsuyama will be in "NANA 2." They might NOT be. I checked on the Yahoo Japan news site (here) that originally confirmed this, only to find that the article has been deleted by Yahoo Japan. Normally, when a news company delete recent news off of their server so soon, it means that they must have written something wrong in the article. And in this case, the only thing I can think of is their "confirmation" that Hiroki Narimiya and Kenichi Matsuyama will return for "NANA 2." Both Hiroki and Kenichi have updated their websites with a list of movies that they will be featured in for the upcoming part of the year and 2007. There are no info about "NANA 2" on their official sites. Therefore, whether or not they will return for "NANA 2" is still in question. The gossip floating around the press is that all the casting issues on "NANA 2" are actually scaring off a lot of actors and actresses from the movie.

I was also informed by a friend, that on a August 16th Hong Kong radio night show, a DJ commented that Yuna Ito might not return as a cast member for "NANA 2." The DJ (who is also a singer), is a friend and former classmate of Yuna's, when the two were taking Japanese lessons together. He said that Yuna might not return as a cast member for "NANA 2" because the image of Serizawa Reira will change too much in the sequel. TBS hadn't told her about the image change beforehand, because she isn't a main cast member. After receiving and reading the script, Yuna didn't think that the image change of Reira will be good for her. So she is currently deciding whether or not to reject the role of Serizawa Reira in "NANA 2." Yuna Ito has been signed to sing the second single for "Reira starring Yuna Ito;" But according to the DJ, the contract as an actual cast member for "NANA 2" is still in debate. However, until actual confirmation, this is nothing but gossip for you.

The following is a list of those who are CONFIRMED to be casted in "NANA 2."

Confirmed Cast Members

1.) Mika Nakashima - (Oosaki Nana)
2.) Yui Ichikawa - (Komatsu Nana)
3.) Nobuo Kyou - (Honjou Ren)
4.) Tetsuji Tamayama - (Ichinose Takumi)
5.) Tomomi Maruyama - (Takagi Yasushi)

Confirmed Songstresses

1.) Nana starring Mika Nakashima
2.) Reira starring Yuna Ito

If anyone finds out any other confirmed cast listings, please let me know! =)