Customer Reviews

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 7

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Nausicaa, from the moment I turned around at a Japanese shopping center and saw dozens of monitors flashing the image of the great Ohmu, I knew I had seen something that would touch me. I've always been something of a tomboy. So as a girl I found great comfort in Nausicaa; she followed her heart and therefore I could follow mine. Maybe we were both weird, but we were noble, kind and graceful.

I love the manga, but my love remains with the moving picture version of Nausicaa - I think that so much is said in the animated version that is more subtle than pen and ink. I also disagree that the manga is equivalent to a novel - there really is not that much exposition overall. The drawing is wonderful, the format of the best quality. It is a graphic novel and as such belongs in that category to be compared with other graphic novels.

My minor criticism of the graphic novel is that I had hoped to find out more about Nausicaa's companions. However, the plot remains pretty stubbornly focused in either the apocalyptic past or in the present with the princess. I would have loved to have known how Yupa came by his exceptional swordsmanship or what Rastel's life was like.

What the graphic novels do well is expand wonderfully upon the soul of Nausicaa - her determination, her compassion and her willingness to contradict herself. She is not a super hero - she cannot see what effect her actions will have. She can only act as one who feels for those around her, even those who have lost their essential humanity. She never gives up on anyone, and that is a quality that all of us should strive for.

The Nausicaa books are sooooo good that the only bad thing about them is that the storey doesn't go on forever! read the fist book and you will understand what I mean.

I just wanted to note that this is volume 7 of 7 of part 1 of 5 of the 27-volume (meaning, this is #7 of 27 total). This is not #7 of the 7 consolidated volumes more commonly found on Amazon. This is a great comic, the greatest ever in my opinion, but I bought this particular item without looking at the number of pages it contained, thinking it was something that it's not! A nice edition though, a fine cover, with the manga itself printed in the original black ink (rather than brown, as in later editions), and then 5 pages of back matter -- a two-page note by Toren Smith, a 2-page ad, and the teaser for the next volume.

This graphic novel has a great and diverse plot creating a wonderful experience in japanese animation. Loved it!