Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Box Set by Hayao Miyazaki
Known for his work on My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle, famed Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki wrote and illustrated the epic fantasy story Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The full series is now available in this deluxe box set, which includes two hardcover volumes with inside colour pages and a bonus poster. It is a contemporary masterpiece.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Box Set by Hayao Miyazaki
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The planet of Nausicaa is post-apocalyptic. Only a few human groups are surviving on the planet after industrial pollution essentially devastated everything. He based this theory on an incident that occurred in Japan around ten years prior when a huge industrial chemical nation unintentionally poisoned a harbour there. He used that as a starting point for his imagination of what an unrestrained industrial poisonous planet would look like. In his universe, insects are now larger, humans are attempting to survive in these altered circumstances, there is still bloodshed, and military operations are still carried out. It’s a highly enjoyable work of epic manga.
What makes Nausicaa so intriguing from the perspective of comprehending Miyazaki and manga is that it includes a very strong female protagonist who is named after the Greek princess in Homer’s Odyssey. A female lead character who was intelligent, non-sexist, brilliant in science, skilled with a sword, and a leader was so unusual in 1981. This was different at the time. Characters like Nausicaa didn’t exist in America. This capable, autonomous protagonist develops into a sort of progenitor for a long series of capable, independent female protagonists in Miyazaki’s works. Additionally, Nausicaa established a template for other manga authors, other anime characters, and even American culture.
