Talentless Nana (Japanese: 無能なナナ, Hepburn: Munō na Nana) is a Japanese manga series written by Looseboy and illustrated by Iori Furuya. It was serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan from May 2016 to July 2026, with its chapters collected in fifteen tankōbon volumes. The manga is published digitally in North America by Square Enix. An anime television series adaptation by Bridge aired from October to December 2020.
Contents
Plot
In the near future, mysterious monsters known as the "Enemies of Humanity" begin to appear, and with it so do children with supernatural powers called the "Talented". To prepare them for the upcoming battle against these Enemies, all the Talented are sent to a school located on a deserted island, where they have all their daily needs provided for until they graduate and communication with the outside world is forbidden. One day, a new student named Nana Hiiragi arrives at the school. Her friendly and cheerful personality lets her quickly make friends with the class. In reality, however, Nana is a Talentless government assassin who has been dispatched to kill the Talented, whom the government deems to be the true Enemies of Humanity.
Characters
Nana Hiiragi (柊 ナナ, Hiiragi Nana)
Voiced by: Rumi Okubo (Japanese); Michelle Marie (English)
Nana is the true protagonist of the series. One of the newest students on the island. She claims to have the talent of mind-reading and possesses a very affable and extroverted personality that lets her make friends easily. In reality, she is a Talentless assassin sent by the government to quietly eliminate all of her classmates. Nana's true persona is one that is incredibly skilled, intelligent, and observant, utilizing deductive reasoning and social engineering techniques to maintain her facade and evade suspicion.
Nanao Nakajima (中島 ナナオ, Nakajima Nanao)
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono, Mai Nakahara (young) (Japanese); Caleb Yen, Emi Lo (young) (English)
Nanao is the false protagonist of the series. A timid boy from a wealthy family who feels pressured by his father to become a leader wherever he goes. At first, he is seen as a Talentless student and the initial protagonist, but later reveals his talent is the ability to cancel out the effects of other talents by touching them.
Kyoya Onodera (小野寺 キョウヤ, Onodera Kyōya)
Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese); Stephen Fu (English)
A mysterious transfer student who arrived in school the same time as Nana, with the talent of immortality. Although he has an overbearing demeanor and prefers to keep to himself, he wishes to make friends and is a bit of an otaku. Like Nana, he is extremely observant and quick to uptake. He begins suspecting her involvement in the students' deaths and investigating the truth behind the Enemies of Humanity after his younger sister arrived at the same island and disappeared five years prior.
Michiru Inukai (犬飼 ミチル, Inukai Michiru)
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese); Emi Lo (English)
A kind girl whom Nana often thinks resembles a puppy. She has the talent to heal others by licking their wounds, but cannot cure illnesses and the drawback of her talent is that it shortens her lifespan quickly. Her naive nature leads her to trust Nana wholeheartedly.
Yohei Shibusawa (渋沢 ヨウヘイ, Shibusawa Yōhei)
Voiced by: Toshiki Masuda (Japanese); Alan Lee (English)
An arrogant and perfectionistic student who cares deeply about propriety and dreams of using his talent to change history. He can travel up to 24 hours into the past from a certain spot, although its drawback is that he can only do so if he is not perceived by others, at which point he teleports back into the present. In addition, the longer the jump back in time he makes, the more energy he uses.
Moguo Iijima (飯島 モグオ, Iijima Moguo)
Voiced by: Takuya Nakashima (Japanese); Jordan Dash Cruz (English)
The class bully with the talent of pyrokinesis. Despite being loud, aggressive and self-centered, he worries for his henchmen and fellow classmates.
Shoichi Kosakai (小堺 ショイチ, Kosakai Shoichi)
Voiced by: Yūki Inoue (Japanese); Phillip Reich (English)
A student who is one of Moguo's henchmen.
Sota Saito (斉藤 ソウタ, Saito Sōta)
Voiced by: Takeo Ōtsuka
A student who is one of Moguo's henchmen.
Rentaro Tsurumigawa (鶴見川 レンタロウ, Tsurumigawa Rentarō)
Voiced by: Yoshitaka Yamaya (Japanese); Lucien Dodge (English)
A student who is one of Moguo's henchmen. He has the talent to have out-of-body experiences, with his spirit freely able to detach itself from his body and interact with objects, although this leaves his body defenseless.
Seiya Kori (郡 セイヤ, Kori Seiya)
Voiced by: Hiromichi Tezuka (Japanese); Phillip Reich (English)
A flamboyant and flirty student with the talent of cryokinesis.
Kirara Habu (羽生 キララ, Habu Kirara)
Voiced by: Yukina Tsutsumi (Japanese); Courtney Lin (English)
A gyaru who likes to bully Michiru. She is Kaori's best friend and her talent gives her poisonous saliva, although she must consume frogs and snakes regularly to maintain this.
Kaori Takanashi (高梨 カオリ, Takanashi Kaori)
Voiced by: Yurie Kozakai (Japanese); Heather Gonzalez (English)
A gyaru who likes to bully Michiru. She is Kirara's best friend and her talent allows her to teleport within a certain distance.
Tsunekichi Hatadaira (葉多平 ツネキチ, Hatadaira Tsunekichi)
Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru
A laid-back and perverted student who can project his prophetic visions while he is sleeping via a normal camera.
Yuka Sasaki (佐々木 ユウカ, Sasaki Yūka)
Voiced by: Miyu Tomita (Japanese); Rachelle Heger (English)
A friendly and tomboyish girl who claims to have the talent of super strength. She and Shinji are inseparable childhood friends who appear to be dating.
Shinji Kazama (風間 シンジ, Kazama Shinji)
Voiced by: Aiko Ninomiya (Japanese); Kai Jordan (English)
A pale and brusque boy who has the talent of necromancy. He and Yuka are inseparable childhood friends who appear to be dating.
Ryuji Ishii (石井 リュウジ, Ishii Ryūji)
Voiced by: Tomohiro Ōno
A good-natured and popular student who is Fuko's boyfriend.
Fuko Sorano (空野 フウコ, Sorano Fūko)
Voiced by: Yuna Kamakura
A mild-mannered girl who is Ryuji's girlfriend. She has the talent to manipulate air currents and control air pressure, including using wind as razor-sharp blades, but can only do so in a well-ventilated area.
Homeroom teacher (担任教師, Tannin Kyōshi)
Voiced by: Atsushi Kousaka (Japanese); Marc Swint (English)
He is the homeroom teacher of the students. Despite being a teacher, he is virtually clueless of the government's actions.
Jin Tachibana (橘 ジン, Tachibana Jin)
Voiced by: Kōji Yusa (Japanese); Jonah Scott (English)
A powerful Talented who is a former student at the island. His talent allows him to transform into any living creature and even use their talents, provided his transformation is not seen by other people.
Media
Manga
Written by Looseboy and illustrated by Iori Furuya, Talentless Nana was serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan from May 12, 2016, to July 10, 2026. Square Enix collected its chapters in fifteen tankōbon volumes, which were released from February 22, 2017, to September 11, 2026.
Crunchyroll digitally published the series in North America until December 11, 2023. It was then subsequently picked up by Square Enix's Manga Up! service.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on April 7, 2020. The series was animated by Bridge and directed by Shinji Ishihira, with Fumihiko Shimo handling series composition, Satohiko Sano designing the characters, and Yasuharu Takanashi composing the music at Nippon Columbia. The opening theme, "Broken Sky", is performed by Miyu Tomita, while the ending theme, "Bakemono to Yobarete" (バケモノと呼ばれて; "Known as a Monster"), is performed by Chiai Fujikawa. The series aired from October 4 to December 27, 2020, on AT-X, Tokyo MX, SUN, and TVA. Muse Communication licensed the anime and they streamed it in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
Funimation acquired the series and streamed it on its website in North America and the British Isles. On November 20, 2021, Funimation announced the series would receive an English dub, which premiered the following day. The series was moved to Crunchyroll following Sony's consolidation of Funimation titles into the service.