Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki (Viz Media)

One of Japan’s most renowned anime production companies recently announced that it would be re-releasing their movie soundtracks on colored vinyl. With the opening of the Studio Ghibli theme park in Aichi Prefecture last year, I decided to revisit the first Studio Ghibli title I was exposed to. 

I had originally watched the 95-minute edited, re-cut, and dubbed version of 風の谷のナウシカ (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) released as Warriors of the Wind in the U.S. in 1985. However, knowing that the film was based on a manga of the same name, I decided to read the entire seven volume series in English. 

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is an environmental cautionary tale. It is a dystopian story that is set one thousand years after the Seven Days of Fire, an ecological disaster created by mankind that changed the face of the earth. Humanity survived but most of the earth became a wasteland, covered by the Sea of Corruption, a toxic forest which is protected by mutant insects including a large creature called the Ohmu. 

People live on the fringe of the forest and often engage in battles with other lands and peoples for the few remaining resources. The world has been divided into the Kingdom of Torumekia, the Dorok Principalities and the Autonomous States of the Periphy which includes the Valley of the Wind, Waji Valley, Valley of Sand, and the cities of Pejitei and Pagase.

Nausicaa is the Princess of the Valley of the Wind. She’s a very brave and courageous woman and often explores the Sea of Corruption while riding her glider. When the Valley of the Wind is drawn into war, she reluctantly finds herself leading her people in place of her ailing father. 

The Periphery States are vassals of the Torumekian Empire and they are obliged to help the Emperor who has decided to attack the Dorok lands. Although the Torumekians have a great army, it was the Doroks ancestors that bioengineered the mold that caused the formation of the Sea of Corruption. 

Now, the Doroks have developed a new mold and when used in battle, “its rapid growth and mutation result in a daikaisho” which is translated as a “great tidal wave”. The daikaisho draw the insects into battle killing all in its path - both Doroks and Torumekians.

The Doroks also have in their possession a God Warrior. When Nausicaa encounters the God Warrior and it’s brought to life, it believes that Nausicaa is its mother. Nausicaa finds the God Warrior to be childlike but fears its powers of destruction. She gives the God Warrior a name and convinces it to travel with her to the Shuwa, the Holy City of the Doroks.

Meanwhile, the Ohmu and other insects are trying to stop the expansion of the mold. The two warring nations still don’t realize that it is the ohmu and insects who continue to protect the earth. Nausicaa decides to sacrifice herself and joins the ohmu, however they protect her. She survives but finds a new quest - to seek a peaceful coexistence with the mold and the Sea of Corruption. 

The fact that the mold can be made into a weapon disturbs Nausicaa. It is here where she learns the secrets of the Doroks which were hidden inside a crypt. She decides that the crypt is a danger to the future survival of humanity and orders the God Warrior to destroy it. But even if the crypt is destroyed, what will become of humanity? That seems to be the ultimate question in Miyazaki’s epic story. 

If, like me, you thought the manga serialization was a graphic novelization of the movie, you will be in for quite a surprise. The story is more detailed than the movie. Many of the characters from the movie are more fleshed out and have certain motives for doing what they do. It is a story of intrigue, love, betrayal, and the ultimate fight for survival. As Miyazaki infers in his story, if we don’t take care of the environment now, it could lead to our own destruction. ~Ernie Hoyt