Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 4 [Paperback]

Hayao Miyazaki (Author, Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 1 edition (December 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569312117
• ISBN-13: 978-1569312117
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,340,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hayao Miyazaki is the prominent director of many popular animated feature films. He is also the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, the award-winning Japanese animation studio and production company behind worldwide hits such as PRINCESS MONONOKE, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and SPIRITED AWAY.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Astonishing Work of Literature, February 16, 2000

By 

HD Lee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

I was no fan of manga or animation (in fact I shared the prevailing prejudice here in North America that they are for kids or pre-literate people), but when I happened to see Princess Mononoke by Miyazaki, I immediately realized that I was dealing with a work of a visionary with an extraordinary story-telling skills. I got hold of Nausicaa manga mainly to understand what his visions were, and I was not disappointed. I would not hesitate to call it a brilliant and profound work of LITERATURE (don't let your preconceived notion about the medium mislead you). Epic in scope and astonishingly rich in its depiction of the world it creates (the earth polluted and turned mostly into a sterile wasteland after the collapse of the industrial civilization, the mutant fungi forest emitting toxic fumes, the great insects that inhabit this alien, exotic, and strangely beautiful world, the declining humanity struggling to survive on the fringes of the forest, the warring kingdoms that perpetuate human foolishness, and the small and peaceful people of the valley of wind and their leader, Nausicaa), Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind unfolds a remarkable story of the heroine's quest to discover the hidden secret of her dying world, with a complex plot that will draw you in, at times exhilirating, at other times deeply moving, and in some occasions even shocking and disturbing. It has a rich cast of well-developed characters who come alive as real flesh-and-blood human beings, who are never one-dimensional (no simple distinction between friends and foes, the pure-hearted and villains), and whose at times excruciatingly difficult and morally uncertain decision-making present us with a portrayal of life as real as any life actually lived. It raises profound questions about the usual and often uncritical distinctions we tend to draw between human civilization and nature, good and evil, purity/innocence and corrpution, and will leave us deeply sympathizing with the fate and struggle of Nausicaa and her people, and asking the same questions that they ask themselves regarding the inviolabe value and sanctity of life in all its forms. If you believe Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a classic, read Nausicaa -- you will understand what I mean.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Books worthy of the title "Graphic Novel", February 1, 2000

By 

Ben Reed (Apopka, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

Written by Hayao Miyazaki, the mastermind behind animated classics like "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Princess Mononoke", this great work of the graphic art is NO MERE COMIC BOOK.

Like most great graphic novels in the tradition of Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller, Nausicaa is often violent, complexly written, and in the end utterly provocative and meaningful.

For those who can see past the comic-book exterior and peer into the soul of Nausicaa, a well-deserved adjective comes to mind - magnificent.

Offer this to an acquaintance as a leisure-time read. If the art style manages to get them to bite the hook, the bulk of the story will surely reel them in.

Hook. Line. Sinker.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning achievement, April 9, 2000

By 

John F. C. Kusske - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

I mean this quite literally. When my good friend introduced me to Nausicaa, I dropped everything else and drank in volumes one and two (all he had) the first day. He is now a dearer friend still than he was before. I didn't think it was possible, but volumes three and four are even better and more profound than the first two. I knew the first day that I had found a new literary classic, on par with the greatest works (Tolkien, Dostoyevsky, Lewis) the human psyche has brought forth into the world, and ordered my own version (the 4-volume boxed set) the evening of my initiation. Miyazaki's characters wrestle with life and its problems as surely as Ivan and Alyosha Karamazov or Raskolnikov, and their resolution is probably the most moving ending I have encountered during my 22 years on earth. The world is as believable (and hauntingly beautiful) as Middle-earth. The religious/spiritual underpinning, as a previous reviewer noted, is what sets these works above all others. In sum, Nausicaa should be read by everybody, and God willing the world would be a better place.