Just perfect...

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The acting in this movie is really good.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

7.5/10 One of those story adaptations that does itself justice. Almost every character here has a beard except for the main character that easily stands out not just through her looks but also with her keen observations of the wild life that's supposed to be detrimental to humans, her kind temperament and selfless courage. Right? Well, although kinda cliche... it works quite well here. Her understanding and compassion for those giant worm-bug creatures is touching, when most people would flee in fear and disgust just seeing one. It was a very good fantasy with a redeeming ending, worth of an 8 if not for it's under par graphics, but as it is an original anime movie, old and sweet like the wine, it can be forgiven.

Seriously, though: how did Miyazaki do it? So much originality. So much humor. So much commentary. So much action. This movie was made in 1984! While it was not my favorite Ghibli flick, it was fantastic nonetheless. Other than some awkward inner monologues at the outset, this was a post-nuclear wasteland film that really worked at both a character and symbolic level.

Anime has been a favorite of mine for years, starting with dubs of Pokémon and getting better from that point. I have known, similarly, that Akira was among the first popular anime films in North America and thus opened the way to dubs of Studio Ghibli films. However, I have been wondering if maybe an attempt was made earlier than 1988, all the way back to after this film's release in Japan. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, being the founding film of Studio Ghibli, is quite easily an S-tier movie. The characters are complexly developed and can deliver both eerie calmness (like Nausicaä herself) and blowout action (like the Commando). This is supplemented by the pristinely elaborate story, giving us a glimpse of the post-apocalypse with depictions that seem relevant in a time when stories like this would only be told by conspiracy theorists. The relative lack of music doesn't hinder the film at all and actually helps it in areas when it is trying to feel realistic or get its message across. To match this is the animation, which I am actually surprised took only 9 months to complete; its drawings of various large objects like the airships and especially the Ohmu seem like they took so much more time to animate so fluidly in 1984. All I can say is, you will miss much if you decide to pass this film, even in favor of other Studio Ghibli films.

One thousand years have passed since the Seven Days of Fire, an apocalyptic war that destroyed civilization and created the vast Toxic Jungle, a poisonous forest swarming with giant mutant insects. In the kingdom of the Valley of the Wind, a prophecy predicts a saviour "clothed in blue robes, descending onto a golden field, to join bonds with the great Earth and guide the people to the pure lands at last". Nausicaä, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, explores the jungle and communicates with its creatures, including the gigantic, armored trilobite-like creatures called Ohm. She hopes to understand the jungle and find a way for it and humans to co-exist.