Underrated Manga, Part 9: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Posted: Mon May 02, 2005 9:57 -0700
I love Hayao Miyazaki, as I'm sure most of you do. But not alot of people know about Miyazaki's talent as a manga artist, and this is the one and only example of his awesome manga talent.
In truth, Miyazaki originally didn't want to make a manga about what was to be his first feature film, but due to Gihbi Studio's lack of funds, a manga was the best way to make quick yen.
Well, it worked. After being serialized in Animege magazine, Nausicaa became the number one heroine in manga and anime history, even more popular than Sapphire from Princess Knight! (ignore unneccessary reference to Osamu Tezuka)
To be perfectly honest, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is the Lord of the Rings of manga. It is completely immersive and moving, complete with various maps of the world, posters, character descriptions, and awesome hard bound editions!
For those of you who don't know the story....
Nausicaa takes place in the far future. Due to a massive war and total pollution, humanity is all but dead. The remains of mankind live in various kingdoms, and are constantly at war with ech other. On top of that, a poisonous fungi forest called the Sea of Corruption is slowly taking over the planet, killing humanity and giving birth to monstorous insects called Ohmu.
Within this world comes Nausicaa, the princess and heir to the throne of teh valley of the wind. She is born with a unique gift to talk to animals and.....
.....Well, I don't want to give it away, but just so you know, there's a TON of stuff that happens in the manga that DOESN'T happen in the film. In fact, the film only goes up to 2 1/2 of the epic 7 volume series.
I can't stess this enough......I HIGHLY RECCOMEND THIS MANGA! You can get them in there original right-to-left format from Viz publications.
Go read it!
In truth, Miyazaki originally didn't want to make a manga about what was to be his first feature film, but due to Gihbi Studio's lack of funds, a manga was the best way to make quick yen.
Well, it worked. After being serialized in Animege magazine, Nausicaa became the number one heroine in manga and anime history, even more popular than Sapphire from Princess Knight! (ignore unneccessary reference to Osamu Tezuka)
To be perfectly honest, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is the Lord of the Rings of manga. It is completely immersive and moving, complete with various maps of the world, posters, character descriptions, and awesome hard bound editions!
For those of you who don't know the story....
Nausicaa takes place in the far future. Due to a massive war and total pollution, humanity is all but dead. The remains of mankind live in various kingdoms, and are constantly at war with ech other. On top of that, a poisonous fungi forest called the Sea of Corruption is slowly taking over the planet, killing humanity and giving birth to monstorous insects called Ohmu.
Within this world comes Nausicaa, the princess and heir to the throne of teh valley of the wind. She is born with a unique gift to talk to animals and.....
.....Well, I don't want to give it away, but just so you know, there's a TON of stuff that happens in the manga that DOESN'T happen in the film. In fact, the film only goes up to 2 1/2 of the epic 7 volume series.
I can't stess this enough......I HIGHLY RECCOMEND THIS MANGA! You can get them in there original right-to-left format from Viz publications.
Go read it!