-Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä, or Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (or just Nausicaa for short), is the epic post-apocalyptic fantasy story by Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli – revered for its hand-drawn animations. This manga precedes that tradition as well as the company in fact, where absolutely everything down to the individual sticks of furniture in the background is hand-drawn by Miyasaki. Perhaps because of that he spent 12 years completing it, taking intermittent hiatuses for featured films. The 1984 film adaptation is made well before the wrap on the manga (1992), hence it falls short of the vision and scope depicted in the books.
The story takes place 1000 years after a cataclysmic event which destroys the previous civilization and leaves the world heavily polluted and its oceans poisoned. Much of the world is covered by the “Sea of Corruption”, a toxic fungal forest that is steadily encroaching on the remaining open land. Humanity clings on in the lands beyond the forest, periodically engaging in bouts of internecine fighting for the scarce resources that remain. The main character is Nausicaa, princess of the Valley of the Wind, a periphery state drawn in to the battle between two of the largest remaining nations when one invaded the other.
My god, if there’s one manga I’d read for the rest of eternity, this would be it. There is no overstating the thought, creativity, and the overall quality of this manga. One of his earliest works, Miyasaki was able to encapsulate in Nausicaa many of his now time-honored themes – a staunch anti-war stance, environmentalism, and the absence of traditional good-evil dichotomies. I have included in this release the entire Nausicaa manga, a screenplay of vol.1 by an anonymous fan, and the prototype entitled Shuna’s Journey by Sc-Scans (I threw in Inane’s ch1 so you can compare). The Art of Nausicaa – Watercolor Impressions is also available.
10 posts! 17 complete / up-to-date series! Hundreds of volumes! It’s been a pleasure sharing the best of what seinan genre has to offer here at MU. And as we all know, mature mangas are the best mangas. Period. Look forward to the future posts where I’ll continue to match quality for quality, quantity to quality, and manicure to pedicure for the best possible read.
-XYZ
Series in Review
◆ Berserk ◆ (Up to Date)
◆ Eden ◆ (Complete)
◆ MONSTER ◆ (Complete)
◆ 20th Century Boys ◆ (Complete)
◆ 21st Century Boys ◆ (Complete)
◆ PLUTO ◆ (Complete)
◆ Happy! ◆ (Vol.1 through 10)
◆ Billy Bat ◆ (Vol.1 through 5)
◆ Bokko ◆ (Complete)
◆ Shamo ◆ (Up to Date)
◆ Koroshiya Ichi ◆ (Complete)
◆ Homunculus ◆ (Up to Date)
◆ Gunnm ◆ (Complete)
◆ Gunnm Last Order ◆ (Up to Date)
◆ Hajime no Ippo ◆ (Vol.1 through 61)
◆ GANTZ ◆ (Vol.1 through 24)
◆ Nausicaa ◆ (Complete)
October 19th, 2011 at 9:46 PM
Tenth post! So happy :D
October 20th, 2011 at 3:25 AM
Oh sweet brown balls of a duck! I think I just experienced the Rapture seeing all these manga up for my reading pleasure… You guys RAWK THE HOUSE!!!
October 20th, 2011 at 7:18 AM
Congratulations on post X XYZ! Will be waiting for your next one. :)
October 20th, 2011 at 8:06 AM
didn’t know pluto had ended, should be good, tx and congrats on your tenth post
October 20th, 2011 at 8:44 PM
Congrats!
What a splendid sight :))
October 21st, 2011 at 1:26 AM
TY TY ^_^
Once I’m back at home I’ll reunite all the archives. It’ll only get better from here on out!
October 22nd, 2011 at 3:19 AM
Thanks for your continued efforts & grat-chul-ashuns on 10th post! This site.. it’s quite literally the Mecca of Manga. If it is a Manga worth reading – a person can always find it right here.
Never run out of steam!
October 22nd, 2011 at 11:11 AM
Another classic I have not yet read…
Also congrats on your tenth post!
October 22nd, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Me neither, I stopped after the first volume.
I remember it being really annoying to read from the way it was layed out and lettered.
And it seemed like generic fantasy genre stuff.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:32 PM
And it’s done. 10 posts.
Nausicaa is a fitting title for the 10th post.
October 24th, 2011 at 1:04 AM
Have to say Nausicaa sure is a fitting 10th post :)
Btw there is two pages missing from your release XYZ.
Between page 288 and 289 in the first volume there should be two more pages. Apart from that the release looks solid, I’ve counted the pages and compared them to an older release.
Link for the missing two pages and log on what pages I compared: http://www.mediafire.com/?usuudarg8j9p67i
Keep up the good job :)
October 24th, 2011 at 1:54 AM
its good to see someone do such a great job of keeping the site going.. well done XYZ :)
October 24th, 2011 at 3:07 PM
I read and I appreciate. Thanks.
October 24th, 2011 at 6:47 PM
^Vanity
Can’t have that! Missing pages included. Thanks.
Art of Nausicaa is up now also.
October 25th, 2011 at 5:12 PM
you guys are just awesome!!!