Anime vs Manga Thoughts: Nausicaa Valley of the Wind

Synopsis

Set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with poisonous spores and enormous insects, humanity is in a constant struggle against the treacherous jungle that has evolved in response to the destruction caused by mankind. In addition to this they face the threat of it spreading rapidly across the earth and consuming all of humanity. The story begins in the “Valley of the Wind,” a peaceful arming kingdom whose placement by the sea frees it from the spread of the jungle’s deadly toxins.

In this kingdom, there lives the charismatic young princess, Nausicaä who finds her world changed as an airship crashes into her kingdom and brings with it the Tolmekian military, who intend to revive a dangerous weapon from the very nuclear war that caused the earth’s near destruction. Now Nausicaä must not only face against the Tolmekian forces but also protect the Valley from the encroaching forces of the toxic jungle.

Anime/Film Thoughts

The way that the scenery looks bigger than it is and how much detail there is in different scenes is just one of the positive points of the film. The story and how much it was able to convey as a film is what really made the film stand out. From its world building to its characters and overall plot, there isn’t a point in the film where things aren’t interesting. And the fact the character is an independent fighting princess is a personal joy to watch for this writer. Add to the fact that the film gives a mix of machinery and fantasy makes for something highly unique.

The thing with the film however, instead of taking exploration with the internal conflict of the different factions and their perspectives, it takes on a more into the chosen one story and the pain of the creatures, which is not bad as a whole, but seems more like an environmental message story. This in turn doesn’t given much on the whole opposing sides thing which was settled far too quickly.

Still the film presents different emotional moments, and doesn’t drag itself in terms of the political aspects. It also does highly well in terms of action and creativity over the machines and the way the creatures work. Basically, the film is more of a fantasy work to admire for its story, characters and emotional moments mixed in with strong protagonist and good action.

Manga Thoughts

The first thing to note with the manga work is that it in just a few pages the story manages to pack a lot of information and action. From the history of the world to the battle against the creatures, the pages just burst with story with each flip. The problem with this however is that it also creates a lot of chaos along with it. With every packed page, it seems as if the focus of things is going all over the place and makes certain scenes either rather crowded or cluttered in a sense.

In comparison to the film, it is clear from the first chapter that the story would take on a more strategic and action center of focus. Not only does it give more exploration to the different factions that is taking part of the action but the reader sees more onto the different mindsets of the people against the creatures and how different their perspective of things were from the hero and why it is.

Speaking of the hero, she got her deal of spotlight in the film as the chosen one but here she does so much in just a few chapters. From willing to suck out poison to save children and to face against a monster to ensure other’s safety, we pretty much have a grittier grimmer version of things here in comparison to the film.

Conclusion

With the film, it presents a wide world with different possibilities and a story that takes on a more environmental and emotional perspective. For the manga, we get a packed story taking focus on a more action based story mixed in with multiple strategies and battle workings. Both portray Nausicaa as an amazing protagonist in different ways but the manga presents a grittier version with a grimmer world affected by the spores that are poisoning many. This is one of the main differences between the two and what distinguishes their appeal to the other. In the end both hold their own strengths in terms of their genre focus and should take merit for their own versions of the story given how vastly different certain parts are.

Anime/Film Rating: 8/10

Manga Rating: 7.5/10