Hayao Miyazaki’s, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, is an anime film from 1982 that features commentary on human interaction with the environment that is still relevant today. The film begins by introducing the audience to Lord Trupa, a traveller who visits neighboring cities only to discover that many of them have been consumed and destroyed by “The Toxic Jungle.” We learn that the Toxic Jungle came to be around a thousand years ago, it has many poisonous plants, and is swarming with many types of insects. The most fearsome of these insects appears to be the Ohmu, whose eyes can become “blind with rage,” when they are upset by human interference.
After being introduced to Lord Trupa and his quest, we are then transported into the forest itself, where we find Princess Nausicaä. We learn that the Princess is fascinated by the plants in the toxic jungle, as she collects samples of spores and even comes across the skeleton of an Ohmu. We later find that she has been collecting these samples to research a cure for her father, the King who is bedridden with illness. In the midst of her collecting specimens, the Princess hears an Ohmu attack. She jumps onto her handy glider and flies over to the attack, where she finds Lord Trupa desperately trying to escape. Rather than counter-attack the Ohmu with violence, the Princess works to calm down the Ohmu and direct them back into the forest. In the end, Lord Trupa is fascinated by the Princess’ connection to animals and in her ability to resolve conflict without the use of violence.
In an Ecocritical analysis of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, author Pacharawan Boonpromkul looks into four ecocritical areas of interest: the depiction of the landscape, the question of land entitlement, toxicity and related discourse, and the animals. In this article, Boonpromkul hopes to prove how the film’s representation of these things all contribute to the film’s relevance in the topic of ecocriticism even today. For the sake of time, I will not cover all topics addressed within this article, but I will mention some of the author’s ideas that I think are important to the film’s environmental message.
The article talks about the character of Nausicaä and her particular fondness for the plants in the toxic jungle. As a viewer, I saw a huge contradiction in Nausicaä’s character. On one hand, she cries for the baby Ohmu and doesn’t want to partake in violence. On the other hand, she is will to extract material from the carcass of the Ohmu to be used for creating swords. The article even mentions this contradiction by saying, “it is difficult to refute that the extent of her concern toward the natural world is overridden by pervasive and hostile elements of which she actually has little control” (140). I thought this duality to the character of Nausicaä was interesting because at first, she is perceived to be one who cares for the plants and creatures of the toxic jungle; however, we later find that her care is deeply rooted in her own personal pursuits.
I want to hear what you think about the character of Nausicaä. Do you think she is consciously motivated by wanting to improve the state of the environment? Or is she just one who hopes to use the environment for her own personal gain?
Melissa Voita - JMC 309 
Melissa,
I also found that this movie was relative today. Our interaction with the natural world is constantly being challenged. As people we require resources to survive, but at what cost? We have the power to completely change the earth, and often we do change the earth. We mine for minerals and metals to make our phones and computers, we level forest to graze cattle, and destroy marine ecosystems to for a more “sustainable” source of protein. There are many things we can do better to mitigate our impact, technology is allowing more efficient and less destructive ways to come to the same final product, but in the end we will have an impact on our surroundings. Nausicaä has a special connection with what others would deem useless land and dangerous species. Where we see something harmful and useless is really a treasure trove of resources. The Tolmekia want to destroy the forest because they do not recognize the value, they want to create a new landscape that is useful to them in ways they are familiar with.
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Hi Melissa,
I wanted to reply to the question you left at the end of your blog post. I think this is an intelligent question to ask in the real wold as well. There is a big difference when someone is using nature for their own personal goals or trying to restore it for the better of the ecosystem. I think in this movie she was first motivated by her fathers illness and new the forest was the only thing to cure him and that let her into helping the ecosystem. In the end it was not just for her but the welfare of the people, animals, and forest. Thank you for posting hope you’re enjoying the semester.
Ryin
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Hi Melissa,
I think you did a great job at summarizing the move and the paper, while still throwing in a lot of your own voice. I thought she was protecting the environment and animals but your post definitely made me question her motives. I mean she might have the right intentions, but it gets lost or blurry along the way. Your post made me think a lot about what I wrote in mine and now questioning it all. Thanks for a great post!
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Hi Melissa,
Your summary of the movie wraps up the film really well, and you expressed important elements in the film. I liked how you discussed how Nausicaa is using the plants to find a cure for her fathers illness, and important elements within the film of using the resources we have available to cure an illness. Throughout this film it seem that Nausicaa has an amazing connection with the earth and she uses her abilities to connect with animals to make her world a better place, like you mention in your post. It was very interesting, and something I really never thought of until you mentioned in your post was how Nausicaa seems to have this amazing connection and appreciation to the earth, but is using them for her own benefit. Initially I thought she was motivated to improve the environment for the sake of others, but with your enlightened post it makes me think twice.
Cheers,
Jessica
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Hello Melissa,
Great post. When I first saw Lord Yupa, I had a feeling that he was on some sort of quest. Only to find out that he has been looking for Nausicaa this whole time. I wonder if each of us has a planned destiny as Lord Yupa did. It’s true that Nausicaa had a special gift of talking to the insects/animals, however, I often wondered why didn’t or has anyone else tried talking to the insects/animals. I can also agree with your contradiction that you bring up. It was also brought up in the article about Nausicaa taking the eye, and suggesting that her people can use the whole body for other uses. Perhaps she knows that the Ohmu does shed there shells and no longer need them. To your question, I feel that Nausicaa wanted the best for the entire world and not for her own personal gain, unlike the Pejitei and the Torumekia.
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