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beccastareyesDay 4 - Favourite Film: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds
I'm a bit in love with Miyazaki moves anyway, since they usually have interesting protagonists and antagonists. And are pretty. I think Nausicaa is my favorite, though I'm also fond of Princess Mononoke.
Anyway, Nausicaa takes place after some kind of ecological catastrophe and war. A good part of the known world is covered by the Sea of Decay, a strange fungal forest filled with giant insects. The spores are (apparently) lethal to most non-residents, including humans, and many older people, even if they stay out of the forest, will eventually succumb to a calcifying death brought on by chronic exposure.
Nausicaa is the daughter of the ruler of the Valley of the Winds, a small corner of the world where the sea breezes and constant vigilance by the residents keeps it habitable. However, the outside world isn't as peaceful as the valley of the wind -- with an ancient superweapon discovered, war comes to the valley and Nausicaa has to protect her home and the world she loves
Part of what I like about Nausicaa is she's a pacifist in a realistic sense -- she can fight, but will struggle to find a solution. For example, early in the movie, she uses lures and other things to distract territorial insects, rather than shooting them. She also is a naturalist of the old school. The first time we see her in the movie, she's exploring the Sea of Decay to locate the shed skin of an Ohmu, a tank-sized pillbug-like critter. The clear chitin over an Ohmu's eyes is wonderfully useful, and Nausicaa just likes nature.
Also, and this speaks to Miyazaki in general, but I don't get the sense that the movie is science versus nature, merely advocating care. The reason is Nausicaa is in her own way, a scientist. She is trying to figure out why the fugal forest is so deadly, and discovers through her own experiments, that she can grow the forest fungi without them emitting their deadly spores -- that the poison comes from the soil and water, not from the fungi.
A word about antagonists. I like Miyazaki's antagonists, because... well, they are nuanced, usually. (I can give you a long essay on why I like Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke.) Neither side of the war looks particularly good, but both show signs of humanity and both are willing to follow Nausicaa's leadership to end the war.
The manga is also good, though it diverges from the movie -- both were written by Miyazaki, but only the first volume or two of the manga was finished when the movie was written.
Previous Days
Day 1 - Very first anime: Speed Racer; Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2
Day 2 - Favorite TV series: Slayers
Day 3 -Your anime crush: Thoughts on anime adaptions
I'm a bit in love with Miyazaki moves anyway, since they usually have interesting protagonists and antagonists. And are pretty. I think Nausicaa is my favorite, though I'm also fond of Princess Mononoke.
Anyway, Nausicaa takes place after some kind of ecological catastrophe and war. A good part of the known world is covered by the Sea of Decay, a strange fungal forest filled with giant insects. The spores are (apparently) lethal to most non-residents, including humans, and many older people, even if they stay out of the forest, will eventually succumb to a calcifying death brought on by chronic exposure.
Nausicaa is the daughter of the ruler of the Valley of the Winds, a small corner of the world where the sea breezes and constant vigilance by the residents keeps it habitable. However, the outside world isn't as peaceful as the valley of the wind -- with an ancient superweapon discovered, war comes to the valley and Nausicaa has to protect her home and the world she loves
Part of what I like about Nausicaa is she's a pacifist in a realistic sense -- she can fight, but will struggle to find a solution. For example, early in the movie, she uses lures and other things to distract territorial insects, rather than shooting them. She also is a naturalist of the old school. The first time we see her in the movie, she's exploring the Sea of Decay to locate the shed skin of an Ohmu, a tank-sized pillbug-like critter. The clear chitin over an Ohmu's eyes is wonderfully useful, and Nausicaa just likes nature.
Also, and this speaks to Miyazaki in general, but I don't get the sense that the movie is science versus nature, merely advocating care. The reason is Nausicaa is in her own way, a scientist. She is trying to figure out why the fugal forest is so deadly, and discovers through her own experiments, that she can grow the forest fungi without them emitting their deadly spores -- that the poison comes from the soil and water, not from the fungi.
A word about antagonists. I like Miyazaki's antagonists, because... well, they are nuanced, usually. (I can give you a long essay on why I like Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke.) Neither side of the war looks particularly good, but both show signs of humanity and both are willing to follow Nausicaa's leadership to end the war.
The manga is also good, though it diverges from the movie -- both were written by Miyazaki, but only the first volume or two of the manga was finished when the movie was written.
Previous Days
Day 1 - Very first anime: Speed Racer; Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2
Day 2 - Favorite TV series: Slayers
Day 3 -
