The End of the World

[Categories: Manga Reviews, OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind manga

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Hayao Miyazaki]

I’m not a prolific graphic novel reader, as the infrequency of the updates in this blog’s manga category will testify. As one of the first manga series I read to completion though, the in-print version of Miyazaki’s futuristic eco-fable left me stunned. Even after experiencing several other titles since, this series is in a league of its own: I’ll leave out a detailed synopsis because I’ll probably be reviewing the feature film soon anyway. Suffice to say it covers everything the anime did and more: what the anime explains, it explains further. What the anime shows, it shows the same but in more detail. Then it takes the whole story in an entirely new direction which is more unexpected, interesting and ambitious than the anime adaptation ever hoped to achieve. It’s also a world apart from child-friendly, Spirited Away-esque adventure for those who are worried about that.

When I say this manga is in a league of its own, I apply that to its artwork as much as its plot. The style made my jaw drop the first time I read it and even after reading others I can say it doesn’t look like any other manga series at all. Miyazaki’s perfectionism is well-known of course, but in the manga format he has 100% creative freedom: cut loose from the time constraints (both in terms of the story itself and its production) and budget, the old guy’s imagination can only ever be truly free here. It took over twelve years to complete, albeit sporadically between film projects, and no wonder: even the famous names such as Ken Akamatsu have resorted to cutting corners artistically to save time but Nausicaa’s manga incarnation is a pure labour of love. The detail is staggering and is also, I daresay, superior to his movies. Things like the aircraft and the awe-inspiring ohmu are especially lovingly rendered, but the line-shading approach that’s used in every frame is unusual and looks very labour intensive too; the current editions in print also include maps, character sketches and fold-out pieces of watercolour.

I suppose it’s unsurprising that the manga is outstanding artistically since it’s a Miyazaki piece. From a thematic and storyline point of view though, it even addresses the other issue I had with the movie. Being a victim of the notorious Unfinished Manga Syndrome, the anime had to wrap up what was at the time an incomplete story and in my own view had a bit of a weak ending (especially after Hideaki Anno’s spectacular God Warrior scene). The manga takes this point in the story and continues it, expanding the worldview, following up what happens to existing characters and even introducing new ones.

The Torumekians were war-mongering bullies on-screen but they are literally less than half the story here. Like the rival factions of Anatoray and Disith in Last Exile, they are locked in conflict with a collective of tribes known as the Doroks. The politics is much more complex and places the smaller players such as the Valley of the Wind as pawns in a bigger game instead of mere victims of their more powerful neighbours, along with the additional moral issues that arise. Individual characters, such as the pragmatic Kurotawa and the gutsy Kushana get more limelight and come across as more worthy of the reader’s sympathy too; the girl who lends Nausicaa her robe to aid her escape (her name’s Ketcha and she’s a Dorok), Asbel of Pejite and even the God Warrior itself have more significant parts to play. Overall it rivals Tolkein and Le Guin in terms of creating, quite literally, a whole world in which the reader can immerse themselves.

With the possible exceptions of Mononoke Hime and Porco Rosso Miyazaki is primarily a storyteller whose work appeals to the younger generation. In this case though, it’s as dark and violent, if not more so, than the former and certainly more so than the latter. Cities are laid waste, people are slaughtered and nature really goes all-out in punishing humankind for its selfishness with little in the way of comedy to lighten the mood. If you feel put off by the prospect of a fluffy and feelgood Totoro-esque romp that earned the author his reputation, fear not: childlike innocence is trampled underfoot by a herd of rampaging ohmu and buried by a Sea of Corruption, leaving a wiser, if sadder, world in its wake.

God Warriors: worse than bear cavalry

Of course, there are still signs of light and peace but the underlying message of hope is complicated by a much more bittersweet and doubtful prognosis for us as a species. This is arguably Miyazaki’s most ‘grown-up’ story to date in that he’s less afraid to show the ugliness of humanity and nature alike - this manga is similar to its anime adaptation and Mononoke Hime, but is at the same time very different. As a fan of his movies who can nevertheless find fault with them in the intervening years, I see the Nausicaa manga as Miyazaki’s true masterpiece in that it shows his talents at their most daring, brutally cynical and, ultimately, most pure. At seven respectably-sized volumes (compare Akira’s six, which weigh in like telephone directories) it’s not as much of a bank-breaker as you might expect, either, so there’s not much of an excuse to see what Miyazaki is REALLY capable of as a storyteller.

[Filed under Manga Reviews, OAVs, Movies and Full Series]  [Tags: Hayao Miyazaki]

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