January 2007

The “Seven Days of Fire”, a cataclysm brought on by mankind's excessive industrialization destroying industrial civilisation approximately a millennium after it began to flourish. Although humanity survived, the land surface of the Earth has become heavily polluted and the seas are poisonous. Most of the world is covered by the “Sea of Corruption”, a toxic forest of fungal plants which is steadily encroaching on the remaining open land. It is protected by large insects, including the huge Ohmu. Humanity clings on to survival in the polluted lands beyond the forest, periodically engaging in bouts of internecine fighting for the scarce resources that remain. One hundred years later the inhabitants of a simple peaceful valley are about to come face to face with war.

Nausicaa, princess of the Valley of the Wind, is a young warrior with a special gift. Not only a talented mehve rider but also able to communicate with the large insect creatures the Ohmu, Nausicaa is thrown into war when another state, Pejite, unearths a God Warrior (kyoshinhei) which is then stolen by a more powerful state, Tolmekia. To battle the armies of Tolmetkia and Pejite Nausicaa goes on a journey that takes her into the heart of the Sea of Corruption. Through her journey, Nausicaa learns the true purpose of something both the Pejite and the Tolmekia states are out to destroy while the people of the Valley of the Wind fight for their very survival.

Nausicaa, in both its feature length Anime filn format and seven volume manga format, is a story with a deeper meaning. Both the movie and the manga written by famed Japanese writer, illustrator, and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki show the need for living in harmony with the world's environment. The series has several thenes one of which is living in harmony with nature and ones fellow man. The ravages of both war and man's need to industrialize the world around him as well as the world's need to regenerate and fight back against man's harm to it are shown beautifully in Miyazaki's art and writing. Like all of Miyazaki's films Nausicaa is filled with symbolism, mythical creatures, and beautiful scenes of flight. Nausicaa is considered by many to be one of Miyazaki's greatest works and nearly twenty-three years after its initial release in Japan the series continues to gain new fans through renewed interest in both the feature film and the manga series.

Both the feature length film and the manga series are filled with beautiful art and writing. Miyazaki's story of a princess in tune with world around her shows both reader and viewer alike that man must respect the world in which he lives in. The struggle between those who work in harmony with nature and those who produce the tools of the industrial world mirrors man's own struggle to modernize while at the same time protecting the world around him. Nausicaa combines beautiful writing and art to weave a tale filled with both symbolism and action. Nausicaa is a series that any fan of animation should see.

The orginal Nausicaa manga was first produced by Tokuma Shoten and is available in a revised seven volume "Editor's Choice" tankoban-esque graphic novel from Viz Media. The feature length film, originally produced by Studio Ghibli, is available in a two disk DVD set from Walt Disney Pictures. Both the graphic novel and the DVD set are available for purchase both in stores and online.

Nausicaa at Nausicaa.Net
Nausicaa Viz Graphic Novel
Nausicaa DVD Release