Ren Honjo is one of the major characters in the manga series by Ai Yazawa known as Nana. Of all of the characters, it would seem that Ren is the one with the most let alone serious issues. Not much is known about him at the beginning. However, he is not even mentioned until sometime later in the story. What is known about Ren in the beginning of the story is that he is the current guitarist of this popular Japanese band called Trapnest.

However, he does play an important part of the character dynamic of Nana. He is also one of the figures that drive forth the character plots of several people in the series. So far, it is eventually revealed that Ren and Nana O, one of the two main protagonists, had a romantic relationship in the past back in school. The two of them met through a mutual friend named Nobu Terashima, who was the first friend Nana O made in high school. After a concert, Nana O fell in love with Ren.

After awhile, Ren and Nana along with Yasu and Nobu form "Black Stones" a.k.a. "Blast." So far, the success is somewhat moderate but not to a point where they can get famous. At the same time, Ren wants Nana to marry him. However, Nana refuses to marry him. Eventually, Trapnest holds auditions for a new guitarist. Yasu, also a friend of Trapnest's leader Takumi Ichinose, encourages Ren to try out. He turns out to be the most popular guitarist of Trapnest.

By chance, Nana O's roommate Nana Komatsu a.k.a. Hachi gets tickets to see Trapnest in her hometown. After a shock of seeing Nana O in the front row, Ren makes up with her. While they are loves, Ren and Nana O are also rivals. At the same time, Ren is still dealing with a bunch of his own issues.

It turns out that Ren is quite possessive. He is afraid that his friend Yasu may go after Nana O's affections. On top of that, it is revealed that Ren ended up taking drugs. Plus, there is somewhat of a love triangle with former Trapnest member and singer Reira which plays an important part of the web of deceit and treachery that plagues most of the characters in Nana. Ren is one of the people that catalyzed the soap opera between the characters of Nana.

Ren is perhaps the second most flawed character in the series. First place ended up going to Hachi due to her childish ways, selfish attitude, and very poor judgment. Unlike Hachi, who is more comical about those flaws, Ren is perhaps more dark and serious about them. He is shown to be quite selfish and inconsiderate towards Nana O on numerous occasions while still having strong feelings for her.

He is also loyal to a fault towards Takumi. As a result, Ren tends to be used as a puppet by Takumi on various levels. While Takumi is usually in the wrong, Ren always stands up for him. Ren puts his complete trust in Takumi. While most of the characters improve or remain the same, Ren's tend go down a downward spiral due to his obsessive affections for Nana O, addition to drugs, and blind loyalty towards Takumi. But, the relationship between him and Nana continues to be an important driving force behind the story of the series.

In most cases, Ren is the personification of a musician that has turned towards drugs as a gateway from the troubles of life. Currently, Ren is no longer part of the story in person in having died in a car accident in the recent chapters of the series. Should the story no longer be on hiatus, there is the possibility that Ren could return in flashbacks.

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