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4.49 AVERAGE
4.49 AVERAGE
What a fascinating, totally unique series. A story about the duality of purity and corruption, hopeful nihilism, accepting the worst of humanity and still striving to be better anyways. This series is a masterpiece.
Chaque tome est meilleur que le précédent! Quelle aventure, riche et profonde, définitivement l'une des meilleures BD que j'aie lues! À lire absolument.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
this one made me so.... i had to go walk around outside but once i got outside i was just so sad about wherever i went i could heard the freeway. AAAAAAAAAA anyways these are all really good this one and the first and second were probably my favorite
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
As with other comics/manga series I will write my review for the whole series on the final volume, because I think it makes little sense to review each installment individually.
On the whole, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a beautiful, melancholy work by now-acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, creator of such classics as My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke. It leans closer to the latter than the former, and plays with many of Miyazaki's favorite themes; lost innocence, redemption for villains, environmentalism, and the senselessness of war. It represents Miyazaki's first and only real exploration of a story in this long medium, and Nausicaa seems a story tailor-made for it. While the Nausicaa film adaption (also by Miyazaki) is fine, it is lacking in the depth and sense of the world that marks so many of his other films. This is because it's obvious, upon reading the manga, that the story is severely stripped to suit a 90 minute runtime, and is able to barely touch on the major plot points of the story.
Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world populated by gargantuan insects and towering forests of fungus that give off poison miasma, human civilizations struggle to survive on a mostly uninhabitable world. Our story follows Nausicaa, gentle-hearted warrior princess of a small and idyllic country who is summoned to contribute to a war led by their liege emperor. Disliking the war, but wanting to honor her allegiances, Nausicaa goes to the front and follows a chain of events that leads to the daikaisho--a second apocalypse, which will decimate most human and animal life that has remained. Torn between desires for vengeance, despair at humanity's capacity for evil, and her mysterious connection to the fungal forest and its insect inhabitants, Nausicaa comes of age in a harsh and brutal world, uncovering secrets, lies, and her own capacity for evil.
And whew. What a tale. While playing with many of Miyazaki's favorite pet themes about war, environmentalism, and the like, Nausicaa still feels harsh, even when placed alongside Princess Mononoke, which expands on many of the same ideas. Part of this is the medium, which allows far more graphic depictions of violence than any of Miyazaki's other films. Light and fluffy Ponyo/Totoro fare this is not. Decapitations, children murdered in war, torture, and lots of dismemberment are depicted in as much horror as black and white can render. This isn't to say this is some kind of pornographic glorification of violence; Miyazaki pulls us into this awful nightmare world to show us our own human capacity for violence. Even the sometimes Messianic figure of Nausicaa herself commits acts of violence and brutality because it is all she knows, it is the world she lives in. But that is not to say this story is bleak; while it does explore the depths of human evil and depravity, one of its major themes is that of morality not actually being black and white. As I said, Nausicaa herself fails in her own commitment to nonviolence. And while everyone she meets along the way is touched by her almost supernatural goodness, they do not magically become better people. While her bitterest of enemies are inspired by her example, and it drives them to strive, along with her, for a better tomorrow, they are still humans who have been shaped by violence, and they are wildly imperfect. This gives them a lot of ambiguity, but also very real humanity. No one is truly pure evil, even in evil times, because with our great capacity for awfulness, we have an equal capacity for goodness. While Nausicaa at times seems overly-perfect, Miyazaki seems to be really concerned for this idea; everyone has both light and dark inside them. This actually becomes a central theme at the core of the story, particularly in the last chapters of the book.
Which leads me to my major complaint; the ending. I won't say it's a bad ending; it's appropriate and, while not exactly uplifting, has a lot of hope. But the tone does seem to shift from a fairly grounded science-fiction setting to a more magical world. I understand that Japanese folklore and The Odyssey are the major inspirations for the story, and there are certainly some mythological elements towards the end of the story that feel out of place in a world that has mostly revolved around civil wars and giant bugs. The introduction of a "bigger bad" at the end also felt a little abrupt; not that there wasn't build up for it, but since so much of the story is philosophical, it felt unnecessary, even if Nausicaa essentially "beats" said monster through philosophical debate. Still, it had a better, more solid pacing than many of Miyazaki's films (especially his early ones) and fleshes out this world and characters tremendously. Overall it's a darkly epic story shot through with dancing lights of hope, and is gorgeously drawn and written as well. A must-read for Miyazaki enthusiasts or those who want more to the story and world than the film rightly presents, or those who just crave a wonderfully realized modern myth.
(I will say the copies I read [the collectors editions] should probably be revisited by their English editor; there are numerous typos.)
On the whole, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a beautiful, melancholy work by now-acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, creator of such classics as My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke. It leans closer to the latter than the former, and plays with many of Miyazaki's favorite themes; lost innocence, redemption for villains, environmentalism, and the senselessness of war. It represents Miyazaki's first and only real exploration of a story in this long medium, and Nausicaa seems a story tailor-made for it. While the Nausicaa film adaption (also by Miyazaki) is fine, it is lacking in the depth and sense of the world that marks so many of his other films. This is because it's obvious, upon reading the manga, that the story is severely stripped to suit a 90 minute runtime, and is able to barely touch on the major plot points of the story.
Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world populated by gargantuan insects and towering forests of fungus that give off poison miasma, human civilizations struggle to survive on a mostly uninhabitable world. Our story follows Nausicaa, gentle-hearted warrior princess of a small and idyllic country who is summoned to contribute to a war led by their liege emperor. Disliking the war, but wanting to honor her allegiances, Nausicaa goes to the front and follows a chain of events that leads to the daikaisho--a second apocalypse, which will decimate most human and animal life that has remained. Torn between desires for vengeance, despair at humanity's capacity for evil, and her mysterious connection to the fungal forest and its insect inhabitants, Nausicaa comes of age in a harsh and brutal world, uncovering secrets, lies, and her own capacity for evil.
And whew. What a tale. While playing with many of Miyazaki's favorite pet themes about war, environmentalism, and the like, Nausicaa still feels harsh, even when placed alongside Princess Mononoke, which expands on many of the same ideas. Part of this is the medium, which allows far more graphic depictions of violence than any of Miyazaki's other films. Light and fluffy Ponyo/Totoro fare this is not. Decapitations, children murdered in war, torture, and lots of dismemberment are depicted in as much horror as black and white can render. This isn't to say this is some kind of pornographic glorification of violence; Miyazaki pulls us into this awful nightmare world to show us our own human capacity for violence. Even the sometimes Messianic figure of Nausicaa herself commits acts of violence and brutality because it is all she knows, it is the world she lives in. But that is not to say this story is bleak; while it does explore the depths of human evil and depravity, one of its major themes is that of morality not actually being black and white. As I said, Nausicaa herself fails in her own commitment to nonviolence. And while everyone she meets along the way is touched by her almost supernatural goodness, they do not magically become better people. While her bitterest of enemies are inspired by her example, and it drives them to strive, along with her, for a better tomorrow, they are still humans who have been shaped by violence, and they are wildly imperfect. This gives them a lot of ambiguity, but also very real humanity. No one is truly pure evil, even in evil times, because with our great capacity for awfulness, we have an equal capacity for goodness. While Nausicaa at times seems overly-perfect, Miyazaki seems to be really concerned for this idea; everyone has both light and dark inside them. This actually becomes a central theme at the core of the story, particularly in the last chapters of the book.
Which leads me to my major complaint; the ending. I won't say it's a bad ending; it's appropriate and, while not exactly uplifting, has a lot of hope. But the tone does seem to shift from a fairly grounded science-fiction setting to a more magical world. I understand that Japanese folklore and The Odyssey are the major inspirations for the story, and there are certainly some mythological elements towards the end of the story that feel out of place in a world that has mostly revolved around civil wars and giant bugs. The introduction of a "bigger bad" at the end also felt a little abrupt; not that there wasn't build up for it, but since so much of the story is philosophical, it felt unnecessary, even if Nausicaa essentially "beats" said monster through philosophical debate. Still, it had a better, more solid pacing than many of Miyazaki's films (especially his early ones) and fleshes out this world and characters tremendously. Overall it's a darkly epic story shot through with dancing lights of hope, and is gorgeously drawn and written as well. A must-read for Miyazaki enthusiasts or those who want more to the story and world than the film rightly presents, or those who just crave a wonderfully realized modern myth.
(I will say the copies I read [the collectors editions] should probably be revisited by their English editor; there are numerous typos.)
A very interesting conclusion to the series; it was one of the better volumes to be honest. I like the worldbuilding and ideas behind Nausicaä a lot, I just think it suffers a bit from antiquated writing (which could also be hurt somewhat by translation). Probably the biggest flaw is how 2 dimensional most of the characters are. But overall, still worth a read, and great art as expected from Miyazaki.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Well, this ended abruptly, but whatever it was so good, I hope more mangaka can write this kind of story more. This is a five-star manga despite of its ending. There are details that I sometime skipped because for me, the first reading is all about the plot and the main characters. When I got deeper, this series is not just plot-driven, but also character-driven. The historical and fantasy setting are full of fantastical elements, however when I read it, all these pollution and corruption are too relatable, and I can see it happen to our earth many many years later. Horrific and yet realistic. There are so many details that the movie missed out, and Kushana was such a great character. Nausicaa is always the best, the preacher, but I saw Kushana grew, her backstory made her a round character. I was a tad disappointed with Asbel not being with Nausicaa, but this is how Miyazaki's story ends. I love his artstyle, very crisp, old-school, and the details, my god, I wish I had the physical copy of it. It was a great battle for Nausicaa and the people, I was so so sad when the people that cared about Nausicaa died, Teto and Master Yupa!!!!!! The side characters, they are so different to each other, but I felt for all of them, understand their plight and suffering. Miyazaki's story-telling skill is amazing!!! I hope he drew more manga. 4.5 stars!