Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

As an Avid Fantasy and Science Fiction reader, Nausicaa caught my eye at first sight. The Manga, although a Comics, has the quality and depth of a fantasy novel. Miyazaki had a phenomenal success in achieving what many good and renowned Fantasy authors failed at -- creating and portraying a believable, ORIGINAL Fantasy world, and weaving a plot that is not corny and keeps drawing the awed reader who can't have enough of it. Mizazaky also did an excellent work at creating the character of Nausicaa herself, which is very dominant, intriguing, and special.. one of those female character which makes you fall in love with them not because of their looks but because of their attitude. If compared to the female characters from Princess Mononoke (Which has many of Nausicaa's 'things' but is not quite as good as this Manga), Nausicaa is far, far more interesting and depthful than San and Eboshi. The Art itself is in par with the rest of Miyazaki's work, and serves the purpose of portraying the world around Nausicaa. The openning sequence, where Nausicaa glides into the forest and picks up Fungus spores, is a perfect demonstration of this. I think no author could describe the Forest and the insects infesting it as well as Miyazaki's illustrations. The images are a little blurry at times, but once again - they serve a purpose, they're not the purpose itself.TO SUM THINGS UP, even if you're a Fantasy-lover and not a Comics fan, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is your best choice. It is probably one of the BEST in its genres, and it recieves my highest praises -- and deserves them.

I mean this quite literally. When my good friend introduced me to Nausicaa, I dropped everything else and drank in volumes one and two (all he had) the first day. He is now a dearer friend still than he was before. I didn't think it was possible, but volumes three and four are even better and more profound than the first two. I knew the first day that I had found a new literary classic, on par with the greatest works (Tolkien, Dostoyevsky, Lewis) the human psyche has brought forth into the world, and ordered my own version (the 4-volume boxed set) the evening of my initiation. Miyazaki's characters wrestle with life and its problems as surely as Ivan and Alyosha Karamazov or Raskolnikov, and their resolution is probably the most moving ending I have encountered during my 22 years on earth. The world is as believable (and hauntingly beautiful) as Middle-earth. The religious/spiritual underpinning, as a previous reviewer noted, is what sets these works above all others. In sum, Nausicaa should be read by everybody, and God willing the world would be a better place.

I was no fan of manga or animation (in fact I shared the prevailing prejudice here in North America that they are for kids or pre-literate people), but when I happened to see Princess Mononoke by Miyazaki, I immediately realized that I was dealing with a work of a visionary with an extraordinary story-telling skills. I got hold of Nausicaa manga mainly to understand what his visions were, and I was not disappointed. I would not hesitate to call it a brilliant and profound work of LITERATURE (don't let your preconceived notion about the medium mislead you). Epic in scope and astonishingly rich in its depiction of the world it creates (the earth polluted and turned mostly into a sterile wasteland after the collapse of the industrial civilization, the mutant fungi forest emitting toxic fumes, the great insects that inhabit this alien, exotic, and strangely beautiful world, the declining humanity struggling to survive on the fringes of the forest, the warring kingdoms that perpetuate human foolishness, and the small and peaceful people of the valley of wind and their leader, Nausicaa), Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind unfolds a remarkable story of the heroine's quest to discover the hidden secret of her dying world, with a complex plot that will draw you in, at times exhilirating, at other times deeply moving, and in some occasions even shocking and disturbing. It has a rich cast of well-developed characters who come alive as real flesh-and-blood human beings, who are never one-dimensional (no simple distinction between friends and foes, the pure-hearted and villains), and whose at times excruciatingly difficult and morally uncertain decision-making present us with a portrayal of life as real as any life actually lived. It raises profound questions about the usual and often uncritical distinctions we tend to draw between human civilization and nature, good and evil, purity/innocence and corrpution, and will leave us deeply sympathizing with the fate and struggle of Nausicaa and her people, and asking the same questions that they ask themselves regarding the inviolabe value and sanctity of life in all its forms. If you believe Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a classic, read Nausicaa -- you will understand what I mean.

Written by Hayao Miyazaki, the mastermind behind animated classics like "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Princess Mononoke", this great work of the graphic art is NO MERE COMIC BOOK. Like most great graphic novels in the tradition of Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller, Nausicaa is often violent, complexly written, and in the end utterly provocative and meaningful. For those who can see past the comic-book exterior and peer into the soul of Nausicaa, a well-deserved adjective comes to mind - magnificent. Offer this to an acquaintance as a leisure-time read. If the art style manages to get them to bite the hook, the bulk of the story will surely reel them in. Hook. Line. Sinker.

After the first three volumes of Nausicaa's journey, it's hard to imagine any room for improvement... and yet the fourth volume goes further and deeper, revealing secrets that will cause Nausicaa to question her beliefs and motives. My only regret is that the story ends, and I want to see more of this remarkable world and these fascinating characters.