First of all I’d like to say that Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was a great film, possibly the best we have watched so far. This is another Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece that is on the same level as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (at least it s for me). This film brings up a lot of the same topics and questions that Princess Mononoke brought up. The protagonist of the film Nausicaä is a princess and her character has a lot in common with Prince Ashitaka. In both films every one seems to be blinded by rage and hate except of Nausicaä and Ashitaka. They both seek peace between nature and humans. They are the only characters in both stories that see the possibility of harmony between the natural world and the world of men. There is also a similarity between Lady Eboshi and Lady Kushana. While they are both woman in a position of power they are also both good people who are blinded by hate and greed. Lady Kushana has prosthetic limbs giving us the impression that she lost them to the insects. It is probably her loss that fuels her rage and hate towards the insects. Through out the movie Nausicaä is always able to solve all the conflicts peacefully as opposed to using violence. She is even able to succeed where others who used violent approaches have failed. A good example of this is when she stops the Ohmu at the begging and the end of the movie. In the beginning she uses flash grenades to calm the Ohmu. At the end of the film she gives her life to save the valley of the wind. The Ohmu give her life again because she saved their baby. It makes you wonder if this toxic jungle is going to be our future. If so, it feels good to know that Nature corrects the wrongs of humans.
I think the comparisons you chose to discuss here were a great decision, I’m pretty sure most comparisons were of San and Nausicaa themselves and not to anyone else, or any other character in the film. You did mention how the two antagonists of the films had a lot in common in regards to their view on nature. I think Lady Kushana was more of a brute than Lady Eboshi, but both women were pretty lethal in their own ways. As for you comparison of Nausicaa and Ashitaka, I believe the two were a better match than San and Nausicaa. These two characters have a lot more in common aside from the love of nature aspect. They both are kind-hearted and try to avoid violent resolutions. I also agree this film was pretty awesome. I really enjoyed it and plan to look into the manga of this film, I think I may enjoy it just as much.
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