Manga Review – Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind: Volume 2

Time to get back to Hayao Miyazaki’s only manga series, with Nausicaa Volume 2.

Title: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Volume 2
Written & Illustrated by Hayao Miyzaki
Translated by David Lewis & Toren Smith of Studio Proteus
Published by Tokuma Shoten (Japan) & Viz Media (USA)
Publication Date: March 2004 (or May 1995)

Available from Amazon.com & RightStuf

The Premise

The Doruk are making their move against the Torumekian empire’s periphery – including the Valley of the Wind. Further, Princess Kushana’s brothers have set her up to be killed by the Doruk.

High Points

So, the volume basically has part of the climax of the movie, but done differently, which should give fans of the film something new. The art is still fantastic as well, with (as mentioned in the last review), shades of some of Moebius’ best work.

Low Points

This chapter gets much more into aspects of the settings that weren’t well described earlier, and aren’t well described here. This is particularly significant when it comes to the conflict between the Torumekians and the Doruk and their Holy Vai Emperor (no relation to Steve Vai). We get that the two powers are in conflict, but they don’t explain why.

Scores

Originality: This volume steps into territory that I wasn’t expecting, coming in from the film, but it still fits with the world from the last volume of the manga. 5/6

Story: The story gets more interesting with the political elements of the plot (while still combined with the environmental elements from the last volume), but it also becomes frustrating. We have no motivations for the Holy Vai Emperor, nor any information on what their religious beliefs are. 4/6.

Artwork: Still absolutely fantastic. 6/6

Characterization: We get some nice character development for Princess Kushana. 4/6

Emotional Response: This is extremely impressive, in terms of one emotional climax, and the start of a new arc. 4/6.

Flow: 6/6

Overall: Definitely worth continuing with this series. 6/6

In total, Nausicaa Volume 2 gets 35/42.