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brief description
Nausicaä is considered by many to be one of Hayao Miyazaki's finest achievements. A fantasy tale which takes place in a world a thousand years after an apocalyptic war called the Fire of Seven Days. In the years that passed, a mutated forest known as the Swamp of Corruption spreads on the earth. This forest emits poisonous gasses and is inhabited by giant insects. In the lands untouched by the forests and its poisons the remaining humans are divided into three kingdoms Pejite, Torumekia, and the Valley of the Wind. The people of these countries live in constant fear of the ever spreading Swamp of Corruption.
The Torumekia in their efforts to rid the earth of the Swamp of Corruption, destroy the city of Pejite and excavate an ancient weapon beneath the city known as the God Soldier, a fire demon capable of burning the poison swamps. In revenge for having their city destroyed the remaining people of Pejite retaliate with war against the Torumekia.
Nausicaä a princess of a small kingdom known as The Valley of the Wind, discovers through her own research, that the Swamp of Corruption is actually purifying the earth of the poisons left over from the Fire of Seven Days. When the Valley of the Wind is occupied by the Torumekians in their efforts to revive the God Soldier, Nausicaä is taken hostage where she finds herself drawn into a senseless war. Her affinity with the giant insects of the poison swamp and her insight in the important role that nature has in purifying the earth are the only real weapons she has in adverting a catastrophic war.
My Impression
This movie is another great example of the genius of Miyazaki. The depths of imagination and creativity used to create the world of Nausicaä is astounding. Worlds of giant insects, air to air combat scenes of unique looking aircraft, martial art sword play, combined with a story of drama and intrigue. It is easy to see why Nausicaä was polled to be one of Japan's favorite anime characters for many years. Nausicaä epitomizes the perfect character, intelligent, brave, and kindhearted.
Although considered to be a classic by many of Miyazaki's fans, for those not familiar with the story, watching this movie for the first time may find the very involved plot line confusing. I think adults would enjoy this movie more than kids if one could keep up with, who they are, where they're going, and why. I read a lot about this movie and have seen a lot of the artwork for the few years before I was fortunate enough to see it. But to be honest, I got lost when I saw Nausicaä for the first time.
The story of Nausicaä exists in movies, manga, and children's books, both in English and Japanese. The movie exists in it's original Japanese uncut form, subtitled English, and a heavily edited (45 minutes cut out) English-dubbed version called Warriors of the Wind.
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