This post contains spoilers. Some pretty amazing things happen throughout this manga, so if you want to experience them blind, do not read further.
This morning I finished Nausicaa. I didn’t feel anything at first. I felt kind of empty, actually. As the morning progressed into the afternoon, I realized I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It is sad in the same way that Lord of the Rings is sad, and I can easily see the lineage of environmental fantasy from LOTR to Ghibli. If you need another comparison, think of it this way: Nausicaa does for storytelling what Breath of the Wild does for gaming. I read Dune this year as well, and they follow a similar track. I’ve been blessed with great media this year. In short, if you feel very deeply for trees and living things, read Nausicaa!
The movie is amazing, but it is only a shadow of the sprawling adventure held within the manga. So many great characters and moments, not to mention the entirety of Dorok, are cut. I recommend watching the movie first, then trying the manga. It took me a while to build the motivation to hook myself. Exposure to Dune and Moebius help.
War manga? Environmental Apocalypse? Coming of Age story? Medieval Fantasy? Nausicaa has it all.
It is such a moving work, and it is cool too. I mean, it does every cool thing I can think of. It invokes and possibly helps to originate one of my favorite tropes, THE DEVIL MACHINE. I don’t exactly remember where I found the term, but I think its from Earthbound. Giygas lives within this massive organ, a mechanical atrocity that someone in the game calls a “Devil Machine.” It is horrific, and stepping inside it is possibly one of the most memorable moments in gaming, especially as a final boss. The Devil Machine lurks in Nausicaa’s world as well, a perfect “boss” if you will for a war manga like this..
Perhaps I’ll elaborate more, but for now, I need to enjoy a beautiful Friday.
