Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaa is commonly known as the first movie directed by Miyazaki that put is name on the map and bolstered enough revenue to start Ghibli Studios. Nausicaa was made in 1984 and is rather religious to the manga that it is based on. Miyazaki both drew and wrote the manga which he continued to write for ten years spanning over one thousand pages. Having just finished the manga (which is great btw), it is so easy to let the two mediums build off of each other and make the other that much better. Obviously a down side to the movie is that you don't quite get to understand the vastness of the world, the full extent of the war that is taking place, or how massive the forests impact is to everyone.

Nausicaa is a tale of a post apocalyptic world where the earth has been overrun with a vast and deadly forest. This forest, and its inhabitants, give off a miasma that is deadly to all humans. Even small spores can kill a man. Manufacturing products is a trade lost in time as the world is left to a semi medieval age, where hand trades are valued when scavenging for motors and ceramics comes up short. Nausicaa is one of the first characters that idealizes what will later become a Miyazaki heroine. Nausicaa is character of immense passion who chooses understanding over hatred.

An Ohm(u), one of the guardians of the forest.

I first found this movie as I was clicking around the tv at my aunt and uncle's house before I landed on Cartoon Network and didn't recognize what was on the screen. It did not take long at all to be completely wrapped up in what was happening as well as the beautiful beautiful art in this movie. At this point in time, there is only one hand drawn image every third image. However, there are sometimes as many as 12-20 still images a second. The more images for smoother fast moving action sequences. What manages to come out of that just blows me away how great plants and in particular the insects are nailed in detail.


Nausicaa's character has also apparently been voted and listed often as the 'best female anime character ever'. In a world of strife, war, atrocities, and very real chance of extinction, her compassion for every living creature is what makes her special. My only regret is that there never was or is a chance for the entire manga to be done in either a tv series, or several full length movies. As practically all of Miyazaki's works, this is master work of creating a world, human characters, and a deep sense of connectivity to nature and the small things.