NANA ED PV - "a little pain" by OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

Before the release of the single itself, the PVs of the OP and ED of NANA's anime are already circulating around. As such, I am posting my thoughts about these PVs with the ED by OLIVIA going first.

I am not sure whether the issue of the singers fitting the image of the manga characters was taken into consideration when selecting the candidate to sing NANA and REIRA's songs but I found a strong resemblance between OLIVIA and Tsuchiya Anna with regards to the characters they are supposed to represent. In this case, since REIRA is of mixed heritage i.e. an American dad and Japanese mother, I'm sure that's one of the reasons why OLIVIA was chosen because it's obvious at first sight that she's also of mixed heritage (German & Japanese). As such, this should make it easier for people to accept her as REIRA.

As in the case of most PVs, there isn't really a storyline to talk about after all. However, I think that the message that they are trying to put across is somewhat subtle i.e. for the viewers to interpret as they wish instead telling us how we should feel about the song itself.

After watching the PV, the impact of the song comes across quite differently as compared to listening to it only at the end of the anime. The loneliness and solitude mentioned in the lyrics are manifested through the images especially the part when OLIVIA was standing on top of a cliff. Although the song is supposedly referring to Ren and Nana who parted ways due to him joining Trapnest as well as the loneliness felt by Nana, I find that parts of the song are also applicable to Reira's situation. It seemed to imply that even though REIRA may be a vocalist at a top band, she still feels empty and alone despite everyone admiring her for the achievements. Thus, I find myself liking the song better because the message within has come across more strongly due to enhancement in the form of images.

A picture does say a thousand words, in this case. ^__^