Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa

Japanese: 風の谷のナウシカ

More titles

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 7

Chapters: 59

Status: Finished

Published: Oct 9, 1982 to Feb 10, 1994

Genres: Action, Adventure, Award Winning, Fantasy, Supernatural

Serialization: Animage

Authors: Miyazaki, Hayao (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.81¹ (scored by 17,833 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #37²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #272

Members: 61,481

Favorites: 3,535

Resources

Wikipedia

8.81

Ranked #37Popularity #272Members 61,481

MangaAnimageMiyazaki, Hayao (Story & Art)

Add to My List

Volumes: /7

Chapters: /59

Edit
Synopsis

Humanity, once a technologically advanced and thriving civilization, has been pushed to the brink of extinction following a cataclysmic war known as the Seven Days of Fire. The remnants of the human race now live in scattered kingdoms to avoid the unrelenting spread of the Sea of Corruption, a colossal forest infested with dangerous mutant insects and fungi that produce poisonous spores.

Nausicaä, the sole heir to the throne of the agricultural kingdom Valley of the Wind, is thrust into war after an ally kingdom, the imperialist Torumekia, invades the Dorok Empire. Forced to fight alongside the Torumekian military and their cunning princess Kushana, Nausicaä witnesses firsthand the horrors of war and its effect on both humanity and the environment. With her uncanny charisma and gentle nature, Nausicaä may be the only hope for humanity as the ongoing war and the Sea of Corruption hasten the extinction of mankind.

Set against the backdrop of a devastated world, Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä depicts the aftermath of human folly and the immortal power of nature.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit
Background

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä won the 26th Seiun Award in the Best Comic category in 1995.

VIZ Media published the series in English as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in five different formats since 1988. The two most recent releases pertain closest to the original format: a seven-volume release under the Ghibli Library imprint from February 11, 2004, to September 7, 2004, and a complete box set with two hardcover omnibus volumes published on November 6, 2012. (For more details, see the More Info section.)

The series was also published in Spanish by Planeta DeAgostini Cómics from May 2001 to October 2001. The first five volumes were released in Brazilian Portuguese by Conrad Editora from July 2006 to May 2009; Editora JBC has republished the series since August 26, 2022.

Edit

Related Entries

More characters
Characters

Nausicaä

Main

Kushana

Main

Lord Yupa

Main

Asbel

Main

Namulis

Main

Charuka

Main

Miralupa

Main

Ketcha

Main

Teto

Supporting

Ohmu

Supporting

Reviews

Oct 27, 2024

Mara2463

Recommended

Nausicaä – Spoiler Free – Recommended

TLDR
Story – 9/10 – 9 x 0.275 = 2,475
Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6
Characters – 8/10 – 8 x 0.225 = 1,8
Enjoyment – 7/10 – 7 x 0.3 = 2,1
Total: 7,975 -> 8

Story – 9/10
Nausicaä is definitely an amazing story full of epic moments and even better plot lines. Without going into spoilers, the story can be roughly divided into two main sections, cut right in the middle: the first and second half. The first half is a little heavier and a little introductory to the plethora of characters, entities and the very geography of the world ... of Nausicaä, while the second half develops all of the things that were introduced in the beginning, being, in general, the better half of the story. Especially in the second half, there are memorable moments not easily forgettable by any account – and some of the most epic moments in manga history.
Nausicaä, in typical Miyazaki fashion, also tells a tale with an ecological message at its core. This message is ubiquitous throughout the manga and plays a major role during the conflicts – and, on one hand, it makes them just that: useless political strife that causes the death and agony of entire populations. The story is also brutal and incredibly violent: massacres, genocides, forces resettlement, violence, and war: Nausicaä has it all. Since it is action-packed, the reader has little time to dwell on any other matters, being constantly reminded of the brutal world that Miyazaki made.
There are many plot lines in Nausicaä, but definitely the one that got the best execution was clearly the one considering Nausicaä herself – which ends up being the main plot. The other plot lines seemed weaker in comparison – but in no way bad.
Another major aspect of Nausicaä is the impeccable world-building. Nations, empires, fallen kingdoms, tongues, different people, lore: Nausicaä has the capacity to encompass all of these aspects in its plot – and masterfully so.
Violence, Ecology and the Messiah: the three main keys to understand Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Art – 8/10
Nausicaä art is unique, although not stellar.
One can see that the art style is not made by a mangaka by nature but by an animator such as Miyazaki – there is a lot of movement in his art style. In compensation, the art is not that well-polished nor detailed. There are panels that look like more polished drafts than actually fully-fledged panels. The panels that are, indeed, detailed are drowned in it, making it a heavy read.
But Nausicaä's biggest problem is definitely its page composition skills – which are probably explained by the fact that Nausicaä was made in the 80s. He doesn’t organise panels by their importance, nor does he give emphasis – only rarely and more towards the final volumes of the manga. Basically, Miyazaki drew inspiration from French comics and not from his fellow mangaka. This is evident in his choice of format: an A4 page, in contrast to the much smaller pages that are used in manga. There are also true walls of text – pages filled with dialogue – although they are only a few instances of such and almost completely dissipate towards the latter volumes of the work.
All of these make his art a little hard to read. It is too heavy, and the reader has little space to breathe between the panels. There are also no overall scenery panels during fight scenes – which occupy a large percentage of Nausicaä’s panels. Panel fluency also has some problems, although not critical. This isn’t to say that the art is bad – not at all –, but it is far from perfect.
However, the art is semi-functional – if it weren’t so hard to read, especially in the first volumes – and they tell the tale well. It does get better during the second half of the story.
Nausicaä art is great, but one can see its influences and the weight of its age.

Characters – 8/10
Nausicaä’s characters are well-developed and have a firm personality of their own. More than just the protagonist herself – Nausicaä –, Nausicaä counts with a vast memorable cast that just leaves its mark, such as Kushana, Yupa, and even Teto, an animal! Miyazaki once more makes incredible female characters, such as Nausicaä and Kushana. In fact, they are the best characters in the entire manga, being almost polar opposites in the beginning. They share the spotlight and have epic moments, showing that the interaction of both philosophies – an ecologically driven, non-violent course of action and a bellicose path – results in the ultimate demise of the latter. Their character arcs reach new heights in storytelling.

Enjoyment – 7/10
Nausicaä does have some problems with the readability of the first volumes, which hinders the enjoyment of the manga; it either makes you get the deluxe edition for the full experience or makes you reread the manga time and time again. This is Nausicaä's most annoying aspect, without a doubt. In compensation, you have a fantastic story that you will rarely get in a 7-volume manga and also a good cast of characters. On a more personal note, when I point to Nausicaä problems, it doesn't mean I don’t like the manga – quite on the contrary, but it just isn’t problem-free. There is no doubt in my mind of the place that Nausicaä deserves: to be considered a masterpiece and receive an enthusiastic recommendation.

Open

Gift

Dec 11, 2022

AzoreanEve

Recommended

Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind is one of those manga/films duos where, like Akira, I recommend watching the film first and then reading the manga. Get a glimpse of all the cool stuff in the world of the story, and then read the true tale that wants to be told.

Our little princess who loves bugs still exists, she still deals with the Torumekians, there’s still a forest of corruption and a god warrior… but a lot changes. In the books, the war between the Dorok and Torumekian empire for more land takes center stage. Nausicaä sides with the Torumekian princess not because they ...

Open

Gift

Aug 29, 2022

Remster20

Recommended

I wasn't aware that Mr Miyazki himself had made a manga, but I guess it's not too surprising. The new Hardcover bookset is absolutely gorgeous and far and away the best way too experience the story (and is really the only reason I bought it). I wish more manga would follow suit, there is something satisfying about having 2 huge solid books versus like 8 small softcover books that will yellow and fall apart much faster.

Nausicaa of The Valley Of the Wind has a slightly sluggish start, but eventually picks up as the war begins and we get to see the plot start to ... take shape. Nausicaa has the same Ghibli style we are all familiar with, with some of that same whimsicalness and charm in the art and character interactions, but I think it is actually pretty exciting compared to some of the other big Ghibli films (Howls Moving Castle, Spirited Away, etc.) with a lot of war combat and ship flying that I didn't really expect to see in a Miyazaki book (although to be fair I'm not like a Ghibli expert or anything). Nausicaa also has really awesome worldbuilding, there is so much care put into explaining how these new environments and ecosystems behave, along with the creatures that inhabit them; and The Doroks and Torumekians stark differences in culture and traditions make them feel like very convincing people groups (and the wormhandlers designs are so cool.) I am usually not too crazy about how much is left to the imagination in some of Miyazaki's films, too many unanswered questions and loose ends is very unsatisfying to me. I think here Miyazaki strikes a balance I find more acceptable, although the book still does have that air of ambiguity, it's more reasonable with how vast and detailed the world is; and alot of the mysteries that drive the story are addressed. I think this is the advantage of having read Nausicaa Of The Valley of Wind before watching it as a film. There is naturally more time to explore and interact with a story's world and characters in a book; I'm sure the film will still be enjoyable whenever I watch it, but there is no way to fit 7 volumes worth of material into 2 hours without losing that depth.

As far as characters go, Nausicaa is pleasant protagonist, very driven and determined but gentle. I like that as the princess to The Valley of The Wind she is a badass, she has to protect her people and be prepared to eventually lead them as the chieftan, but still has the nature loving hippy side that defines her character. I do think sometimes the story leans a bit too much into that side of her character, like she's not Jesus guys she just likes insects, but for the most part it works. Kushana is essentially Nausicaa's opposite, as she is far more violent and aggressive as a war general, with her princess-like qualities being way more understated. I'm sure this was intentional as a whole "two sides of the same coin" type thing but I'm not getting into all that. There are of course other great characters like Master Yupa and Mito but once again I'm not getting into all that.

Overall I think this was a very nice read. The story definitely does have it's lulls, but with worldbuilding this good it's a minor fault in what I think is a really refreshingly different manga in the abundance of Elves and Goblins and Guilds that we see today. Master Yupa is a real cool dude that's for sure. An underrated classic from Miyazaki himself I don't know how this flies under the radar when so many people worship the Ghibli films, but yea good book I recommend.

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Manga published in Serbian Part 2

by JanVlovski

21 Entries · 13 Restacks

Precious readings

by champilule

22 Entries · 10 Restacks

Mentally Strong/Stoic Women in Manga

by -Hotaru_

43 Entries · 77 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

View All

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa Chapter 59 Discussion jacobpaige - Jul 14, 2013	22 replies	by Uguu_Tsukimiya »» Jan 11, 5:05 AM
Poll: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä Chapter 27 Discussion Tsunamii_ - Jul 7, 2023	2 replies	by Uguu_Tsukimiya »» Jan 9, 8:32 AM
Poll: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä Chapter 4 Discussion almightybismarck - Jul 14, 2024	1 replies	by almightybismarck »» Jul 14, 2024 4:04 AM
Poll: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä Chapter 3 Discussion almightybismarck - Jun 25, 2024	0 replies	by almightybismarck »» Jun 25, 2024 12:23 AM
Poll: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä Chapter 2 Discussion almightybismarck - Apr 29, 2024	2 replies	by almightybismarck »» May 2, 2024 7:23 PM

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Resources

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

More featured articles
Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kaze no Tani no NausicaäNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Resources

EditSynopsis

EditBackground

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More charactersCharacters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

More featured articlesRecent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

More featured articles
Recent Featured Articles