This is a really precise analysis, Nausicaa is my favorite ghibli story, there is so much depth, harshness and intensity to the background, so much nobility, love and strenght to the main character, really the meaning of a masterpiece as the best work of a master of his craft
I saw Nausicaa at a very young age in the 80s. For many years I believed i had dreamt seeing the movie. I had vivid pictures in my mind for many years but I could not remember where they came from. One day in my teens I saw pictures from the movie and I could not believe it actually existed. Then I was able to import it on DVD and seeing it again was a revelation. It is still one of my favorite films to this day.
Nausicaa is such an underrated movie! Most people list Totoro or Spirited Away as their favourite Studio Ghibli movie, but Nausicaa is definitely my favourite! The worldbuilding and artwork is beautiful and Joe Hisaishi’s music really ties it together. I always figured that the story felt somewhat incomplete, and after reading the manga I understood why Miyazaki was reluctant to put together the movie, but still an amazing story. Also bonus that Disney brought in Patrick Stewart for Lord Yupa
I always flip between Nausica and Castle in the Sky. I love the characters in Castle more, but I want to get lost in the world of Nausica so much more.
I love all of Miyazaki’s films, but Nausicaa still remains my favorite after all these years. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, the ending always brings me to tears. It’s his epic masterpiece.
I can’t stand any of the dubs though. The only one I ever liked was the original Streamline Pictures dub of My Neighbor Totoro before Disney got distribution rights in North America and re-recorded new dubs with famous actors instead.
sorry, how does this only have 3,000 views? i was expecing at least 10x that when i scrolled down. this was honestly the best ghibli essay i have watched... maybe ever. the comparison with his other movies, the way the wind and life and war themes interact with everything, and to capture that all in only 16 minutes??? wow. just wow. the time whizzed by. i have a feeling i will be rewatching this one a few times lol. this was not only a great video on miyazaki, but of worldbuilding, culture, story, and theme. thank you so much for this creation
The long lasting impact of the bombings from WWII are fascinating. It's almost like an entirely new culture grew from it and Japan moved in a brave new direction afterwards. Looking into The Wind Rises and learning more about where Japan was pre and post-war, I'm obsessed with this idea that Japan would be a vastly different place without having been bombed to hell. Nausicaa seems like a story that would have never been created without the impact of WWII on Japan.
Thanks for the comment, and sorry I'm responding a week late. Yeah, Japan's cultural landscape was totally changed because of the bombings. It is indeed like an entirely new genre of post-apocalyptic visuals.
I think that's also the reason why animes that were made in the 70's and especially in the 80's were that much more thematically powerful than the ones made nowadays : because the directors of that era had experienced war themselves as kids and were traumatized by it. Miyazaki, Takahata, but also Katsuhiro Otomo, Mamoru Oshii, and all the big directors of their generations must have had seen war with their own eyes when they were kids, this is probably why all of them were 1/ so precise in their depiction of it, and 2/ profoundly anti-war to their core. It's something that has definitely been lost ever since, now that nowadays directors were born in the comfortable days of the 80's.
Paradoxical beauty is a good way, especially when it comes to Anime, to describe the beauty for a dystopian or post-apocalyptic future. It’s certainly a good reason why I still enjoy Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind after many years. Thank you for your video essay.
Great catch. It almost seems to be an Easter egg since it breaks the fifth wall by appearing in several of his works. It could be a subtle mark that Miyazaki uses to identify characters possessing a particular archetypal Japanese virtue or trait. It wouldn't be the only time that red was used in manga earrings, for example, to symbolize pre-war Japanese iconography or pride. Red, especially red circles and red rays (teardrops), are closely associated with Japan going back to the Edo period.
@@Geekritique The Ponyo example you used is rather striking. I just watched the video by StoryDive where he goes into the possible mythology behind Granmamare. If she is based on the Bodhisattva Kannon, goddess of mercy, then the red earrings may mark her as a Japanese expression of this goddess and not a Chinese or Indian one, say. She wears a red pendant on her forehead and a circle of red pendants around her neck which again brings to my mind the pre-war Japanese iconography of the red sun and red sun rays. Again, great catch by you guys.
I had my first watch of Nausicaa and I was blown away and was like is it really a movie of the 1980's era . The story is so good but the animation of the movie kept me in awe and I was thinking how this movie can look so good even after almost 40 years ❤ must watch it. Ahh i miss completely hand-drawn animation movies
The opening to this video. Me just sitting there and INSTANTLY noticing one of my FAVORITE pieces of fiction EVER, was like one of the best feelings I've ever felt.
This was beautiful, I very VERY sincerely not only liked but LOVED this video, it made me cry, I dont know what it was about your choice of words and images but it touched me deeply. Maybe because I have such a deep love and fascination for Nausicaä, maybe something else, but all in all this was a most beautiful video essay that I cant believe is just 16 minutes long with the vast amount of information and emotion crammed inside. Thank you for making this.
I just had to disable "Remove UA-cam Suggestions" FFox addon to pay my respect to this creation. Thank you, it has shown me some things I have not yet named but admired in Miyazaki's work. The theme of strong and wise men standing behind strong and wise headed women with even wiser hearts (Nausicaa) ismy theme. And I strive to be like Lord Yupa. Thank you for makeing this with such insight and depth good sir! I'd love for you to make an analysis of the symbolics of Howl's moving castle.
Thanks! Yeah, it’s like hes always trying to catch the wind in action. I didn’t get to it in the video, but in nearly every movie there’s a scene with the wind lifting up the character’s hair. Idk. Maybe I’m overthinking it 🤷🏻♂️
Love your analogy of the movie. Nausicaa is one of my all time faves in the Ghibli movies. I also recommmend everyone to read the manga itself, there's a lot of details there that you'll find interesting.
I really enjoyed this video. I wanted to pick out a particular point you made that resonated, but I think it will all sit with me for a while. So thank you.
This is a wonderful exploration of this great director. Thank you for this. Drawing out his core beliefs and replaying them in his art. Wow. Wish I could watch Studio Ghibli films. Ugh. What a beautiful story. Thank you.
@@Geekritique - Yeah, I can't afford another streaming service. I already did my one week freebie to watch Watchmen and a few other films before they were showing Studio Ghibli films. Ugh. Oh, well...maybe some day.
Now that I've seen the film, I have to say that, even though it's his second feature as a director, it feels like his first that's legitimately cinematic in its own right rather than a glorified TV series. I find it interesting that it's based on his own manga series, since the film doesn't really do much for me, actually. While I appreciate the themes and the visuals, the plot seems to be missing something and I'm wondering whether that has anything to do with it being an adaptation of a series that was, at the time, ongoing. Maybe if I were to read the now-complete manga series, I'd get more out of it?
Great video about my favourite film of all time. Nausicaa is one of the perfect protagonists... kind, strong, but flawed, and with indomitable empathy. Even better in Japanese - NOWSHKA!
hayao miyazaki is indeed one of the greatest animated writers come from japan but i think there is a miyazaki greater than even him one who we all know as the elden lord Hidetaka miyazaki he crafted a world with the help of george r r martin with his magnum opus elden ring. a game that has been blessed by the grace of gold.
I just rewatched it today in a film festival. It was 1/ my first time watching it in a theater (I had seen it 2 or 3 times before, but years ago, and in less than ideal screens), and 2/ right a few days after seeing the new Dune in Imax. And GODDAMN these 2 movies are shockingly parallel to each other !!! The Messianic tale of a prophetized chosen one person, able to understand its environment, a fatally dangerous overwhelming forceofnature, invaded by a ruthless militaristic nation who's trying to tame and colonize the local indigenous people who learned to live with said dangerous environment... While facing mysterious gigantic creatures who are true forces of nature mercilessly able to engulf anything in their path, but also wise enough to be the wardens of their world... The parallels between these 2 movies, split almost 40 years apart, are pretty shocking ! Even though Dune is easily one of the most spectacular movies of all times, and Nausicaä was done in 1984, it didn't age a single bit, and majestically stands the test of time (I'd even argue that it is even more relevant nowadays than 40 years ago) and certainly doesn't have anything to envy Dune in both scope, spectacle, and emotions (I'd even argue that as spectacular as Dune is, Nausicaä made me feel much more emotions).That's really to attest on the absolute genius of Miyazaki (and yes, his childhood marred by firsthand visions of the destructions of war definitely helped bring his vision to life). One of the absolute cinematic masterpieces of mankind's history ! And this essay did a fantastic job at doing it justice.
What an excellent parallel! I’ll have to go back and watch this ahead of Dune! Thanks for taking the time to nail it down for me. I appreciate it. And thanks for watching.
@@Geekritique you're welcome. After having watched Nausicaa for the first time in a theater, and being completely aghast by it, even though it's not the first time I'm seeing it (watching it on the big screen with a good sound really has its effect), I was looking for good essays that would talk about it, and put words on what I was feeling. And yours definitely didn't disappoint. And yeah, definitely have a re-run of Nausicaa a few days before going to watch Dune when it comes out at your place, you're gonna be surprised. Who knows, you might even come up with a video about it ^^ (that I, for one, would love to watch)
Nice comparison, i can see it. Have you read Dune by frank herbet, i highly recommend. Also the Nausicaa manga is amazing if you hadnt read it, this movie is only book 1 of 9 or so in the manga.
@@mmmmmmmmmmm10 I haven't read Dune yet, but the movie is definitely making me wanting to. As for the manga Nausicaa, yes, it was one of the readings that changed my visions on life, some 20 years ago. Little correction : The movie is loosely adapting the first 2 books out of 7.
If you enjoyed this video, then you should absolutely watch Future Boy Conan. It's virtually completely unknown in English-speaking territories, but recently received an English release. Watching Conan will change the way you look at Miyazaki's future works. Many of the inspirations talked about in this video are featured prominently, in their first iteration.
I suggest you watch Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo. It’s a live action short film prequel to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. You should talk about it.
it baffles me you did not mention mobile suit gundam at the start, as its one of the heavy hitters in the anti war culture that was in a lot of early anime.
i just want to let you all know i personally love Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s movies Studio Ghibli to me is the Disney of japan and can very much kick disneys ass animation wise :)
when people talk about these older anime they always mention how the US bombed Japan with fire bombs and the nuclear bombings, but they never mention how japan was actively breaking the Geneva convention. "However, in 1942 Japan made a promise to abide by its terms and indicated it would observe the Hague Convention of 1907" maybe if japan wanted to keep their civilians safe they should not have committed War Crimes 🤷♂
My video is not meant to exonerate Japan’s actions in WW2. Far from it. They committed atrocities of war. Nobody would argue that. However, retaliatory war crimes are war crimes all the same. That said, this video is about Miyazaki’s viewpoint of the war, and how that shaped his body of work. He, a toddler at the time, can not be held complicit in any war crimes committed by Japan during the war. But he was an eye-witness to the retaliatory strikes of other nations on his home. This video is about empathy for human life, not whether a people got what they deserved. 🤷🏻♂️
@@Geekritique There may be a misconception in my post, when I mention Japan and their civilians I'm referencing the Japanese government/ military, I obviously don't think that civilians "got what they deserved" because they are civilians. my point of view on the matter is mainly meant to give grounds for America's retaliation towards a fascist Japan "sharing" it's Imperialism all over asia. I would call it empathy towards China for wanting to stop the Imperial army as fast as possible. It's estimated that about 600 thousand to 1 million Japanese civilians where killed in fire bombings and the nuclear bombs. while across asia during ww2 its estimated that japan killed 3-10 million civilians.
Beyond her appearance, being a young female on a desert planet, the similarities are few and far between. Rey’s origin, lot in life, personality, goals, and abilities are far different.
I actually recently watched this movie. I have seen other Ghibli movies Kiki's Delivery Service, Poyno, Spirited Away, and (recently) Princess Mononoke. Though it has been many years since I saw Kiki's, Spirited Away, and Ponyo, I have a deep fondness for those films. However, this doesn't really extend to Mononoke or Nausicaa for me. This could be due to the fact that I am in my 20s now, whereas I was much younger when I saw the other three films, but I fail to see the "magic" that people mention when talking about Nausicaa or Mononoke. I have separate issues with Mononoke, so for now I'll just discuss Nausicaa since that's what this video is about.
I have watched a few reviews and dissections of this movie to try to understand what makes it so special, but honestly most of it is lost to me for some reason. Though I would consider this movie (and Mononoke) good, I don't know if I personally would consider them as all-time-greats. I understand that not all movies will affect everyone the same way, so it's entirely possible this movie just doesn't speak to me the same way others might, or it speaks to others. I'm not much of an artsy kinda guy, so this could explain why I don't how "magical" this movie is. I'd like to air some of my grievances to explain what I'm talking about. 1. As this video:ua-cam.com/video/2MyzZUnYDcc/v-deo.html explains, one of the themes of the movie is pacifism. Nausicaa, though being very optimistic and idealist, is separate from many other characters in her archetype. Most of those types of characters are shown to be naïve, and don't understand the nuances and complications of the world when their ideals are challenged. Unlike them, she DOES understand the way the world works (perhaps better than anyone), but she STILL chooses to reject the violence and strives for peace. I understand that, but I feel the movie is a bit strange with this message. Toward the beginning of the movie, she kills several men who killed her father as you explain. After Yupa calms her down she realized the horrible acts she has committed and claims she wants the violence to stop. This drives her to go with Princess Kushana as a hostage. But the thing that bothers me is that she never seems to actually show remorse for what she did. At no point does she seem to think, "I could potentially have turned some innocent girl into an orphan, just like me." She doesn't insist on giving them a burial. Nothing. Isn't this a pivotal point for the movie? A huge character moment? Why is it handled like this? Am I the only one who thinks this is weird? Isn't this supposed to be a driving force as to why she wishes for peace? Why she does many of the things she does later? Shouldn't those mens' deaths be on the back of her mind all the time? It seems to have little to do with any of her motivations or actions in the movie. It's not as though she learned a valuable lesson she carries with her for the rest of the movie. She already had those ideals from the beginning, so what difference does this make? Why does this scene feel so insignificant to the rest of the movie? 2. Continuing from the last point, why doesn't she say something when she talks to Asbel after they fall into the quicksand? She apologizes to him for not being able to save his sister (Princess Lastelle), but he counters by apologizing for "shooting down her ship." He didn't JUST shoot down her ship, he killed a bunch of people (many innocent). How does she react? I quote: "It's okay". Um... What? Why doesn't she say something? She stands against violence right? Why didn't she tell him that killing won't bring his sister back? Or ask him if more killing is what would have made her happy? Isn't this a HUGE part of her character? Why does she just casually brush it off like he only accidentally bumped into her on the street? READ THIS COMMENT'S REPLY FOR NEXT PART
SECOND PART: 3. The end of this film is one giant question mark to me. Essentially, the Ohm begin to stampede on the Valley of the Wind. The reason this happens is because the Pejites have kidnapped and maimed a baby Ohm and are dragging it toward the Valley. However, after Nausicaa saves the baby Ohm by peaceful means, the rest of the Ohm just turn and start attacking the Valley. Why? As far as I can tell this isn't explained. They just stopped caring, I guess. Is is because of the "anger in the sky" or whatever the blind woman (can't remember her name) says? If so, why is this never explained? Weider still, after Nausicaa returns the baby and sacrifices herself all the Ohm just stop. Why? I understand the meaning behind her sacrifice, but why would it stop the conflict entirely? Especially after Kushana JUST KILLED dozens or hundreds of Ohm with the Warrior? They just take their baby, bring her back to life (how btw? It's never established this is something they can do beforehand) back and peace out? Why? How does this resolve the entire conflict? Doesn't this feel a little Deus Ex Machina to anyone? Nausicaa makes a heroic sacrifice and suddenly everything's suddenly okay for some reason? Wouldn't it have been so much more meaningful if she just stayed dead? I don't get it. 4. Isn't the WHOLE ENTIRE CONFLICT of this movie based on the toxic jungle spreading? Is that actually resolved? As far as I could tell, the spread of the toxic jungle is not stopped or slowed, so people are still going to die. Yet we see this happy ending style end credits with all the characters living happily ever after. Kushana is sent back to her own kingdom, where I guess they'll just die from the poison, and everyone lives happily ever after in the Valley because the toxins can't reach them I guess (though they had to burn down the forest that helped protect them so I don't understand how they're safe, but whatever). The ending message of this film seems to be: "Everyone on Earth dies except Nausicaa and her village, but who cares? They were violent anyway. The end." Why couldn't humanity live underground, beneath the toxic jungle? I though that scene where she discovers the true purpose of the toxic jungle was alluding to that. But this is never mentioned to happen in the movie. 5. Nausicaa's ideals are never challenged in any meaningful way in the movie. She has this optimistic dreamer type views on the future of humanity and its relationship with itself, and the insects. However, this is never challenged in any meaningful way. Her way always works, 100% of the time, every time. There is no situation in which she potentially has to resort to violence to achieve peace. It's an incredibly unnuanced way of looking at the world. "Violence bad. Peace good." Yeah, but what if you HAVE to use violence to achieve peace in the first place? Wouldn't it be more interesting to see her character get challenged, rather than seemingly always being right? These are my biggest gripes with the movie. Overall a solid watch with some slightly cliché environmentalist and optimistic/ pacifist messages, and a (mostly) well-written protagonist and interesting world. However, I don't understand the "magic", and overall the movie is just okay as far as I'm concerned. Not really an all-time-great. If someone can explain the meaning of this movie better, I'm all ears. Thanks for reading.
I can answer most of these. Almost all of these issues come from being an adaptation of a much longer manga. The film adapts ~1.5 of the 7 volumes of the manga. Spoilers from here on. Also, read the manga if you can. It's really good. 1. In the manga, Nausicaa's father is not murdered by the Tolmekians. She is also not a super pacifist from the get go (takes an old man hostage at knifepoint in the 2nd volume!). The Valley is a vassal state that has some autonomy because it has a gunship. Instead the Tolmekains come to conscript King Jhil and the gunship into a war with the neighboring country, the Dorok Principalities. The Tolmekians land their airships in the Valley's fields spreading spores and some of their men have princess Lastelle's jewelry because they robbed her grave looking for a stone that controls the god warrior. They stop and frisk Nausicaa because they are pretty sure she has the stone and she gets pissed and challenges them to a duel. Yupa intervenes like he did in the movie, but the knight is already dead. Yupa and Kushana cover the death up so they don't destroy diplomatic relations but Nausicaa is pretty sure she killed the knight. She's upset, but everyone is gaslighting her and pretending the man is alive. She talks it out with Yupa latter. 2. Her reaction is also about the same in the manga. I think it's a valid critique, but his country was just genocided by Kushana a week before. His kingdom was also allied with the Tolmekians but relations soured once the god warrior was dug up. 3. The ohmu do not stampede the Valley in the movie. The Dorok set a trap for Kushana (who does not have the god warrior) and use the ohmu to massacre most of her forces. Nausicaa drops the baby ohmu off with some help and the ohmu go away. No resurrections stuff. My guess is that they didn't want such a downer ending to the film. 4. Yep, this is how the manga ends. The toxic jungle is still spreading and humanity is doomed for the foreseeable future. This will take a few centuries, but it will happen. Humanity cannot survive beneath the toxic jungle because it's a bunch of sand. Beyond the toxic jungle is a grassland that humanity cannot inhabit because the air is so pure it would kill them. 5. Her ideals get challenged a lot more in the manga. It also happens on the other end with Kushana, who is quick to resort to violence because it's what she's good at. Kushana mellows out and is more willing to talk things out by the end of the story. A lot of the anti-war themes are lost in the reduction of Kushana's story. The environmentalists and anti-war themes hit very differently in the manga. Often times conflicts have gone too far to negotiate and that's the reality of the world shown in the manga. Pacifism is portrayed as an ideal to strive towards that is not easy to achieve or maintain. Using violence to achieve peace is shown as foolhardy because you should always expect to be re-payed in violence.
I think my biggest critique of your critique is that I dont actually think nausicaa is a pacifist, she seems to be more going for a particular way to fight back knowing that physically she has the short end of the stick. Yes she'd avoid violence as much as necessary but she's not completely against it. Which depending on the person could be pacifism, but I generally like to think she's much more easily compared to modern day deep ecology and the ethics of care. Though those two things obviously weren't considered while writing it, I do think they fit her ethical theory quite well. Everyone is going to react differently in difficult situations, nausicaa shows this, and when people are in high adrenaline, she tried to figure out how to forgive their actions and her own.
Nausicaa is a message from Miyazaki to us, if god created a earth full of wind and water in 7 days, us humans managed to burn it all down with fire in the same matter of time. These warriors are the souless humans we are, who rotten the planet. Blind to how nature only wants prosperity, us humans feel scared to its power to take life and to bring it. It will be when oceans dry, and the wind stops blowing, that we will understand where we failed.
"In Japanese culture, female protagonists are hard to come by." Not true. In fact, looking at the a lot of the most successful and widely acclaimed Japanese properties of the past half century, (especially animated) a hefty amount of them feature female protagonists.
Watching back over the video, I should have made that more clear. As an anime fan, I’m well aware of the abundance of female protagonists. But yeah, Miyazaki’s female character heavy films led many to believe he had a mother complex, as it wasn’t often done.
@@Geekritique That's fair, although even by that point, we'd seen the release of popular films and shows like Belladonna of Sadness, Heidi; Girl of the Alps, Maya the Bee, Anne of Green Gables, Woman in the Dunes, and Female Prisoner. But yeah, they weren't really a majority. I also would agree with the argument that Miyazaki and Takahata were a critical influence on the rise of female protagonists in Japanese media to where it is today.
I was also waiting for somebody else to notice that. And while he is fighting for his claim, its still simply wrong. But when he claims it is because of patriarchy, it is clear he gets his false belief from the feminist belief in the patriarchy and that men hated women, or subjagated them uniquely (as opposed to both genders having restrictions and separate privileges etc...) Also, it seems Miyazaki did have a mother complex since he revered his mother so much. Maybe he rarely saw his father so his mother had such a large impact, or just the type of person she was. I just got this idea from another video where this was discussed. But yeah, men are stronger than women, period. This is biology, so as heroes they will be depicted more. If women dont have babies, then we dont have a human race. And the idea of a period not having an affect on a woman is extremely new due to modern medicine. The whole nature of their biology was a limiting factor in being able to be adventurous. But even so, Japanese mythology has strong female characters in it, and women are plenty revered as mothers had to be strong in their own right. This is more anime related. It is the early days of comics womenincomics.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_Women_in_Manga I remember growing up with so many female action heroes in anime in the 80s. Yes, its after his, but no reason to believe he solely made female heroes popular. As the medium became more popular, more types of characters arose, and therefore more female characters arose. Patriarchy never limited womens creativity. I was reading other articles about famous female authors and artists well before modern manga even. Its sad that feminism has spread so much misinformation about history so they can play the perpetual and exclusive victim of reality, forever harming male/female relations.
The ridiculous submissive and one-sided glorifying of this movie is already way too much but the classic conspiracy theories about the "patriarchial" japan where whamen are oh so opressed made this video so obnoxious even for one of the usual Miyazaki-glorifications.
Thanks for watching. Perhaps a mistake in the delivery, or something I explained too late in my script, but what I actually meant was prior to Miyazaki, female protagonists in anime weren’t very common. They are VERY common nowadays. Should have presented my thoughts a bit clearer.
Very few Western writers explore the paradox of pacifism or consider its virtues, even though it is a component of both Buddhism and Christianity. Nausicaa and Trigun and other Eastern stories do this with great sincerity. I love them for that even though pacifism seems to lead to impossible situations sometimes.
0:25 Mass destruction from American bombing 2:50 Atomic bombs 1:50 Survived American air raids 4:10 Nausicaa manga starts 4:50 The movie that made Ghibli 6:50 Nuke 9:45 Pacifism 10:00 Patriarchial Ghibli tropes - 10:10 Strong women 10:20 Planes 11:00 Miyazaki bombs 11:30 Just like the Nobel Prize 12:00 First Ghibli movie bought by them later 13:45 Get yeeted 13:52 Hot dessert wind - Italy ruled Libya as a colony 14:30 Caproni 15:45 We must live 11 movies so far
Wow... I appreciated the look into this film and Miyazaki as a whole! It was hilarious (but true) to me when you were listing the traits of his films and listed cuteness.
Glad you appreciated it! Also, yeah. There’s no better word that I can think of in English to explain the “cuteness”, but it’s something he uses often.
Nausicaa is definitely my favourite Miyazaki film! I showed it to my children when they were young. I also showed them Totoro. Interestingly, it was my eldest who first shared Spirited Away with me! She's a huge fan of all things Japanese!
Generally, I am not a big fan of what anime has produced over the years. The exceptions of course are Akira, Perfect Blue, Ghost in the Shell, Memories, Metropolis, Paprika, and everything Miyazaki.
this is easily one of the best video essays i’ve ever seen... a couple weeks ago i was looking for a video about this film that accurately reflected its effect on me and this is the only one on youtube that has accomplished it. your channel deserves to blow up and i wish you the best in your efforts on youtube!
This is easily one of the best video essays I've ever watched, and one of the best discussions of Miyazaki's work in relation to his life. This is great work, and Nausicaä is such a wonderful movie. New subscriber here for sure.
What I always found an interesting idea was the theme of some great power before or during the war having designed the toxic jungle in order to reset the human mindset and only allow it to prosper again if they learn their lesson. In the manga not only is there a vault of sorts containing the knowledge and technology of the times before the war, which the people now are unabled to build on their own and literally have to mine out of ancient ruins which Nausicaä in the end has to destroy for it not to fall in the hands of a warlord, but also is nausicaä shown a part of the earth already cleaned from the human pollution and destruction in which life again can prosper in the old ways. In that sense the manga can be seen to strongly advocate those who embrace change and loss, as Nausicaä in that sense is one of the first humans to come to terms with the rebirth of society also in the sense that she and all the others have to die together with the insects and thereby metaphoricaly with the old ways in order for humans as a whole to return. (In the manga this is explained by the humans of the time being dependent on the toxins of the forest to survive). Only if the tendency to cling onto the old ways of living can be given up everyone can prosper again. The humans shown in this work quite metaphoricaly do not deserve to have this technoligy and therefor are literally unable to build it. While an enviornmentalist, Mihazaki still clearly loves modern technology (be it with stilistic alterrations), yet here already he wants to show that todays humans for the most part do not respect the power of technology in their hands. And while Nausicaä sees all of that, she is very much a tragic hero in that she knows that she will never see the results of her struggle, yet she still fights on faced with subsequent doom. This really is my only problem with the film: Nausicaä should have died. I think the message would have been more impactful that way. Yet on the other hand I absolutely love the end of the manga, as I said: while it will take a long time for humans to learn to respect nature and their own technology, they still must live to that day and not give up, just because they know problems won't be solved in their lifetime. I hope you could follow, my english isn't that good.
If you liked this video, you're definitely going to love my video contribution to last month's Director Project: How Spielberg Brought Dinosaurs Back To Life. It's HEAVILY researched and painstakingly realized, and I hope you check it out! ua-cam.com/video/fJF7IMiJDWg/v-deo.html
I did enjoy the video and it reminded me this : "Was my papa brave ? The bravest of us all, because he was never afraid to embrace the things he didn't understand." - Anya - Metro Last Light
Very fascinating essay that really dives into the history of Miyazaki, this film, and how those histories go backwards and forwards to show how it all connects, how it all continues.
Turner classic movies had nausicaa and lauputa playing at 1 am on a school night when I was in elementary school. I stayed up and wqs so blown away I watched both back to back then watched both again right after since they played them in japanese first then english...needless to say I did not sleep that night😅.
When I was little, like kindergarten little, I had a favorite film that I knew for some reason or another as "Choppy and the Princess". I must'v asked my mom to rent "Choppy and the Princess" for me about a thousand times and each time she'd rent it for me, I'd watch it and re-watch it over and over again until that somber bell would toll, "Time... to... take... the... video... back." The film took root deep in my soul. Years went by and life got busier. Video's were replaced with DVDs and eventually the places we'd rent them from disapeared altogether. When I was old enough to look for "Choppy..." I looked and looked and looked. But nothing. I would ask everyone I met who ever claimed to haver an interest in film. Nothing. That brave princess who flew through the skies above desert terrain, those menacing, yet misunderstood giant fishmoths that aged through the sands covered in eyes, the boy with the fiery spirit always too quick to reach for his gun, and of course there was a plethora of characters and themes I'd altogether forgotten, they all remained with me for years until I had no choice but to think them all a dream. But then... Then, when I was 31 years old, I began to work for a company and one of my colleagues was an avid Ghibli fan. One night he leant me his copy of "Nausicaä" and upon getting home, pretty drunk and already sentimental as, I popped it into my PC's DVD slot. Witin ten minutes, my eyes were streaming with hot tears. I'd found my Choppy. Or more specifically, my princess. The rest is history. Nausicaä, as it turns out, is probably the reason that at the age of 44 I'm still single. It's become quite apparent to me that she formed the archetype of my goddess. Every aspect of her character is to me something divine. Why shouldn't it be so? She stilled the raging ohmu with a few flashbangs and charmed it home with a little hand-held wind-powered noisemaker. She sacrificed her very life to stop the devastation that up to that point seemed inevitable and sure to destroy everything she loved, which was, well, everything. I'm no animator, though I dabble in storytelling, and Hayao Miyazaki is among my top three greatest heroes of all time.He taught nme love before I knew how to read the title on a VHS cassette cover. A man like that with a spirit like that can never die, and thanks the gods for that.
For any Nausicaa fans, do yourself a favour and find [Joe Hisaishi in Budokan] Studio Ghibli 25 Years Concert [HD 1080p] here on youtube. It opens with Nausicaa and is profoundly moving.
Nausicaa, to this day, is my favorite character to point to as a strong female protagonist. I absolutely everything about her and her story! Probably why its also my #1 favorite Ghibli film
Thank you. There's not a lot of video essays on Nausicaa, but this is easily the best one. Exploring the themes not just as they relate to the movie, but how they intertwine with the authors metavision of the world and their own past is exactly what I watch these kinds of videos for You just got yourself a subscriber
nausicaa was supposed to be a movie but the idea was constantly shut down because of no origonal work to base it off of, so they made it, miyazaki wasnt happy with making a manga JUST to base the movie off of it because he saw it as disrespectfil to the art form, so he made an entire manga instead of just *enough* for the movie to work
This isn’t necessarily true, as the two stories diverge tremendously, and it was Toshio Suzuki that had to tell Miyazaki that he should adapt the manga he was already working on.
How does nobody ever bring up the importance of romanticism in Miyazaki's movies. The motives are actually similar to a point where video essayists who talk about his work could as well be making a video on the German romantic Casper David Friedrich or even Joseph von Eichendorff.
Really pleased you liked the video. And I’m sorry, I just don’t know what track I used. It’s been so long since I put it together. But this was one of the first videos I was using Epidemic Sound for, so your best bet would be to look on there for mood music that matches the track you’re looking for.
I hope you all enjoy the video!
This is a really precise analysis, Nausicaa is my favorite ghibli story, there is so much depth, harshness and intensity to the background, so much nobility, love and strenght to the main character, really the meaning of a masterpiece as the best work of a master of his craft
I saw Nausicaa at a very young age in the 80s. For many years I believed i had dreamt seeing the movie. I had vivid pictures in my mind for many years but I could not remember where they came from. One day in my teens I saw pictures from the movie and I could not believe it actually existed. Then I was able to import it on DVD and seeing it again was a revelation. It is still one of my favorite films to this day.
Love this story! Too cool. Glad you got to see it again, to believe it.
Nausicaa is such an underrated movie! Most people list Totoro or Spirited Away as their favourite Studio Ghibli movie, but Nausicaa is definitely my favourite! The worldbuilding and artwork is beautiful and Joe Hisaishi’s music really ties it together. I always figured that the story felt somewhat incomplete, and after reading the manga I understood why Miyazaki was reluctant to put together the movie, but still an amazing story. Also bonus that Disney brought in Patrick Stewart for Lord Yupa
Nausicaa is my favorite too.
I always flip between Nausica and Castle in the Sky. I love the characters in Castle more, but I want to get lost in the world of Nausica so much more.
The Nausicaa theme is the embodiment of Grief, I love it so much.
I love all of Miyazaki’s films, but Nausicaa still remains my favorite after all these years. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, the ending always brings me to tears. It’s his epic masterpiece.
I can’t stand any of the dubs though. The only one I ever liked was the original Streamline Pictures dub of My Neighbor Totoro before Disney got distribution rights in North America and re-recorded new dubs with famous actors instead.
I'm not crying, I've just got some toxic fungi spores in my eye :'))
Glad you liked the video!
sorry, how does this only have 3,000 views? i was expecing at least 10x that when i scrolled down. this was honestly the best ghibli essay i have watched... maybe ever. the comparison with his other movies, the way the wind and life and war themes interact with everything, and to capture that all in only 16 minutes??? wow. just wow. the time whizzed by. i have a feeling i will be rewatching this one a few times lol. this was not only a great video on miyazaki, but of worldbuilding, culture, story, and theme. thank you so much for this creation
This might be the best comment I’ve ever received. Thank you so much. I’m so pleased you enjoyed the video!
The long lasting impact of the bombings from WWII are fascinating. It's almost like an entirely new culture grew from it and Japan moved in a brave new direction afterwards. Looking into The Wind Rises and learning more about where Japan was pre and post-war, I'm obsessed with this idea that Japan would be a vastly different place without having been bombed to hell. Nausicaa seems like a story that would have never been created without the impact of WWII on Japan.
Thanks for the comment, and sorry I'm responding a week late. Yeah, Japan's cultural landscape was totally changed because of the bombings. It is indeed like an entirely new genre of post-apocalyptic visuals.
I think that's also the reason why animes that were made in the 70's and especially in the 80's were that much more thematically powerful than the ones made nowadays : because the directors of that era had experienced war themselves as kids and were traumatized by it. Miyazaki, Takahata, but also Katsuhiro Otomo, Mamoru Oshii, and all the big directors of their generations must have had seen war with their own eyes when they were kids, this is probably why all of them were 1/ so precise in their depiction of it, and 2/ profoundly anti-war to their core.
It's something that has definitely been lost ever since, now that nowadays directors were born in the comfortable days of the 80's.
The intro is so perfect. The music and tapestry perfection
Thank you! Very pleased you enjoy it.
Paradoxical beauty is a good way, especially when it comes to Anime, to describe the beauty for a dystopian or post-apocalyptic future. It’s certainly a good reason why I still enjoy Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind after many years. Thank you for your video essay.
You’re very welcome! Glad you agree with the topic and appreciated it.
Great stuff Dak, this helped me understand and appreciate the movie more.
Thanks man, glad you found some new love for the movie!
Really hope someone answers the earrings question lol
For real. That’s a seriously game changing discovery you noticed. Thanks for telling me. Couldn’t find anything on it online.
Great catch. It almost seems to be an Easter egg since it breaks the fifth wall by appearing in several of his works. It could be a subtle mark that Miyazaki uses to identify characters possessing a particular archetypal Japanese virtue or trait. It wouldn't be the only time that red was used in manga earrings, for example, to symbolize pre-war Japanese iconography or pride. Red, especially red circles and red rays (teardrops), are closely associated with Japan going back to the Edo period.
@@Geekritique The Ponyo example you used is rather striking. I just watched the video by StoryDive where he goes into the possible mythology behind Granmamare. If she is based on the Bodhisattva Kannon, goddess of mercy, then the red earrings may mark her as a Japanese expression of this goddess and not a Chinese or Indian one, say. She wears a red pendant on her forehead and a circle of red pendants around her neck which again brings to my mind the pre-war Japanese iconography of the red sun and red sun rays. Again, great catch by you guys.
I had my first watch of Nausicaa and I was blown away and was like is it really a movie of the 1980's era . The story is so good but the animation of the movie kept me in awe and I was thinking how this movie can look so good even after almost 40 years ❤ must watch it. Ahh i miss completely hand-drawn animation movies
The opening to this video. Me just sitting there and INSTANTLY noticing one of my FAVORITE pieces of fiction EVER, was like one of the best feelings I've ever felt.
I’m very pleased. Thanks for watching!
This was beautiful, I very VERY sincerely not only liked but LOVED this video, it made me cry, I dont know what it was about your choice of words and images but it touched me deeply. Maybe because I have such a deep love and fascination for Nausicaä, maybe something else, but all in all this was a most beautiful video essay that I cant believe is just 16 minutes long with the vast amount of information and emotion crammed inside.
Thank you for making this.
You’re very welcome. And thank you for the wonderful comment. So happy you and others are appreciating it.
I just had to disable "Remove UA-cam Suggestions" FFox addon to pay my respect to this creation. Thank you, it has shown me some things I have not yet named but admired in Miyazaki's work.
The theme of strong and wise men standing behind strong and wise headed women with even wiser hearts (Nausicaa) ismy theme.
And I strive to be like Lord Yupa.
Thank you for makeing this with such insight and depth good sir!
I'd love for you to make an analysis of the symbolics of Howl's moving castle.
Very pleased you liked it, thanks so much! I’d love to tackle Howl’s some day!
Great video man, never thought about it until you laid it out like that but his career kinda begins and ends with The Wind
Thanks! Yeah, it’s like hes always trying to catch the wind in action. I didn’t get to it in the video, but in nearly every movie there’s a scene with the wind lifting up the character’s hair. Idk. Maybe I’m overthinking it 🤷🏻♂️
Love your analogy of the movie. Nausicaa is one of my all time faves in the Ghibli movies.
I also recommmend everyone to read the manga itself, there's a lot of details there that you'll find interesting.
I really enjoyed this video. I wanted to pick out a particular point you made that resonated, but I think it will all sit with me for a while. So thank you.
Aw man, thanks! That’s the best comment I’ve got in a while. Very happy you enjoyed it!
Incredible video essay, thanks so much for your insight :)
Thank you! You’re very welcome.
Well done Dakota. This is what you were meant to do. Amazing presentation and history lesson on one of the greatest animators ever
This is a very nice comment. Thank you for watching! 🙏
This is a wonderful exploration of this great director. Thank you for this. Drawing out his core beliefs and replaying them in his art. Wow. Wish I could watch Studio Ghibli films. Ugh. What a beautiful story. Thank you.
If you have (or if you have any plans to get) HBO Max, all Studio Ghibli films are located there.
But thank you! I’m very happy you enjoyed the video!
@@Geekritique - Yeah, I can't afford another streaming service. I already did my one week freebie to watch Watchmen and a few other films before they were showing Studio Ghibli films. Ugh. Oh, well...maybe some day.
@@Geekritique - Oh, thank you. Amazing job. I've watched six of the video essays already. I'll do some more later. Yours was my first, though.
Glad to hear it, Graff. Thanks for watching.
hopeful 2021 will be a better year
Me too.
What a lovely essay, so powerful and beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with us
Very glad to share it! Glad you enjoyed.
Really awesome video - choked me up in several moments
I’m glad to hear it touched you in that way. Thanks for watching!
I really enjoyed your essay, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.
Now that I've seen the film, I have to say that, even though it's his second feature as a director, it feels like his first that's legitimately cinematic in its own right rather than a glorified TV series. I find it interesting that it's based on his own manga series, since the film doesn't really do much for me, actually. While I appreciate the themes and the visuals, the plot seems to be missing something and I'm wondering whether that has anything to do with it being an adaptation of a series that was, at the time, ongoing. Maybe if I were to read the now-complete manga series, I'd get more out of it?
Most people do consider the film to be a highly truncated version of just a small portion of his manga. I’d recommend it!
this deserves so many more views
Agreed!
Fantastic work
Great video about my favourite film of all time. Nausicaa is one of the perfect protagonists... kind, strong, but flawed, and with indomitable empathy. Even better in Japanese - NOWSHKA!
So glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching. It’s one of my favorites as well.
This is a really nice observation of all Miyazaki's work. Superb analysis!
Thank you so much! Very kind.
The angel of light has come
Oh nice
Quite a brilliant way to introduce newcomers I feel.
Well done.
Thanks for watching!
hayao miyazaki is indeed one of the greatest animated writers come from japan but i think there is a miyazaki greater than even him one who we all know as the elden lord Hidetaka miyazaki he crafted a world with the help of george r r martin with his magnum opus elden ring. a game that has been blessed by the grace of gold.
Ghibli studio should be regarded as a treasure of the entire world.
Agreed!
Finally someone said something abt the repeating earrings
I’m so curious about them!
I just rewatched it today in a film festival. It was 1/ my first time watching it in a theater (I had seen it 2 or 3 times before, but years ago, and in less than ideal screens), and 2/ right a few days after seeing the new Dune in Imax.
And GODDAMN these 2 movies are shockingly parallel to each other !!!
The Messianic tale of a prophetized chosen one person, able to understand its environment, a fatally dangerous overwhelming forceofnature, invaded by a ruthless militaristic nation who's trying to tame and colonize the local indigenous people who learned to live with said dangerous environment... While facing mysterious gigantic creatures who are true forces of nature mercilessly able to engulf anything in their path, but also wise enough to be the wardens of their world...
The parallels between these 2 movies, split almost 40 years apart, are pretty shocking !
Even though Dune is easily one of the most spectacular movies of all times, and Nausicaä was done in 1984, it didn't age a single bit, and majestically stands the test of time (I'd even argue that it is even more relevant nowadays than 40 years ago) and certainly doesn't have anything to envy Dune in both scope, spectacle, and emotions (I'd even argue that as spectacular as Dune is, Nausicaä made me feel much more emotions).That's really to attest on the absolute genius of Miyazaki (and yes, his childhood marred by firsthand visions of the destructions of war definitely helped bring his vision to life).
One of the absolute cinematic masterpieces of mankind's history !
And this essay did a fantastic job at doing it justice.
What an excellent parallel! I’ll have to go back and watch this ahead of Dune! Thanks for taking the time to nail it down for me. I appreciate it. And thanks for watching.
@@Geekritique you're welcome.
After having watched Nausicaa for the first time in a theater, and being completely aghast by it, even though it's not the first time I'm seeing it (watching it on the big screen with a good sound really has its effect), I was looking for good essays that would talk about it, and put words on what I was feeling. And yours definitely didn't disappoint.
And yeah, definitely have a re-run of Nausicaa a few days before going to watch Dune when it comes out at your place, you're gonna be surprised. Who knows, you might even come up with a video about it ^^ (that I, for one, would love to watch)
Nice comparison, i can see it. Have you read Dune by frank herbet, i highly recommend. Also the Nausicaa manga is amazing if you hadnt read it, this movie is only book 1 of 9 or so in the manga.
@@mmmmmmmmmmm10 I haven't read Dune yet, but the movie is definitely making me wanting to.
As for the manga Nausicaa, yes, it was one of the readings that changed my visions on life, some 20 years ago.
Little correction : The movie is loosely adapting the first 2 books out of 7.
Please make star wars timeline video (i don't really need it, i just like your way of describing timelines)
I’ll have to do that then!
Great video, looking forward to next month's video.
Thanks Dan!
Amazing video! Great job, man.
Thank you very much.
Gibli is still my most favorite studio
Great video, hope more people discover your channel!
Thank you very much!
5:22 Ah, the spores have returned as cordyceps
If you enjoyed this video, then you should absolutely watch Future Boy Conan. It's virtually completely unknown in English-speaking territories, but recently received an English release. Watching Conan will change the way you look at Miyazaki's future works. Many of the inspirations talked about in this video are featured prominently, in their first iteration.
Great essay!
Thank you very much!
When is version 7.0.0 o f the mcu chronological timeline coming out i have been waiting
I suggest you watch Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo. It’s a live action short film prequel to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. You should talk about it.
What is the music used from 13:15?
Interesting film.
It is!
it baffles me you did not mention mobile suit gundam at the start, as its one of the heavy hitters in the anti war culture that was in a lot of early anime.
Sorry 🤷🏻♂️
Got one on Shinkai?
I love Naussicä
i just want to let you all know i personally love Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s movies Studio Ghibli to me is the Disney of japan and can very much kick disneys ass animation wise :)
Lol, no disagreements here.
A new wind in the Anime industry... That's a powerful Ethos for a company.
Yes! My thoughts exactly when I learned that.
@@Geekritique Awesome content 👍❤
when people talk about these older anime they always mention how the US bombed Japan with fire bombs and the nuclear bombings, but they never mention how japan was actively breaking the Geneva convention.
"However, in 1942 Japan made a promise to abide by its terms and indicated it would observe the Hague Convention of 1907" maybe if japan wanted to keep their civilians safe they should not have committed War Crimes 🤷♂
My video is not meant to exonerate Japan’s actions in WW2. Far from it. They committed atrocities of war. Nobody would argue that. However, retaliatory war crimes are war crimes all the same.
That said, this video is about Miyazaki’s viewpoint of the war, and how that shaped his body of work. He, a toddler at the time, can not be held complicit in any war crimes committed by Japan during the war. But he was an eye-witness to the retaliatory strikes of other nations on his home.
This video is about empathy for human life, not whether a people got what they deserved. 🤷🏻♂️
@@Geekritique There may be a misconception in my post, when I mention Japan and their civilians I'm referencing the Japanese government/ military, I obviously don't think that civilians "got what they deserved" because they are civilians. my point of view on the matter is mainly meant to give grounds for America's retaliation towards a fascist Japan "sharing" it's Imperialism all over asia.
I would call it empathy towards China for wanting to stop the Imperial army as fast as possible. It's estimated that about 600 thousand to 1 million Japanese civilians where killed in fire bombings and the nuclear bombs. while across asia during ww2 its estimated that japan killed 3-10 million civilians.
What anime is 07:02?
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Miyazaki’s first film.
Howls moving castle
Seems almost like JarJar Abrams ripped off Nausicaa for his Rey of the Disney Starwars Trilogy. Similarities are striking
Beyond her appearance, being a young female on a desert planet, the similarities are few and far between. Rey’s origin, lot in life, personality, goals, and abilities are far different.
Nausica also doesn't wear pants or panties.
Well, it looks like that at first glance. But her leggings are there.
🤣 she has pants, they’re just the same color as her skin
Well, even the manga has her shirt got ripped by a man-made monster.
She does, if you look it a slightly different color to her skin
I thought humans found the giant warriors and tried to use them for war
If they did in the manga, I don’t know, but that’s not stated in the movie.
I actually recently watched this movie. I have seen other Ghibli movies Kiki's Delivery Service, Poyno, Spirited Away, and (recently) Princess Mononoke. Though it has been many years since I saw Kiki's, Spirited Away, and Ponyo, I have a deep fondness for those films. However, this doesn't really extend to Mononoke or Nausicaa for me. This could be due to the fact that I am in my 20s now, whereas I was much younger when I saw the other three films, but I fail to see the "magic" that people mention when talking about Nausicaa or Mononoke. I have separate issues with Mononoke, so for now I'll just discuss Nausicaa since that's what this video is about.
I have watched a few reviews and dissections of this movie to try to understand what makes it so special, but honestly most of it is lost to me for some reason. Though I would consider this movie (and Mononoke) good, I don't know if I personally would consider them as all-time-greats. I understand that not all movies will affect everyone the same way, so it's entirely possible this movie just doesn't speak to me the same way others might, or it speaks to others. I'm not much of an artsy kinda guy, so this could explain why I don't how "magical" this movie is. I'd like to air some of my grievances to explain what I'm talking about.
1. As this video:ua-cam.com/video/2MyzZUnYDcc/v-deo.html explains, one of the themes of the movie is pacifism. Nausicaa, though being very optimistic and idealist, is separate from many other characters in her archetype. Most of those types of characters are shown to be naïve, and don't understand the nuances and complications of the world when their ideals are challenged. Unlike them, she DOES understand the way the world works (perhaps better than anyone), but she STILL chooses to reject the violence and strives for peace. I understand that, but I feel the movie is a bit strange with this message. Toward the beginning of the movie, she kills several men who killed her father as you explain. After Yupa calms her down she realized the horrible acts she has committed and claims she wants the violence to stop. This drives her to go with Princess Kushana as a hostage. But the thing that bothers me is that she never seems to actually show remorse for what she did. At no point does she seem to think, "I could potentially have turned some innocent girl into an orphan, just like me." She doesn't insist on giving them a burial. Nothing. Isn't this a pivotal point for the movie? A huge character moment? Why is it handled like this? Am I the only one who thinks this is weird? Isn't this supposed to be a driving force as to why she wishes for peace? Why she does many of the things she does later? Shouldn't those mens' deaths be on the back of her mind all the time? It seems to have little to do with any of her motivations or actions in the movie. It's not as though she learned a valuable lesson she carries with her for the rest of the movie. She already had those ideals from the beginning, so what difference does this make? Why does this scene feel so insignificant to the rest of the movie?
2. Continuing from the last point, why doesn't she say something when she talks to Asbel after they fall into the quicksand? She apologizes to him for not being able to save his sister (Princess Lastelle), but he counters by apologizing for "shooting down her ship." He didn't JUST shoot down her ship, he killed a bunch of people (many innocent). How does she react? I quote: "It's okay". Um... What? Why doesn't she say something? She stands against violence right? Why didn't she tell him that killing won't bring his sister back? Or ask him if more killing is what would have made her happy? Isn't this a HUGE part of her character? Why does she just casually brush it off like he only accidentally bumped into her on the street?
READ THIS COMMENT'S REPLY FOR NEXT PART
SECOND PART:
3. The end of this film is one giant question mark to me. Essentially, the Ohm begin to stampede on the Valley of the Wind. The reason this happens is because the Pejites have kidnapped and maimed a baby Ohm and are dragging it toward the Valley. However, after Nausicaa saves the baby Ohm by peaceful means, the rest of the Ohm just turn and start attacking the Valley. Why? As far as I can tell this isn't explained. They just stopped caring, I guess. Is is because of the "anger in the sky" or whatever the blind woman (can't remember her name) says? If so, why is this never explained? Weider still, after Nausicaa returns the baby and sacrifices herself all the Ohm just stop. Why? I understand the meaning behind her sacrifice, but why would it stop the conflict entirely? Especially after Kushana JUST KILLED dozens or hundreds of Ohm with the Warrior? They just take their baby, bring her back to life (how btw? It's never established this is something they can do beforehand) back and peace out? Why? How does this resolve the entire conflict? Doesn't this feel a little Deus Ex Machina to anyone? Nausicaa makes a heroic sacrifice and suddenly everything's suddenly okay for some reason? Wouldn't it have been so much more meaningful if she just stayed dead? I don't get it.
4. Isn't the WHOLE ENTIRE CONFLICT of this movie based on the toxic jungle spreading? Is that actually resolved? As far as I could tell, the spread of the toxic jungle is not stopped or slowed, so people are still going to die. Yet we see this happy ending style end credits with all the characters living happily ever after. Kushana is sent back to her own kingdom, where I guess they'll just die from the poison, and everyone lives happily ever after in the Valley because the toxins can't reach them I guess (though they had to burn down the forest that helped protect them so I don't understand how they're safe, but whatever). The ending message of this film seems to be: "Everyone on Earth dies except Nausicaa and her village, but who cares? They were violent anyway. The end." Why couldn't humanity live underground, beneath the toxic jungle? I though that scene where she discovers the true purpose of the toxic jungle was alluding to that. But this is never mentioned to happen in the movie.
5. Nausicaa's ideals are never challenged in any meaningful way in the movie. She has this optimistic dreamer type views on the future of humanity and its relationship with itself, and the insects. However, this is never challenged in any meaningful way. Her way always works, 100% of the time, every time. There is no situation in which she potentially has to resort to violence to achieve peace. It's an incredibly unnuanced way of looking at the world. "Violence bad. Peace good." Yeah, but what if you HAVE to use violence to achieve peace in the first place? Wouldn't it be more interesting to see her character get challenged, rather than seemingly always being right?
These are my biggest gripes with the movie. Overall a solid watch with some slightly cliché environmentalist and optimistic/ pacifist messages, and a (mostly) well-written protagonist and interesting world. However, I don't understand the "magic", and overall the movie is just okay as far as I'm concerned. Not really an all-time-great. If someone can explain the meaning of this movie better, I'm all ears. Thanks for reading.
So... nothing to say about the video I’ve made? Just criticisms you have against the movie? Okay. Cool.
@@Geekritique The video you made was good dude. I was just hoping you could enlighten me is all.
I can answer most of these. Almost all of these issues come from being an adaptation of a much longer manga. The film adapts ~1.5 of the 7 volumes of the manga. Spoilers from here on. Also, read the manga if you can. It's really good.
1. In the manga, Nausicaa's father is not murdered by the Tolmekians. She is also not a super pacifist from the get go (takes an old man hostage at knifepoint in the 2nd volume!). The Valley is a vassal state that has some autonomy because it has a gunship. Instead the Tolmekains come to conscript King Jhil and the gunship into a war with the neighboring country, the Dorok Principalities. The Tolmekians land their airships in the Valley's fields spreading spores and some of their men have princess Lastelle's jewelry because they robbed her grave looking for a stone that controls the god warrior. They stop and frisk Nausicaa because they are pretty sure she has the stone and she gets pissed and challenges them to a duel. Yupa intervenes like he did in the movie, but the knight is already dead. Yupa and Kushana cover the death up so they don't destroy diplomatic relations but Nausicaa is pretty sure she killed the knight. She's upset, but everyone is gaslighting her and pretending the man is alive. She talks it out with Yupa latter.
2. Her reaction is also about the same in the manga. I think it's a valid critique, but his country was just genocided by Kushana a week before. His kingdom was also allied with the Tolmekians but relations soured once the god warrior was dug up.
3. The ohmu do not stampede the Valley in the movie. The Dorok set a trap for Kushana (who does not have the god warrior) and use the ohmu to massacre most of her forces. Nausicaa drops the baby ohmu off with some help and the ohmu go away. No resurrections stuff. My guess is that they didn't want such a downer ending to the film.
4. Yep, this is how the manga ends. The toxic jungle is still spreading and humanity is doomed for the foreseeable future. This will take a few centuries, but it will happen. Humanity cannot survive beneath the toxic jungle because it's a bunch of sand. Beyond the toxic jungle is a grassland that humanity cannot inhabit because the air is so pure it would kill them.
5. Her ideals get challenged a lot more in the manga. It also happens on the other end with Kushana, who is quick to resort to violence because it's what she's good at. Kushana mellows out and is more willing to talk things out by the end of the story. A lot of the anti-war themes are lost in the reduction of Kushana's story.
The environmentalists and anti-war themes hit very differently in the manga. Often times conflicts have gone too far to negotiate and that's the reality of the world shown in the manga. Pacifism is portrayed as an ideal to strive towards that is not easy to achieve or maintain. Using violence to achieve peace is shown as foolhardy because you should always expect to be re-payed in violence.
I think my biggest critique of your critique is that I dont actually think nausicaa is a pacifist, she seems to be more going for a particular way to fight back knowing that physically she has the short end of the stick. Yes she'd avoid violence as much as necessary but she's not completely against it. Which depending on the person could be pacifism, but I generally like to think she's much more easily compared to modern day deep ecology and the ethics of care. Though those two things obviously weren't considered while writing it, I do think they fit her ethical theory quite well. Everyone is going to react differently in difficult situations, nausicaa shows this, and when people are in high adrenaline, she tried to figure out how to forgive their actions and her own.
Martin Christopher White Kimberly White Sharon
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Nausicaa is a message from Miyazaki to us, if god created a earth full of wind and water in 7 days, us humans managed to burn it all down with fire in the same matter of time. These warriors are the souless humans we are, who rotten the planet. Blind to how nature only wants prosperity, us humans feel scared to its power to take life and to bring it. It will be when oceans dry, and the wind stops blowing, that we will understand where we failed.
A comment for the algorithm
A response for good measure
@@Geekritique
Same
"In Japanese culture, female protagonists are hard to come by."
Not true. In fact, looking at the a lot of the most successful and widely acclaimed Japanese properties of the past half century, (especially animated) a hefty amount of them feature female protagonists.
I’m specifically referring to pre-Nausicaä.
Watching back over the video, I should have made that more clear. As an anime fan, I’m well aware of the abundance of female protagonists. But yeah, Miyazaki’s female character heavy films led many to believe he had a mother complex, as it wasn’t often done.
@@Geekritique That's fair, although even by that point, we'd seen the release of popular films and shows like Belladonna of Sadness, Heidi; Girl of the Alps, Maya the Bee, Anne of Green Gables, Woman in the Dunes, and Female Prisoner. But yeah, they weren't really a majority.
I also would agree with the argument that Miyazaki and Takahata were a critical influence on the rise of female protagonists in Japanese media to where it is today.
Several of those titles Miyazaki had a hand in too lol. But yeah, my bad for not clarifying.
I was also waiting for somebody else to notice that. And while he is fighting for his claim, its still simply wrong. But when he claims it is because of patriarchy, it is clear he gets his false belief from the feminist belief in the patriarchy and that men hated women, or subjagated them uniquely (as opposed to both genders having restrictions and separate privileges etc...)
Also, it seems Miyazaki did have a mother complex since he revered his mother so much. Maybe he rarely saw his father so his mother had such a large impact, or just the type of person she was. I just got this idea from another video where this was discussed.
But yeah, men are stronger than women, period. This is biology, so as heroes they will be depicted more. If women dont have babies, then we dont have a human race. And the idea of a period not having an affect on a woman is extremely new due to modern medicine.
The whole nature of their biology was a limiting factor in being able to be adventurous.
But even so, Japanese mythology has strong female characters in it, and women are plenty revered as mothers had to be strong in their own right.
This is more anime related. It is the early days of comics
womenincomics.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_Women_in_Manga
I remember growing up with so many female action heroes in anime in the 80s. Yes, its after his, but no reason to believe he solely made female heroes popular. As the medium became more popular, more types of characters arose, and therefore more female characters arose.
Patriarchy never limited womens creativity. I was reading other articles about famous female authors and artists well before modern manga even.
Its sad that feminism has spread so much misinformation about history so they can play the perpetual and exclusive victim of reality, forever harming male/female relations.
Gg
The ridiculous submissive and one-sided glorifying of this movie is already way too much but the classic conspiracy theories about the "patriarchial" japan where whamen are oh so opressed made this video so obnoxious even for one of the usual Miyazaki-glorifications.
Thanks for watching. Perhaps a mistake in the delivery, or something I explained too late in my script, but what I actually meant was prior to Miyazaki, female protagonists in anime weren’t very common. They are VERY common nowadays. Should have presented my thoughts a bit clearer.
That said, I don’t remember suggesting women were oppressed? 🤔
“Our lives are like the wind…
or like sounds.
We come into being,
resonate with each other…
Then fade away.”
-Nausicaa
Very few Western writers explore the paradox of pacifism or consider its virtues, even though it is a component of both Buddhism and Christianity. Nausicaa and Trigun and other Eastern stories do this with great sincerity. I love them for that even though pacifism seems to lead to impossible situations sometimes.
0:25 Mass destruction from American bombing
2:50 Atomic bombs
1:50 Survived American air raids
4:10 Nausicaa manga starts
4:50 The movie that made Ghibli
6:50 Nuke
9:45 Pacifism
10:00 Patriarchial
Ghibli tropes - 10:10 Strong women 10:20 Planes
11:00 Miyazaki bombs
11:30 Just like the Nobel Prize
12:00 First Ghibli movie bought by them later
13:45 Get yeeted
13:52 Hot dessert wind - Italy ruled Libya as a colony
14:30 Caproni
15:45 We must live
11 movies so far
Wow... I appreciated the look into this film and Miyazaki as a whole! It was hilarious (but true) to me when you were listing the traits of his films and listed cuteness.
Glad you appreciated it! Also, yeah. There’s no better word that I can think of in English to explain the “cuteness”, but it’s something he uses often.
not exaggerating, one of the best video essays ive seen. simply masterful.
That’s super kind of you. Thank you. Very glad you enjoyed it so much.
Nausicaa is definitely my favourite Miyazaki film! I showed it to my children when they were young. I also showed them Totoro. Interestingly, it was my eldest who first shared Spirited Away with me! She's a huge fan of all things Japanese!
Miyazaki is a director whose films I should definitely watch at some point. It's a gap in my anime knowledge that needs filling more than the others.
It’s anime in the sense that he’s Japanese, but frankly, he just wants to make good films. It’s good stuff, I hope you like it.
Generally, I am not a big fan of what anime has produced over the years. The exceptions of course are Akira, Perfect Blue, Ghost in the Shell, Memories, Metropolis, Paprika, and everything Miyazaki.
this is easily one of the best video essays i’ve ever seen... a couple weeks ago i was looking for a video about this film that accurately reflected its effect on me and this is the only one on youtube that has accomplished it. your channel deserves to blow up and i wish you the best in your efforts on youtube!
Thanks for the kind words. Happy this spoke to you.
This is easily one of the best video essays I've ever watched, and one of the best discussions of Miyazaki's work in relation to his life. This is great work, and Nausicaä is such a wonderful movie. New subscriber here for sure.
Thank you Ismael! Glad you enjoyed the video. Very proud of this one.
Makes me want to watch all of em in order again
You def need to. It’s such a ride.
Finally, someone who gets it!
What a wonderful piece of work. I'm so happy you gave Nausicaa the analysis no one else had in this platform.
Very glad you enjoyed it!
What I always found an interesting idea was the theme of some great power before or during the war having designed the toxic jungle in order to reset the human mindset and only allow it to prosper again if they learn their lesson. In the manga not only is there a vault of sorts containing the knowledge and technology of the times before the war, which the people now are unabled to build on their own and literally have to mine out of ancient ruins which Nausicaä in the end has to destroy for it not to fall in the hands of a warlord, but also is nausicaä shown a part of the earth already cleaned from the human pollution and destruction in which life again can prosper in the old ways. In that sense the manga can be seen to strongly advocate those who embrace change and loss, as Nausicaä in that sense is one of the first humans to come to terms with the rebirth of society also in the sense that she and all the others have to die together with the insects and thereby metaphoricaly with the old ways in order for humans as a whole to return. (In the manga this is explained by the humans of the time being dependent on the toxins of the forest to survive). Only if the tendency to cling onto the old ways of living can be given up everyone can prosper again. The humans shown in this work quite metaphoricaly do not deserve to have this technoligy and therefor are literally unable to build it. While an enviornmentalist, Mihazaki still clearly loves modern technology (be it with stilistic alterrations), yet here already he wants to show that todays humans for the most part do not respect the power of technology in their hands. And while Nausicaä sees all of that, she is very much a tragic hero in that she knows that she will never see the results of her struggle, yet she still fights on faced with subsequent doom. This really is my only problem with the film: Nausicaä should have died. I think the message would have been more impactful that way. Yet on the other hand I absolutely love the end of the manga, as I said: while it will take a long time for humans to learn to respect nature and their own technology, they still must live to that day and not give up, just because they know problems won't be solved in their lifetime. I hope you could follow, my english isn't that good.
If you liked this video, you're definitely going to love my video contribution to last month's Director Project: How Spielberg Brought Dinosaurs Back To Life. It's HEAVILY researched and painstakingly realized, and I hope you check it out! ua-cam.com/video/fJF7IMiJDWg/v-deo.html
great work!! love your style. I can see a lot of research was done behind this, and I love the detailed analysis
Thanks so much! Yes, lots of research went into this video. Glad you noticed.
beautiful video
I did enjoy the video and it reminded me this : "Was my papa brave ? The bravest of us all, because he was never afraid to embrace the things he didn't understand." - Anya - Metro Last Light
Very fascinating essay that really dives into the history of Miyazaki, this film, and how those histories go backwards and forwards to show how it all connects, how it all continues.
Thank you so much!! Very kind. I’m very pleased you enjoyed it.
Don’t forget to leave a like on the video 👍
Great video.
Thanks for watching!
Turner classic movies had nausicaa and lauputa playing at 1 am on a school night when I was in elementary school. I stayed up and wqs so blown away I watched both back to back then watched both again right after since they played them in japanese first then english...needless to say I did not sleep that night😅.
When I was little, like kindergarten little, I had a favorite film that I knew for some reason or another as "Choppy and the Princess". I must'v asked my mom to rent "Choppy and the Princess" for me about a thousand times and each time she'd rent it for me, I'd watch it and re-watch it over and over again until that somber bell would toll, "Time... to... take... the... video... back." The film took root deep in my soul.
Years went by and life got busier. Video's were replaced with DVDs and eventually the places we'd rent them from disapeared altogether. When I was old enough to look for "Choppy..." I looked and looked and looked. But nothing. I would ask everyone I met who ever claimed to haver an interest in film. Nothing. That brave princess who flew through the skies above desert terrain, those menacing, yet misunderstood giant fishmoths that aged through the sands covered in eyes, the boy with the fiery spirit always too quick to reach for his gun, and of course there was a plethora of characters and themes I'd altogether forgotten, they all remained with me for years until I had no choice but to think them all a dream. But then...
Then, when I was 31 years old, I began to work for a company and one of my colleagues was an avid Ghibli fan. One night he leant me his copy of "Nausicaä" and upon getting home, pretty drunk and already sentimental as, I popped it into my PC's DVD slot.
Witin ten minutes, my eyes were streaming with hot tears. I'd found my Choppy. Or more specifically, my princess. The rest is history.
Nausicaä, as it turns out, is probably the reason that at the age of 44 I'm still single. It's become quite apparent to me that she formed the archetype of my goddess. Every aspect of her character is to me something divine. Why shouldn't it be so? She stilled the raging ohmu with a few flashbangs and charmed it home with a little hand-held wind-powered noisemaker. She sacrificed her very life to stop the devastation that up to that point seemed inevitable and sure to destroy everything she loved, which was, well, everything.
I'm no animator, though I dabble in storytelling, and Hayao Miyazaki is among my top three greatest heroes of all time.He taught nme love before I knew how to read the title on a VHS cassette cover. A man like that with a spirit like that can never die, and thanks the gods for that.
For any Nausicaa fans, do yourself a favour and find [Joe Hisaishi in Budokan] Studio Ghibli 25 Years Concert [HD 1080p] here on youtube. It opens with Nausicaa and is profoundly moving.
Such a great video! Thank you! Nausicaä is such a wonderful film.
Thanks so much!
Thankyou for making this video- nausicaä has shaped my whole being
3:11 wonderful
ナウシカが1番好き。漫画版はもっと好き。次にもののけ姫、かぐや姫の物語、ラピュタ、耳をすませば、紅の豚、となりのトトロが好きかな。全部好きだから何とも言えないけど。
戦争との絡みと言うのであれば、動画の方がおっしゃるようなAKIRAやゴジラはもちろん、未来少年コナン、攻殻機動隊とか。未来少年コナンは宮崎駿作品だけど、海外の人があげているのをほとんど聞いたことないかも。ふしぎの海のナディアも印象にのこってるかな。私もまだまだいろいろ見れてないから見ていきたい。
Very wizard
Thanks for watching!!
As a kid, that giant warrior gave me nightmares I tell ya what!
Nausicaa, to this day, is my favorite character to point to as a strong female protagonist. I absolutely everything about her and her story! Probably why its also my #1 favorite Ghibli film
She’s amazing! And this film is incredible!
She embodies empathy from beginning to end of this film - society could learn a lot from Nausicaa.
Good stuff. I enjoyed this video tremendously. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Nice! Glad you enjoyed it! I’ll keep it up. Thanks for watching!
Great video, definitely going to binge more when I can.
Thanks for watching 🙏
Thank you. There's not a lot of video essays on Nausicaa, but this is easily the best one. Exploring the themes not just as they relate to the movie, but how they intertwine with the authors metavision of the world and their own past is exactly what I watch these kinds of videos for
You just got yourself a subscriber
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the follow!
nausicaa was supposed to be a movie but the idea was constantly shut down because of no origonal work to base it off of, so they made it, miyazaki wasnt happy with making a manga JUST to base the movie off of it because he saw it as disrespectfil to the art form, so he made an entire manga instead of just *enough* for the movie to work
This isn’t necessarily true, as the two stories diverge tremendously, and it was Toshio Suzuki that had to tell Miyazaki that he should adapt the manga he was already working on.
How does nobody ever bring up the importance of romanticism in Miyazaki's movies. The motives are actually similar to a point where video essayists who talk about his work could as well be making a video on the German romantic Casper David Friedrich or even Joseph von Eichendorff.
🤷🏻♂️ Sorry, I don’t have an answer for you, but thanks for watching.
Amazing video 👏 loved every minute of it! But If anyone knows the song at 12:04 it would greatly appreciate it
Really pleased you liked the video. And I’m sorry, I just don’t know what track I used. It’s been so long since I put it together. But this was one of the first videos I was using Epidemic Sound for, so your best bet would be to look on there for mood music that matches the track you’re looking for.