It's a time when mankind's abuse of nature and the environment has finally
caught up with him. Most of the earth has been reduced to a toxic wasteland infested with mutated
plant and animal life.
Humans are left simply trying to make the best of what remains, but even in
such times the lust for war and conquest has not diminished.
Nations are still trying to take over other nations, and it's all up to a
young princess named Nausicaa to keep the peace and make everyone understand
that healing the earth should be the foremost concern.
Review: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Watching Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind reminded me of the more recent Hayao Miyazaki hit, "Princess
Mononoke". I attribute that to the fact that both films have an environmentally concerned
fighter princess at the helm, but that's actually about the only thing they
have in common.
Mononoke and Nausicaa have personalities that are as opposite as night and
day.
Nausicaa is a post-apocalyptic tale about humans trying to pick up the pieces
after the "Seven Days of Fire", which supposedly destroyed civilization
as we know it.
The title character Nausicaa is the princess of a place known as the Valley of
Wind. Nausicaa anime spends her days exploring, collecting useful materials, and studying
various plants, animals, and insects.
Nausicaa has a very deep understanding of nature, and she makes certain that
what she knows is instilled in her people.
In short, Nausicaa is the poster girl for environmental preservation, animal
rights, and just about every other related ecological cause.
The main conflict arises when the Valley of Wind gets caught between two other
nations' dispute. Nausicaa and her people become prisoners and hostages while Tolmekia and
Pejite fight each other for control over a monstrous being which could be used
as a tool of death and destruction.
Nausicaa's real challenge materializes when Pejite lures millions of gigantic
insects to the Valley of Wind in order to wipe out the encamped Tolmekians.
Nausicaa must somehow stop the rampaging insects without hurting them, plus
find a way to keep the peace between the three kingdoms -- at the same time
ensuring that whatever method she comes up with would be environmentally safe.
Like they say, it's a tough job... but someone's got to do it. Although Nausicaa's artwork comes off as rather dated, the characters sport
the simple, understated, yet charming design that Miyazaki is known for.
Animation is incredibly smooth, and settings are adequately rendered albeit
not as meticulously detailed as Miyazaki's recent works.
Nausicaa anime herself is the epitome of agility and grace. It makes no difference
whether she's doing air acrobatics on her glider or simply running around the
valley.
She moves like a bird in the sky and a gazelle on land. I also enjoyed
perusing the beautiful manga sketches interspersed throughout the Nausicaa DVD menus
and credits.
Unlike Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa does not contain any overly violent scenes
which children should be kept away from.
Nausicaa is an excellent piece. It's not as powerful as I expected it to be,
but it does well to uphold the Studio Ghibli standard of releasing high
quality animated films. Definitely a classic Miyazaki fans shouldn't pass up.
Miscellanies: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is about 2 hours in length. I've heard that the manga is a lot better
than the anime.
Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) | |
| Genre | Adventure, Fantasy |
|---|---|
| Episodes | 1 |
| Status | Finished Airing |
| Aired | Mar 11, 1984 |
| Producers | - |
| Studio | Topcraft |
| Rating | PG-13 - Teens 13 or older |
| Themes | - |
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