Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Box Set Hardcover – Box set, November 6, 2012

What can I say about this Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Box Set and the Nausicaä manga in general? A lot but for sake of some potential buyers who don't want an essay length review I'll keep things and short and too the point as possible.This is a worthy addition to any serious Hayao Miyazaki fan's collection.For starters its price is a steal for the top rate quality you'll be getting with the 2 hard cover books, a lovely display box for them and 1 colored mini poster. Even if you have the manga in original paperback release I'd still say get this as well, mostly because the print size is larger so you can enjoy Miyazaki's art even better but also the quality is also higher.So that concludes the general reasons to get this now to move on to more in depth details.However before I press on I should make a few things clear about this manga, this mostly for the more new and casual Miyazaki fans who might have just Spirited Away or Totoro but aren't very familiar with the rest of Miyazaki's works. This isan older work of Miyazaki's back before he fully embraced doing work for more general audiences. It a more mature and serious story focusing on subject matter for more mature readers, as such I feel a lot of the stories deeper messages and themes might be lost on younger readers and there for a part of the story's real charm. Armed conflicted is also very central part of the story and Miyazaki doesn't shy away from depictions of graphic violence, blood and gore though never in an exploitative manner and I don't think it would be too much for younger readers to be exposed too though I'll let potential buyers make their own judgement calls. So that is something you should keep in mind when pressing forward with acquiring this.Now review the actual story. To put in simply the plot revolves around Nausicaä, though it does sporadically focus on central key supporting characters to add proper context of whats going on but very smoothly (in my humble opinion) it never feels jarring when it shifts focus and thats largely due to Miyazaki's skill at story telling. The world is in ruins, humanity is on the brink of being extinct and yet on shockingly the few factions that have formed still allow personal ambition and other selfish petty reasons spark highly destructive war. The story works with themes such as compassion, cooperation and respect for the natural environment and learning to live responsibly in harmony with nature while showing grim destructive results of human hubris and irresponsibility. Of course I'm simplifying things here but thats the general gist.Nausicaä is arguably one of Miyazaki's best main characters, and that largely due to the fact that manga gives her character time to be fleshed out and grow instead of limited development time frames plots set in Miyazaki's films generally offer. I am also indeed implying that the manga version of Nausicaä is superior to the film adaption. Nausicaä is princess from a small kingdom tucked away in place called The Valley of the Wind. However since not your typical princess, her parents weren't able to produce a son so her father begrudgingly raised her to be his successor even though traditionally role was for men. Now this some female empowerment story, in fact aside from few off handed remarks early on in the story nobody ever makes an issue about Nausicaä being a woman and lined up to take over after her father passes as ruler. However thats not the actual focus of the story. Nausicaä has a big heart and has room for everyone and everything in it she cares about nature and the creatures of the wild no less then her fellow humans and she understands that if humanity is going to last in its current fragile state, peace and harmony has happen not just within humanity but also with how humanity handles nature. She is not a perfect person though, early on she looses herself to rage and has to live with the consequences, she has moments of doubt, she makes mistakes and despite her huge amounts compassion she still on occasion is overly judgemental of others. However she learns and grows form these things and thats part of what makes her such a great character is she very capable but shes not perfect and is some ways she sort of represents what any one of us should try to aspire to be, she embodies many good values but never to an extent that makes her seem unnatural even if some of the other characters view her that ways mostly because they all live in grim rough times and many folks have grown overly cynical and narrow sighted.Well I think I've gushed enough about this, I said I'd keep things short as possible but looking back now I guess still go a bit carried away (sorry), for those of you who read to the end thanks for putting up with my rambles, I hope I was helpful.G.S. 2/9/2021

Gift 🎁

'Our lives are like the wind... Or like sounds. We come into being, resonate with each other... Then fade away.'I really shouldn't be surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, but I guess it speaks to Hayao Miyazaki's immense talents that he can still surprise me. The man is a master. One of the most intensely creative minds that I know of, and up until now I had consumed his work only in his animated films. Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle.. Yeah, you've probably heard of him. Having never seen the movie adapted from this manga all the way through, I was excited to dive into a Miyazaki world with somewhat fresh eyes.Miyazaki has built a truly incredible world here, you get a sense of that from the very beginning; and his artwork brings it all to life in a way that only he can. One thousand years ago humanity engaged in a war termed the Seven Days of Fire which left the planet reeling and largely destroyed. As a result the world has been contaminated by the aptly titled Sea of Corruption -- a massive forest of poisonous spores and giant insects which thrives and spreads wherever the spores touch. Just one breath of these spores can kill, so the remnants of humanity have settled outside of the Sea's clutches, in areas where the spores cannot reach. One such area is the Valley of the Wind, home of our protagonist Nausicaa. And what a character she is. She who still feels the bond between humanity and nature, understands love for all living things even when the natural world has become a thrashing pool of hostility. She understands that the natural world will persist. It was there before human beings, and it will be there after. And she does anything and everything she can to protect it. This leads her on a wild journey through a war-ravaged country, and envelops her in secrets lost to humanity..Speaking of the ravaging of war, Miyazaki fans will not be surprised to find a deep and complex relationship between two opposing sides; the Torumekians and the Doroks. Nor will they be surprised to find many satisfying aerial combat scenes (Miyazaki has a thing for fighter planes). The battle scenes in this book are surprising in their brutality and realism, even in a book with giant insects and telepathic power. Some of the panels do get a little busy and cluttered, but these moments are far outweighed by the beautiful and detailed artwork.Strong female characters are basically a Miyazaki trademark, so it is no surprise that the two best characters here are Nausicaa and Kushana. One who commands the love and respect of everyone around her, and one who demands the loyalty and adoration of the same. That is not to say that the other characters are negligible; Mito, Master Yupa, Asbel, Ketcha, Chikuku, Miralupa, Ohma.. Miyazaki instills personality into all of his characters. Even the small ones.I can't say enough good things about this book. It went right up on my favorites shelf and I'd already like to read it again, since I read 1000 pages of it and it still wasn't enough. Even the book itself is beautiful. I bought the complete edition on Amazon (for a very fair price) and it is gorgeous. It came in two hardcover book with their own slipcase, full color artwork on the cover and on the first few pages of each volume, and a two-sided poster of Nausicaa and Teto. It is well made and feels like it will last. Which is a good thing since I now want to force my friends to read it as well so it is sure to pass through many sets of hands.In summation and to cease my rambling, Hayao Miyazaki is a special creator. You owe it to yourself to not only read this manga, but to dive into his animated works as well. I've never finished a work of his and been disappointed. I don't expect I ever will.

Gift…PERFECT. He loved it.