Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Box Set Hardcover – 6 Dec. 2012

I'm kind of surprised you can pick this up at the time of writing for less than £30.This edition is quite wonderful and gets pretty much everything right. The hardcase is sturdy and well presented as are the two hardback books, the paper is nice and thick, there's a nice poster in there, folded 4 ways, so would probably need to be framed to look decent, but nicely done. There's a colour section at the beginning of each book with the colour covers as well as maps and diagrams of the forest.The books themselves are in the Japaneses format, reading from 'back to front' this means the art and the original lettering (where possible) and sound effects are not transposed. What you are seeing, English language text aside, is what the author intended. There is even a glossary of sound effects if you really want to immerse youself. In short, they get absolutely every detail right.The story itself is incredible, it starts the same as the anime of the same name, but quite quickly takes on a life of its own. This is not a childrens story, this is a fable about man's treatment of the environment and the nature of good and evil. The characters live and breath in this world, each with their own motivation and personaility. Nausicaa navigates this world, doubting herself, her values and her ability to cope, sometimes overwhelmed and relying on the strength of others, I don't think I've seen a character quite like her before and her journey is an unpredictable and very entertaining read.The artwork conveys the action well and illustrates the strange and alien world Nausicaa lives in with incredible detail. The world design and in particular the airships and air craft are delightful, there's something wonderfully retro as well as futurastic about them, as though they stepped out of a world like ours yet totally different.So 5/5, no hesitation, this is a wonderful story that deserves to be told more often.

Wonderful story telling, good quality printing and presentation !!

Only one slight niggle though,it was a bit long winded.Yes,I know it is an epic but I feel that some of the the battles were a space filler.I've read Miyazaki's book about the serialisation of Nausicaa and fully understand that he went back toit several times and had difficulty in ending the story.I really don't want to criticize a master craftsman,butthat's my opinion.I read the Manga ? after watching the film so maybe I was influenced by that.The film was crisp and fulfilling.I suppose the film could've been a little longer but Miyazaki decided not,and he should know.It was a shame that Yupa died but phew...,what a death !And poor old Teto..,another shame.Great the way he dived into Nausicaa's tunic though A ?The book set comes with an amazing poster which is perfect but I still prefer Nausicaa's stance with the wounded baby Ohmu.(the one where she's facing down the herd of Ohmu)That is the DVD inlay and really sums it up for me.In the books,Nausicaa has just a little too much luck and her use of Chikuku is laying it on a bit thick.Still,he's a good character though,as is Ketcha,Asbel and of course Tepa..,she's a real cutie !Nausicaa gets help from loads of people and even some of her enemies !It's a really good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it and even if it didn't go exactly the way I wanted,it's a sheer delight to see such brilliant artwork..,every single panel of it !I sometimes felt a little guilty if I read it too quickly,not pausing to admire the handiwork.Princess Kushana's a piece of work too,isn't she ?! It was a relief that she didn't get to marry the young Emperor,Namulith.Poor guy just went to pieces !I guess it's a brilliant tale too,once you get your head around the 'sea of corruption' and the reason for the mold,the Ohmu and the formation of the forests...,oh,and the reason for Nausicaa's blue clothes...,that's just genius !Yep,epic is definitely the best description of this wonderful work.I must mention the fantastic colour pages at the start of both books,they really are excellent and a welcome gift.I can't wait til a reasonable period has passed so I can read the whole story again !