Kaze no Tani no Naushika - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
I have recently gone through a Ghibli fest. Meaning I sat down and finally watched all of those movie gems by Hayao Miyazaki I haven't seen before - which included Laputa: The Castle in the Sky, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and finally, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle have been my favourites for years now.
Anyway, Nausicaa made the biggest impact on me, as far as those four movies are concerned and I simply had to get my hands on the official manga. Once I did, oh boy. I read all seven volumes in one sitting (7 and 1/2 hours) and I was blown away. Sorry, Fairy Tail, you have just dropped to the fourth place among my top mangas and Nausicaa took your place (because Berserk and Blade of the Immortal are absolute pinnacles when it comes to manga series).
Anyway, aside from the deep plot, lots of action and the beautiful art (it IS Miyazaki, after all), the absolute best is the portrayal of characters. My absolute favourites are Torumekian Princess Kushana and her advisor Kurotowa. For those who have seen the movie - forget it. Manga tells a different story and those two are unlike their anime counterparts - they are far more evolved and interesting. Now consider the fact that they were very intriguing already in the movie and the manga took it even further.
Kushana is a great woman who inspires loyalty in her army and that makes her family - her brothers and father - fear her. She kicks ass, she cares for her troops, she's cool, a good strategist but still retains enough femininity to make an impact both on the readers and on the characters in the manga. She's not perfect, though and those imperfections make her even more intriguing.
As for Kurotowa, he's a lovable bastard. At first, he's a spy sent by Kushana's father to keep an eye on her. However, being a sly and cunning man with a highly developed sense of self-preservation, he realizes soon enough that even were he to succeed in his mission, someone like him wouldn't be allowed to live, not after finding out about the family troubles. So he throws in his lot with the Princess and in the end, it pays up.
Maybe I should write more about the differences between manga and anime, about the war between Dorok Principalities and Torumekian Empire, about the Crypt of Shuwa, the God Warrior, Nausicaa's Messiah status, new characters Chikuku, Charaku, Selm and Ketcha and so on. But, as with almost every manga I pick up, my attention inevitably shifts to the lesser characters or issues. I still enjoy the main plotline and all but most of my enjoyment came from seeing the Torumekian Princess in action and her advisor's comments on the situation ("Princess. Princess. It's always about the Princess.")
Pick it up. You won't regret it.
Anyway, Nausicaa made the biggest impact on me, as far as those four movies are concerned and I simply had to get my hands on the official manga. Once I did, oh boy. I read all seven volumes in one sitting (7 and 1/2 hours) and I was blown away. Sorry, Fairy Tail, you have just dropped to the fourth place among my top mangas and Nausicaa took your place (because Berserk and Blade of the Immortal are absolute pinnacles when it comes to manga series).
Anyway, aside from the deep plot, lots of action and the beautiful art (it IS Miyazaki, after all), the absolute best is the portrayal of characters. My absolute favourites are Torumekian Princess Kushana and her advisor Kurotowa. For those who have seen the movie - forget it. Manga tells a different story and those two are unlike their anime counterparts - they are far more evolved and interesting. Now consider the fact that they were very intriguing already in the movie and the manga took it even further.
Kushana is a great woman who inspires loyalty in her army and that makes her family - her brothers and father - fear her. She kicks ass, she cares for her troops, she's cool, a good strategist but still retains enough femininity to make an impact both on the readers and on the characters in the manga. She's not perfect, though and those imperfections make her even more intriguing.
As for Kurotowa, he's a lovable bastard. At first, he's a spy sent by Kushana's father to keep an eye on her. However, being a sly and cunning man with a highly developed sense of self-preservation, he realizes soon enough that even were he to succeed in his mission, someone like him wouldn't be allowed to live, not after finding out about the family troubles. So he throws in his lot with the Princess and in the end, it pays up.
Maybe I should write more about the differences between manga and anime, about the war between Dorok Principalities and Torumekian Empire, about the Crypt of Shuwa, the God Warrior, Nausicaa's Messiah status, new characters Chikuku, Charaku, Selm and Ketcha and so on. But, as with almost every manga I pick up, my attention inevitably shifts to the lesser characters or issues. I still enjoy the main plotline and all but most of my enjoyment came from seeing the Torumekian Princess in action and her advisor's comments on the situation ("Princess. Princess. It's always about the Princess.")
Pick it up. You won't regret it.