Nausicaa: Of the Valley of the Wind

[JellyPooga]

Oh my Gods!!!

I was (and still am) a massive fan of the film, so I bought the first four volumes of the graphic novel...ye gods! It's so much better!

I've ordered the last three and can't wait until they come through. Is all of Myusaki's work that much better in written/drawn format than film?

[Matthew]

That's my girlfriend's favourite film. I am not sure if she has the manga. I will have to ask her.

[BrokenButterfly]

I started it, because I enjoy Miyazaki-san's other works. But I only got about half-way through before something came up and I didn't continue it.

Personally I have always thought that Spirited Away was his best film because it's just so beautiful. I've seen most of the Ghibli films, but not all, and I hardly regard myself as some fanatic.

[Dispozition]

Yup...Naussicaa is my second favourite anime, or possibly movie of all time. Princess Mononoke takes out first place.

I've seen almost all of the Miyazaki/Ghibli films except for a couple that are almost impossible to get a hold of without paying large amounts of money to buy from Japan.

I've been meaning to get my hands on the manga sometime soon...And the actual movie as well...I still don't know why I haven't bought it yet...

[Thes Hunter]

When you finish the graphic novels, me, you and Trog will have to talk about the ending. :smallwink:


The film used to be my favorite but Porco Russo became my favorite. I think that maybe film fest is in order in order for me to do some more side by side comparisons. Since I believe I have seen the entire catalog of films now.

However, I have only read the Nauissica graphic novels. Maybe I should buy the Spirited Away ones to see what my Ex-boyfriend (Who is Japanese) was talking about on an environmental theme in that movie. However, I doubt I will ever really figure it out.

[Trog]

Thes lent me the graphic novels which I just finished this week. I have yet to see the film.

My thoughts:

I feel that the Story starts off strong and the world is very rich and well thought out and details emerge at the beginning that are explained later and help immerse the reader in the wonder of the world. But the books weaken nearer the end. It feels like it leaves behind a lot of the character plots in favor of the "message" which leaves the end feeling unsatisfactory. It was going good up until after the wedding thingy and the very beginning of the god warrior part after that. From there it sort of took a turn and seemed like it lost focus. Or that some things that it brought up should have been foreshadowed far before their appearance. The black cube thingy at the crypt. That should have been mentioned mabe back in book one. Like the god warrior. That slowly progressed throughout the story so once it showed up and animated you had been anticipating it. Creating the mystery surrounding that left you wantring more. If the crypt was such a big deal that should have been hinted at too. Kind of like the Crown of Horns in the Bone series. That was done better in that respect I feel.

The illustration is top rate and the choice of what scenes to draw and the angles and whatnot is masterful at times. Though I feel at times when some big event was happening a larger splash page or bleed would have done a better job of conveying some of the grandeur of the world and events than his choices.

All in all a good book and well worth reading. If I appear critical it's because I like to study these sorts of things to learn from them.

[JellyPooga]

When you finish the graphic novels, me, you and Trog will have to talk about the ending. :smallwink:

I'm getting the last three volumes next week (hopefully), i'll keep you posted:smallsmile:


The film used to be my favorite but Porco Russo became my favorite.

Really? Porco Rosso is one of my least favourite of the Ghibli films. What about it do you like so much? To me it seemed a bit flat. Unlike the others, which are all (more or less) set in a slightly bizarre world, Porco Rosso was a Pig-dude in an almost normal one...with no explanation.

[Gorbash Kazdar]

I'm a huge Nausicaä fan (just check my signature! :smallwink:). Hell, I even wrote one my college entrance essays on it. I much prefer the manga to the anime, though the film is very good.

Like Thes, it was my favorite Miyazaki film for quite some time, in large part because it was the very first anime I ever watched. My current favorite one is Laputa: Castle in the Sky, though I've greatly enjoyed all his works.

I'm not a big fan of the portion of the manga from when the God Warrior picks up Nausicaä up to when she leaves the company of the human-looking Heedra, but I do actually enjoy the confrontation at the end. One thing to keep in mind is that manga was written over the course of 12 years, and finished well after the film was released, so in part the ending was probably intended to answer questions left open to those familiar with the film.

In any case, I view the crypt as simply a piece of the overall mystery of the origins and purpose of the Sea of Corruption, the great insects, and the source of the Dorok technology. So, to me, the crypt itself was important only in that it proved to be part of these overarching mysteries. I need to re-read the manga so I can get into more detail, but that's the basics of how I viewed it.

[JellyPooga]

^Tee hee, like the sig! She's got Teto and everything:smallsmile:

[sethdarkwater]

My favorite is porco roso or spirited away. For some reason I don't care for the animation in Nausicca or princess mononoke (although I love them both) somthing about the drawings not being as gentle as in his other movies. The manga is hit and miss when it comes to which is better.

[Hunter_Rose]

The remarkable achievement in Nausicaa is that it was drawn in the mid-80's before any type of computer enhancement programs were availabe (it even pre-dated photo shop which would allow you to add shading to the cells in post production). It's also important you get the re-dub (the version put out by Disney for studio ghibli NOT the New World Version) that has Patrick Sterwart as Lord Yupa. This version has been touched up using photoshop and is a direct translation from the original Japanese version. The New World version is more kid friendly and has the same goofy voices that were used to dub anime pre 1995. Allot more of the themes introduced in the manga are present in the Disney/Ghibli version than in the New World version.

[Gorbash Kazdar]

I second the recommendation of the Disney dub of the film. It's a very watchable dub, and the sub included on the disk is well done as well. I also find the sub amusing since it has Edward James Olmos in it in addition to Stewart, so you get two starship captains. :smallwink:

As for the manga, I recommend the recent Viz release. It's in the left-to-right format of the original, so no panels have been mirrored, and it's full sized. It also has the original Japanese sound effects. Just an excellent version.

[kellandros]

The other thing to note is Nausicaa was Hayo Miyazaki's personal work. He had started the manga in between other projects, primarily before he had his own studio and was directing full time. The movie was created in the middle of the series- he had some idea of where he wanted to go, but hadn't fully worked out the story.

If I recall correctly, most of the other movies were not based on existing manga. They were either based off of physical novels(Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle) or were purely original works. I'm pretty sure the little manga volumes for Spirited Away and the like were put together after the movies.

Porco Rosso is a rather unique movie from Miyazaki- it can be looked on like a mild mid-life crisis. The main character is a middle-aged man(or pig) who has been fed up and isolated himself from the world. It is also among the most straightforward and beautiful uses of flight in all his movies. And it has a wonderfully epic aerial(and ground) duel.

[Joran]

I believe Nausicaa: the Manga was made to make Nausicaa: the Movie. Apparently, they couldn't get financing for the movie without it being based on a manga.

[Gorbash Kazdar]

The other thing to note is Nausicaa was Hayo Miyazaki's personal work. He had started the manga in between other projects, primarily before he had his own studio and was directing full time. The movie was created in the middle of the series- he had some idea of where he wanted to go, but hadn't fully worked out the story.
There are two contradictory stories to go along with why Miyazaki did the manga. In one, Miyazaki was looking to make a Nausicaä film but Ghibli was unable to secure funding for a film not based on a successful manga. In the other, Miyazaki never intended to make Nausicaä into a film, but the editors of Animage were eventually able to change his mind.

[Hunter_Rose]

If you watch the Nausicaa featurette on the Disney disk Miyasaki explains that up until him anime was only made from existing manga. It was necessary for Miyasaki to make the manga first before he could get financing for the actual movie. I really wish he would make the rest of the series into an anime, because there is so much more to it. And I really want to see the big flying navies of the Dorak empire.
Another thing from the featurette is that most of the animators working on Nausicaa made next to nothing (I'm figuring the in-betweeners), and that was a motivating force for Miyasaki to set up studio Ghibli.

[JellyPooga]

I received (and read) the last three volumes of the manga this morning....and was a little disappointed, I have to say.

The first two volumes were, more or less, what you get in the film, so there was nothing really that new there. 3 & 4 I found really exciting - it was new material on the film and the pace was fast, with just enough (but not too many) different plot-lines going on to keep you on your toes...it started going downhill from there for me... 5 killed half of those plot-lines dead with little to no resolution to them, 6 just kind of ambled along killing another couple of plots and 7 took the main story in a completely diferent direction (almost) before just ending it, again with little real resolution.

I'm not saying it was a bad ending, I did enjoy reading it, but I was expecting something...more...or 'different', maybe, would be a better way of putting it. Like I say, I was disappointed with where it went more than anything. I'm not entirely sure where I would have liked the story to have gone, but I have some vague notions of what I was expecting and it didn't really live up to them.

Oh well, still, it was worth buying and definitely worth reading...still my fave Miyusaki film and I'll definitely be treasuring those seven volumes :smallsmile: . I don't quite know what it is about Nausicaa that I like, but like it I do and ever shall.

[Icewalker]

Well, I didn't know there was a manga, but now I'll have to check it out. Saw the movie, loved it, all of his movies have been really good.

I was also extremely suprised to see Edward James Olmos and Patrick Stewart in an anime movie, and found that amazingly awesome, as they are two of my favorite actors in two of my favorite shows. There is even a line by Olmos, "These are some flimsy ships..." where he suddenly sounded exactly like Adama.

[JellyPooga]

Well, I didn't know there was a manga, but now I'll have to check it out. Saw the movie, loved it, all of his movies have been really good.

I was also extremely suprised to see Edward James Olmos and Patrick Stewart in an anime movie, and found that amazingly awesome, as they are two of my favorite actors in two of my favorite shows. There is even a line by Olmos, "These are some flimsy ships..." where he suddenly sounded exactly like Adama.

You'd be surprised at some of the voice actors for the Ghibli films. I know that Christian Bale did the voice for Howl and Billy Crystal did Calcifer (Howls' Moving Castle). The girl who plays Rogue in X-men (I forget her name) does a voice in one film (possibly the girl from Laputa, not sure though).

Take a look at the credits of pretty much any of the Ghibli films and you'll recognise at least one name...

[Icewalker]

Well I've always really loved BSG and Star Trek, so Edward James Olmos and Patrick Stewart just stood out in the credits. I should look closer at the credits.

[Iden Elric]

Oh my Gods!!!

I was (and still am) a massive fan of the film, so I bought the first four volumes of the graphic novel...ye gods! It's so much better!

I've ordered the last three and can't wait until they come through. Is all of Myusaki's work that much better in written/drawn format than film?

You know what we need? A stat block for the Giant Warriors, (the ones responsible for the seven days of fire) being able to throw one of those at your players would be so kick-ass.

[Lethologica]

Mixed bag for me. The movie felt unfinished because, well, it was only telling the first part of a story. The manga is so epic in scope and sprawling in its exploration of that scope that I struggled to keep track of the story. It's all very well-done, but it didn't quite resonate with me.

Alas, I was tricked.

[Cen]

Why are you responding to thread from 2007 o_O

[FilipePassosCoe]

Why are you responding to thread from 2007 o_O

Miyazaki-sama demands it!