I was always hesitant about starting Nana to Kaoru. Not because of its S&M premise, but because I already had doubts about MC first chapter in, and whether he'd be able to actually do anything. Alas, in the end, I picked it up, and now my journey is over. And, if I'm honest, somewhere in this manga is a great story about young people exploring their sexuality and dealing with who they are, with some really powerful scenes, but, despite all that, this isn't a good story by any stretch.

The main problem with it is that it runs in circles. Although this is more prevalent in characters department, it also exists in the general narrative. Until the very end, the story is always in the 'push and pull' mode, meaning that very little development actually occurs over its 160 chapters. Starting with around the midway point in manga, the story slows down considerably to the frustrating levels, and more and more random points are introduced into narrative for the sole purpose of creating drama. Much like some characters, these plot points overstay their welcome and never really go anywhere, making it appear as blatant filler more than anything else.

As the story follows Kaoru and Nana, there were far too many times when the story wasn't about the two of them for considerable stretches of time. It's not as though there was no need to develop side characters, but the problem was that not even the main characters were developed at that point. The story attempts to introduce classic 'coming of age' elements into its narrative, but then uses them only to induce cheap drama rather than to actually deal with them properly. The main point here is the possible separation after graduating high school. It's a classic storytelling device when you want to give a shove to the character development, but here it's only used as means of creating dramatic scenes until the very, very end.

The best part about this manga is no doubt art. It's detailed, albeit inconsistent at times, and it really breathes 'story' in and of itself. Facial expressions were for the most part on point, proportions were adequate, and some panels simply oozed life on their own. Still, it's muddled with ton, and I mean TON of pointless speech boxes and bubbles that add nothing except distract from fantastic art. There isn't really much else to say, as one of the reasons I was able to finish this story is the art in the first place, so kudos.

As for the characters, they are definitely the worst part of the whole thing, while they should be the best. Specifically, side characters are an utter bother in this manga, and their influence on main duo, Nana and Kaoru, is anything except good. Much like certain plot points, they're used whenever the writer wanted to introduce cheap drama to increase the stakes of story.

Specifically, the secondary love interest(?) for our main guy is absolute chore to read about whenever she appears. She destroyed the dynamic between the main duo, and while her character served the classic role of giving 'the push' to the main duo, she was never a cause for any actual, positive change between the two. She was there to offset the gigantic tits of Nana, and to provide a few, cheap dramatic moments in storytelling.

While there are other side characters, very few of them, if any, get more than a chapter of development, making them all feel like static images rather than the characters. With that said, the central focus, for the most part, is about our main duo, let's get on them.

Nana is perhaps the best part of this manga, no doubt (and not just because of her huge oppai). Out of everyone, she receives the most development, which actually pushes her character forward rather than have her run in circles. She's actually a strong character who knows what she wants, and, when push comes to shove, is decisive about it (unlike someone else that I'll talk about soon). While I wouldn't call her character spectacular, considering those by her side, she really stands out by leaps and bounds.

Now, let's talk about the character that put the final lid on my enjoyment of this manga: Kaoru. There's a very simple reason why Kaoru just can't carry the show: it's because I simply can't see him as a Dom in a relationship. He's the exact opposite of what a Dom should be; cowardly, indecisive, afraid, insecure... while I'm not saying that a character with those characteristics is bad, it doesn't work in a manga of this type. There are about 2 times in the entire manga where he acts like a proper Dom, and even that is offset shortly after with his regret over those actions.

He's far too hesitant for a character that's supposed to dominate someone as strong as Nana, and, until the very end, he doesn't change much, if at all. He, perhaps, exemplifies the greatest problem Nana to Kaoru has: it's a by-the-books vanilla love story with S&M gimmick that works against it. Strip away the 'breathers', and you've got yourself your basic love story, that's all. Kaoru is a standard rom-com protagonist, Nana is a standard main girl, there's a love rival, far too much drama because characters can't voice their thoughts... everything, really.

S&M here is used as a means of 'binding' two leads together, and that's really it. While it does play part in some pretty decent character moments, for the most part it's a gimmick. One specific 'breather' stretches out for like 4-5 chapters where nothing actually happens. It's just an excuse to see woman act like dogs, and that's really it.

The hesitations of Nana can be somewhat excused, seeing as she's a sub, but with Kaoru it's impossible to overlook them. His character keeps spinning in circles for whole 160 chapters; 'Nana is mine', 'I can't stay by her side', 'I want to stay by her side', 'I don't', 'How do I tell her I love with without telling her because it's embarrassing despite all the shit we've been doing together', 'I can't tell her because I'm unworthy'... it just keeps going in circles, never stopping.

Hell, even when not faced with Nana but with other characters, he can't voice out a simple 'NO'. And there's the problem; in every day life, he's just a hesitant coward, which often sips over into their S&M sessions, and I'm left there wondering 'oi, is this guy really a Dom? I don't think so...'.

Despite all this, overall, I enjoyed my time with Nana to Kaoru quite a lot. Again, if all pointless drama filler was cut off, if side characters weren't all annoying to boot, and if main guy just wasn't who he was, this would have been a great manga. Alas, it is what it is. A box with a pretty wrap, but also pretty much empty inside.