Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaa is the gifted teenaged princess of a small valley on a devastated far-future Earth, where a growing poisonous forest is threatening the last human settlements. As an excellent gunship pilot, she is drawn by an old alliance into a war between neighboring kingdoms. But the pacifistic Nausicaa is much more interested in exploring the secrets of the forest. This complex ecological adventure epic-a true comics classic-is the only extended manga work by renowned anime director Miyazaki (Spirited Away). His lush, detailed art, reproduced here in sepia ink, is more reminiscent of European artists such as Moebius than of most manga, but manga fans will be drawn into the story nonetheless. Viz's first edition of Nausicaa was seven volumes; later these were recompiled into a four-volume set. This new edition reverts to the artwork's original right-to-left orientation, the seven-volume breakdown, and the Japanese original's larger (7" x 10") size-an improvement, as Miyazaki's pages are dense with information. Highly recommended for teens and adults alike, this tremendous series belongs in every library. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.