Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ, Kaze no Tani no Naushika) is a animated post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, that premiered March 11, 1984. Isao Takahata produced the film for publisher Tokuma Shoten and advertising agency Hakuhodo, with Topcraft animating. It was screen alongside two compilation movies for "Sherlock Hound", "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" and "Treasure Under the Sea".

It is based on Miyazaki's manga of the same name, first serialized on "Animage" magazine on February 4, 1982 and completed in March 1994. The story itself was inspired by the 1971 comic "Rowlf" by American cartoonist Richard Corben, while the name "Nausicaä" was derived from the Greek epic "Odysseus". Miyazaki was also strongly inspired by French comic artist Jean Giraud Moebius' "Arzach" (1975), as seen in the documentary, "Ghibli: The Miyazaki Temple". The movie has environmentalist undertones and was presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature when it was released in 1984.

"Nausicaä" is ranked as one of the 50 greatest science fiction films by the Internet Movie Database. While created before Studio Ghibli was founded, the film is often considered to be the beginning of the studio because of the involvement of Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki, Hideaki Anno and Joe Hisaishi. It is often included as part of the Studio's works, including the Studio Ghibli Collection DVDs and Blu-Rays.

Joe Hisaishi composed the film's musical score. The film stars the voices of Sumi Shimamoto, Goro Naya, Yoji Matsuda, Yoshiko Sakakibara and Iemasa Kayumi. Its poster's advertising slogan is, "The love of a girl called a miracle".

The movie won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1984. In December 2019, the story was adapted into a Kabuki stage play by Shinbashi Enbujō. The film also inspired the Tokusatsu tribute short, "Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo", directed by Hideaki Anno and released in July 10, 2012.

At the time of its theatrical release, it was screened on 35mm film and the audio was in mono. Its theatrical release posters were painted by famed artist Yoshiyuki Takani.

The Princess Who Loved Insects
""A thousand years have passed since the collapse of industrialized civilization. A toxic jungle now spreads, threatening the survival of the last of the human race.""

- Narrator

One thousand years have passed since the Seven Days of Fire, an apocalyptic war which destroyed human civilization and most of the Earth's original ecosystem. Scattered human settlements survive, isolated from one another by the Sea of Decay. The Sea of Decay is a jungle of giant plants and fungi swarming with giant insects, which seem to come together only to wage war. Everything in the Sea of Decay, including the air, is lethally toxic.

Nausicaä is the agile and cheerful young princess of the peaceful Valley of the Wind. Although a skillful fighter, Miyazaki's Nausicaä is humane and peace-loving. She has an unusual gift for communicating with the giant insects (particularly with the Ohmu, the gigantic, armored, caterpillar-like insects who are the most intelligent creatures in the Sea of Decay). She is also noted for her empathy toward animals, humans, and other beings. An intelligent girl, and inspired by the mentor figure Yupa, a wandering samurai type possessed of great wisdom, Nausicaä frequently explores the Sea of Decay and conducts scientific experiments in an attempt to define the true nature and origins of the toxic world in which she lives. Her explorations are facilitated by her skill at "windriding"; flying with an advanced glider-like craft with a jet assist called a möwe. Yupa is searching for the mythological man in blue who, according to the legend, will appear surrounded by a sea of gold and reunite the people and nature.

Annihilation of Pejite
One day, an airship (a kind of large cargo airplane) crashes onto the cliffs near the Valley of the Wind. Nausicaä tries to rescue a hand-cuffed girl of her age from the burning wreck, but she dies after telling that she is Princess Lastelle from the kingdom Pejite and that the cargo of the airship must be destroyed. The airship is from Tolmekia and the cargo turns out to be a God Warrior (kyoshinhei embryo, Giant Warrior in the English release), one of the lethal, giant, biological weapons used in the ancient war.

It is later revealed that the God Warrior embryo was unearthed by Pejite, but it was stolen by the more powerful state of Tolmekia (Tormekia in the manga). While transporting the Warrior back to their realm, the Tolmekians were attacked by insects and subsequently crash-land in the Valley. The very next day, the Tolmekians, under the leadership of princess Kushana, invade the Valley to kill the Valley king and to secure and revive the Warrior. Kushana explains that the God Warrior will be used to burn the Sea of Decay, although Obaba, an old and blind Valley woman warns that attempting so will only enrage the Ohmu and lead to more deaths.

Invasion of Kushana
Kushana attempts to return to Tolmekia, with Nausicaä and several others as hostages. Before their departure, Nausicaä reveals to Yupa a hidden garden of jungle plants, that are not toxic because they are growing in sand and water from a deep well. Nausicaä explains that the jungle is only toxic due to the toxic soil that is everywhere on the surface of the earth. The airships with Kushana and Nausicaä are attacked by a Pejitan gunship and several of the ships are forced to make an emergency landing in the Sea of Decay. There, Nausicaä communicates with several ohmu and discovers that the pilot of the Pejitan gunship is still alive. With the help of her glider, Nausicaä rescues the pilot from a swarm of enraged insects. However, they crash and end up in a strange, non-toxic world that is below the Sea of Decay; the plants in the Sea of Decay purify the polluted soil, and in this way produce clean water and sand, which remains hidden in this underground world. The pilot turns out to be Asbel of Pejite, the twin brother of princess Lastelle.

Nausicaä and Asbel return to Pejite, which turns out to be destroyed after the Pejite people lured the insects from the Sea of Decay into their town in order to kill the occupying Tolmekian forces. The Pejite people reveal that they will do the same thing to the Valley of the Winds in order to recapture the God Warrior. To prevent Nausicaä from alerting the Tolmekians, they capture her, but she escapes with the help of Asbel. With a gunship, she returns to the Valley, but along the way they encounter an enormous herd of enraged Ohmu who are on their way towards an injured baby Ohm, which is used by the Pejite people to lure the Ohmu to the Valley. Nausicaä releases the baby Ohmu and gains its trust.

Resurrection of the God Warrior
In the meantime, the Tolmekians try stopping the herd with armored vehicles they brought with them but to no effect, later Kushana arrives with the God Warrior to stop the Ohmu herd, but the Warrior, woken too early, dies in the process. However, Nausicaä, with the baby Ohmu, is finally able to stop the Ohmu herd, but she is overrun and slain in the process. In front of the Valley people and the Tolmekian forces, the Ohmu use their gold-colored tentacles to revive Nausicaä, whose dress has turned blue by the baby Ohmu's blood; thus Nausicaä turns out to be the mythological "man" in blue mentioned in the beginning. The film ends with fragments of a future where people and insects live in peace with each other.

The story holds deeper meaning than its depiction of war; there are both environmental and ecological subtexts in Miyazaki's narrative. Even the insects seem to be working toward some secret harmony and the lethal fungal forest seems to have a vital role in Earth's new ecosystem.

Influences
The film and its manga counterpart were originally inspired by the 1971 underground comic "Rowlf" by American cartoonist Richard Corben, which is about ​​"a princess carrying the fate of a small country." The story is set in the Medieval kingdom of Canisland, where Rowlf is devoted to his large-breasted mistress Maryara, and hostile towards her suitor, Raymon. Miyazaki proposed to Tokyo Movie Shinsha to acquire the copyright for "Rowlf".

Miyazaki modeled Nausicaä after the "The Lady Who Loved Insects" (虫めづる姫君, Mushi-mezuru Himegimi), a twelfth-century Japanese tale of one who defies social convention and breaches the decorum expected of a Heian court lady. It is one of ten short stories in the collection Tsutsumi Chūnagon Monogatari. The name "Nausicaä" is derived from the Greek epic of "Odysseus".

Some of the names of people and places that appear in both the film and the manga resemble actual historical matters. For example, Kushan is the name of the Indian dynasty (Kushan dynasty), the name "Hephthalite" is the name of an actual nomadic race, and Miralpa is based on a real Tibetan Buddhist practitioner (Milarepa).

Miyazaki fondly remembers the line where the forest moves when he read "Macbeth" as a child, and has carried this idea in wanting to write a story that dealt with plants. He also took inspiration from René Laloux animated film "Fantastic Planet " (1973) and manga artists Osamu Tezuka, Daijiro Moroboshi (particularly Moroboshi's gritty style).

He was also strongly influenced by French cartoonist Jean Giraud Moebius's "Arzach" (1975), of which Miyazaki admitted while speaking with Moebius during a joint exhibition in France. These events can be seen in the 2005 documentary, "Ghibli: The Miyazaki Temple". In addition, Miyazaki derived ideas from Sasuke Nakao's "East Asian evergreen forest culture theory" which establishes the relationship between the syvash (Putrid Sea or Rotten Sea) and humanity.

Other influences include various SF novels such as Pastel City by M. John Harrison, "Long Afternoon of Earth," by Brian Aldiss and "Dune" by Frank Herbert.

Real life
Miyazaki cites that the Valley of the Wind is inspired by Central Asia, notably the rotting sea of Syvash in Crimea, Ukraine. There is a place called the "Valley of the Winds" on Mount Olga (Kata Tjuta) in Australia, but according to Studio Ghibli, it is not relevant.

Prototypes
Miyazaki's first serialized manga "People of the Desert" (砂漠の民, Sabaku no Tami), which ran from September 12, 1969 and and March 15, 1970 is set in Central Asia, which features the royal capital of Pejite.

Another early version of "Nausicaä" can be seen in Miyazaki's one-volume watercolor-illustrated manga "The Journey of Shuna", published by Tokuma Shoten on June 15, 1983. Based on the Tibetan folk tale "Prince who became a Dog.", Miyazaki describes the folk tale as a story of "the prince traveled west."

The birth of Nausicaä
""Even though I thought it was a waste of time, I didn't get any requests from anywhere, and all the (movie) plans I put out were turned down. That kind of thing has been going on for the last three years and it's been really hard.""

- Hayao Miyazaki, after the box office failure of "The Castle of Cagliostro"

Hayao Miyazaki made his credited directorial debut in 1979 with "The Castle of Cagliostro", a film which was a distinct departure from the antics of the Lupin III franchise, but still went on to receive the Ofuji Noburo Award at the 1979 Mainichi Film Concours. Although "Cagliostro" was a failure in the box office, Toshio Suzuki, editor of the magazine Animage, was impressed by the film and encouraged Miyazaki to produce works for Animage's publisher, Tokuma Shoten. The box office disappointment of "Cagliostro" meant that many of Miyazaki's film ideas were rejected, and Tokuma asked him to do a manga: this led to the creation of "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind".

Miyazaki began writing and drawing the manga in 1979, and was serialized on Animage on February 1982. It proved to be extremely popular, and by November of 1982, Miyazaki left Telecom Animation Film to focus on his manga work. Animage Editor-in-Chief Hideo Ogata proposed to adapt it into a 10-minute short film to be screened at the "Anime Grand Prix", an Animage sponsored event, however Miyazaki declined. A 70-minute OVA project was later proposed, but was abandoned after the project was deemed not profitable. The proposal for a feature-length anime adaptation was finally accepted after Ogata struck a deal with Yasuyoshi Tokuma, president of Tokuma Shoten to co-sponsor the production. Miyazaki initially refused, but agreed on the condition that he could direct.

Despite having a film division in Tokuma Shoten, the company had little experience in producing animated projects. Bandai, who had partnered with TV Land magazine, proposed a deal to be a joint investment company, but the deal fell through. The president of Hakuhodo, a major advertising agency, and Yasuyoshi Tokuma decided to invest after a meeting between both executives. Fortunately, Miyazaki's younger brother worked at Hakuhodo, and the decision was made to release it on a national "road show".

Toei was set to distribute the film, but had little faith it would do well in the box office and were considering lowering its advertising budget. Yasuyoshi Tokuma once again came in and convinced Toei President Shigeru Okada that "Nausicaä" would be a big hit. Under Tokuma's direction, Tokuma Japan handled the bulk of promotional activities.

Planning
"""I want Mr. Takahata to be a producer,""

- Hayao Miyazaki

By 1983, Toshio Suzuki asked who Miyazaki wanted as producer for his new film. Without hesitation, Miyazaki said, "I want Mr. Takahata to be a producer," Suzuki thought, "I see, that's good!" Takahata had collaborated with Miyazaki on numerous works prior, from "Horus, Prince of the Sun" (1968), Heidi, Girl of the Alps" (1974) to "Future Boy Conan" (1978). Takahata was initially reluctant, saying "I am not suitable for a producer". Following that, Suzuki persistently tried to persuade him every day for more than a month, but Takahata stubbornly refused. Finally, Suzuki gave up and asked, "Mr. Miyazaki, would you like someone else to be the producer?"

Miyazaki sat in silence for a while, and eventually said, "Mr. Suzuki, let's go for a drink." When the two entered a bar, Miyazaki suddenly started drinking sake. Suzuki, who had never seen him drink before, was surprised. Miyazaki drank alcohol as if he were alone (Suzuki seemed to be unable to drink a single drop of alcohol).

Miyazaki, now drunk, began started crying out loud. Amidst his wailing, he began complaining in earnest, "I have dedicated my whole youth to Isao Takahata for 15 years!" Mr. Suzuki had no words to say, and had no choice but to keep listening to the director's complaint.

That same evening, Suzuki rushed to Takahata's house and said, "Mr. Takahata, please take the role of producer!" Isao Takahata attempted to refuse, "No, it's not suitable for me as I said before..." After a tense back and forth, Suzuki's patience ran out. "Miyazaki-san wants you to do it! Isn't he an important friend of yours? You're in so much trouble if you don't you help!" Takahata, surprised at this, finally agreed, "I understand. I will do it."

Isao Takahata, credited as executive producer, reluctantly joined the project after being convinced by Toshio Suzuki. This was done even before the animation studio was chosen. An outside studio to produce the film was needed because Tokuma Shoten did not own an animation studio: Miyazaki and Takahata chose the minor studio Topcraft. The production studio's work was known to both Miyazaki and Takahata and was chosen because its artistic talent could transpose the sophisticated atmosphere of the manga to the film.

On May 31, 1983, work began on the pre-production of the film. Miyazaki encountered difficulties in creating the screenplay, with only sixteen chapters of the manga to work with. Miyazaki would take elements of the story and refocus the narrative and characters to the Tolmekian invasion of Nausicaä's homeland. Takahata would enlist the experimental and minimalist composer Joe Hisaishi to do the score for the film.

Production
Miyazaki et al. were considering commissioning Telecom Animation Film or Nippon Animation for the production. Both companies refused, saying "We are currently working on another work, so the staff cannot afford it."

Telecom had previously worked with Miyazaki on "The Castle of Cagliostro" (1979) but had to decline as they were currently working on the animated adaptation of "Little Nemo". They approached Tokyo Movie and Toei Animation and were also met with a harsh response, "I know that Mr. Miyazaki will make good works, but the demands are too strict and the staff and the company will be left in tatters..."

Just as they were about to run out of options, Isao Takahata, who had just taken the role as a producer, pulled them out of their crisis. Since "Nausicaa" was Takahata's first experience as a producer, he had to study the process from scratch, setting up an accurate production system that was not bound by conventional customs and common sense. To be a good producer, he needed to Miyazaki to only worry about his storyboard and directing work while he handled the rest. He needed to secure a base and staff and a budget for each department with as well.

Nausicaä was produced with animators hired for the one movie and paid per frame. Key animation work began on August 1983. Topcraft's president Toru Hara, was a former a colleague of Miyazaki and Takahata's while they were working at Toei, and were mainly involved in overseas co-productions.

The biggest hurdle Miyazaki faced is how to adapt his own original work, without losing its essence and intention, "If it's someone else's material, you (as a director) can change it without hesitation, but if it's something (you made), it's not easy to be objective. Even if it is not drawn out from the original material, there is anguish and feelings in the back of each frame. The motifs in the film were based on the original, but it was hard because we had to re-order the scenes while changing their meaning / context, and then wrap it all together in 'furoshiki' so that everything would fit (the runtime) of the movie."

In order to reduce the burden on Miyazaki on adapting his own work, they hired Kazunori Ito to produce the screenplay. Ito, a regular collaborator of director Mamoru Oshii, is credited of producing such classics as the "Urusei Yatsura" series and "Mobile Police Patlabor". Unfortunately, the resulting script Ito wrote exceeded three hours. According to Mr. Ito, "I didn't think it could be packed in more than 110 minutes by any means." With Ito's script delayed, Miyazaki proceeded to work on storyboards. In the end, Ito couldn't fit the entire story in the film's 110 minute runtime and left the project. Miyazaki, frantic at this latest development, rushed into production leaving the ending still undecided.

Takashi Nakamura from Tatsunoko Production, Yoshinori Kanada, who was popular for his work on "Kanada Perth," were hired as key animators. At the time, Kanada was living in the neighborhood where Takahata lived, and he was a huge fan of his and Miyazaki's work. Suzuki who was delighted after he was hired, saying "This is lucky!" Kanada cited his first work had been on "Panda! Go, Panda!" (1972). He would go on to become an influential member of Studio Ghibli, later working on "Princess Mononoke" in 1997.

Miyazaki faced issues with unifying the key animators' work. Processes were made to check each and every frame of animation so that the film's look would remain consistent. The staff consisted of animators from Topcraft, OH! Production, and "Free Animator". The core drawing staff was said to consist of 19 staff, but 30 have have actually been involved. Apparently, the reason for the large number of staff was due to how many were confused by the Miyazaki's detailed layout and 'drawing check system', resulting in numerous delays. As the number of people increases, the individuality of each drawing naturally disperses, and the sense of unity in the animation is lost. Miyazaki struggled through this, working from early morning to late night correcting any errors.

As a result, many of the expressions of characters in the film were rough and unrefined. Massive crowd scenes were reduced into still images. There was one bright spot - Yoshinori Kanada contributed massively to the quality of the film by creating dynamic action scenes and strong character poses. Miyazaki praised Kanada, saying he is "A rare animator with elements that give physiological pleasure in pictures and movements." Kanada would go on to work on 100 cuts, usually centered on flashy explosions and action set pieces involving Asbel's surprise attack on Kushana's forces or the crashed Pejite ship.

Miyazaki faced another issue - he could not find an animator that was willing to do the climactic scene involving the God Warrior firing upon the Ohm. Hideaki Anno, who later produced "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and the 2012 Tokusatsu tribute film "Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo", was also hired after seeing an ad for "Animator Urgent Recruitment" on Animage. Anno, who was skilled in drawing mechanical objects and explosions, was assigned to draw the challenging God Warrior's attack sequence, which according to Toshio Suzuki is a "high point in the film". At first, Miyazaki was worried no animator could draw characters and mecha well at the same time, and that he would have to constantly correct their work. In the end, Anno drew all the giant warriors, tanks, and explosions, and Miyazaki repainted only the characters in the second original key drawing. "It was a very luxurious collaboration (laughs)." Miyazaki recalls.

Ending
The final storyboard sequence involved Nausicaä getting crushed by the rampaging Ohmu. During a meeting in a local teahouse, Miyazaki presented this scene to Takahata and Suzuki and said, "Here is the end mark." Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata, who saw the storyboard, were silent for a while. Takahata asks, "What do you think, Mr. Suzuki?" Suzuki answers, "Hmm, it's a bit unpleasant to end." After several hours of discussion, they came up with three possible endings:


 * Plan A: "The Ohmu rushes towards Nausicaa and she stands before them. The film suddenly ends."
 * Plan B: "The Ohmu rushes towards Nausicaa is blown away. Nausicaa dies."
 * Plan C: " Nausicaa is blown away, but then come back to life. "

Takahata then asks, "Mr. Suzuki, which of these three is better?", "Would you like to die and revive?". As the deadline for the film's release drew closer and closer, they had little time to decide. They told Miyazaki to consider "Plan C", to which he replied, "I understand, I will do it." Suzuki replied, "Is it okay to decide so easily even though it's an important last scene?" After the film was released, Miyazaki expressed some regret on his decision, "That last scene is a regret."

Cutting corners
Production ramped up in the final months before its release. Topcraft lacked the manpower and Suzuki put out more animator recruitment ads on Animage. Miyazaki took the initiative to work early in the morning and work overtime late at night, and demanded that the staff work devote all their efforts to improving the quality of the work. The staff returned from the holidays and work until midnight until December 31st. Miyazaki himself drew many of the key drawings and layouts, working without break from 9am to 3pm. He had nearly reached his limit and appealed to Takahata and Suzuki, "We will never be in time for the release date!"

Takahata organizes an emergency meeting with the staff. Miyazaki thought Takahata would propose some sort of breakthrough, but instead said "We have no choice but to delay." Everyone, including Suzuki, who was present at the show, was so stunned that he couldn't even speak out. For Takahata, it was more important to "keep the quality of the movie" than to "finish it by the deadline". After awkward silence due to Takahata's remarks, Miyazaki was furious, saying, "I can't say anything more because the producer says this."

Following this, the staff worked day and night. Miyazaki decided to cut corners by not animating large crowd scenes. The planned final fight between the God Warrior and the Ohmu, which was storyboarded, was completely cut. The second half of the film had a complicated action scene involving Yupa fighting off Tolmekian soldiers. That too was cut, with one character remarking 'I don't have time!' The soldiers are killed with a simple depiction of a quick flash.

Later when Hideaki Anno saw this scene, he joked, "This is where it suddenly looks like Ishikawa Goemon (from Lupin III) (laughs)." However, as a result of mercilessly cutting scenes, work efficiency gradually improved, and they were miraculously able catch up with the proposed release date. By February, much of they animation had been drawn, but the cels were yet to be painted. The painting team, comprised mostly of women, scrambled and worked nearly 24 hours a day. Suzuki noted one woman couldn't go home for three days straight, wearing the same clothes the entire time.

The producers scrambled for three months to complete the film's sound mixing. Voice actors wore special masks made of rubber attached to a paper cup while recording certain scenes. The technique required various trials and errors until the proper effect was achieved.

The film was released in March 1984, with a production schedule of only nine months (May 31, 1983 to March 6, 1984) and with a budget equivalent to $1 million. Over 56,078 drawings were made, and 263 colors were used. The film became a massive critical and commercial hit, however, Miyazaki's perfectionism felt the film only deserved a rating of "65 points". "I made it by skipping all the legitimate production procedures of the movie, but I still haven't grasped the theme. Even if I had another six months, I would have only reached 68 points."

Suzuki was even harsher, giving the film a score of "30" and saying, "Miyazaki-san is not just a director, but a writer, so I wanted him to move on to a newer horizon. It's disappointing that we're looking back on the present from the future."

The profits earned from the film were later used in the production of "The Story of Yanagawa's Canals", a documentary released on August 1987.

Image Girl
Prior to the film's release in 1984, the company sponsors held "Nausicaa Girl Contest" to select an "image girl" for the film. Narumi Yasuda, who turned 18 at the time, was chosen out of 7,600 applicants. They announced that Yasuda would sing the theme song to "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" that would be featured during the film, but Miyazaki and Takahata opposed this as they felt there would be a discrepancy between the contents of the film and the song.

In the end, the song was never used in the film and was only used during movie trailers and TV spots.

Music
Joe Hisaishi was hired to compose and arrange the film's score. This would be his first involvement with Miyazaki's works. Hisaishi was initially only supposed to compose music for the "image album", a promotional album released prior to the movie. It would have featured the theme song composed by Haruomi Hosono and sung by Narumi Yasuda. Besides Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yuji Takahashi, and Hikaru Hayashi were considered as the film's main composer.

Neither Miyazaki nor Takahata had any prior knowledge of Hisashi. It is said the flashback song "The Distant Days" was sung by Mai, the daughter of Hisaishi, who was four years old at the time.

The main soundtrack was produced using a 50-member orchestra, and instruments such as the Prophet-5, LinnDrum, MC4, and DX7, and folk instruments such as quena, tabla, and dulcimer were used.

Release
stands alongThe film was originally released by Toei Company in Japan on March 4, 1984,and sold almost a million tickets. A heavily edited and English-dubbed version of the film was released theatrically in North America, shown on HBO and released on VHS by New World Pictures & Manson International in the 1980s as "Warriors of the Wind".

According to Nausicaa.net, the voice actors and actresses were not even informed of the film's plotline and more than 30 minutes of the movie were cut from the film because New World felt that "the parts were slow moving". As a result, part of the film's narrative meaning was lost; some of the environmentalist themes were diluted as was the main subplot about the Ohm, altered to turn them into aggressive enemies. Most of the characters were renamed (for example, Nausicaä became "Princess Zandra"). The cover for the VHS release featured a cadre of male characters, who are not part of the film, riding the resurrected God Warrior — including a still-living Warrior shown briefly in a flashback. It was released around the world under various different titles, such as Sternenkrieger (literally "Star Warriors") in Germany. It was rumored that June Foray provided the voice of Zandra, though this has been proven as untrue.

Many fans of Nausicaä, along with Miyazaki himself, dislike this version; Miyazaki suggested that people should put it "out of their minds." Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki have asked fans to forget its existence and later adopted a strict "no-edits" clause for future foreign releases of its films. On hearing that Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein would try to cut Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable, one of Studio Ghibli's producers sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".

The rating of this film is PG in both the United Kingdom and US.

An uncut and re-dubbed version of Nausicaä was released on DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on February 22, 2005 for Region 1. This DVD also includes the Japanese audio track with English subtitles. Optimum Home Entertainment released the film in Region 2, and the Region 4 DVD is distributed by Madman Entertainment. The 2005 DVD version made it around the world uncut.

Manga
Miyazaki's manga version of Nausicaä was written over a period of 13 years, with breaks taken to work on Studio Ghibli films. Serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine, the first chapter was published in February 1982, and the last chapter in March 1994. As can be expected, the story of the manga is far more complex than that of the film. The tale depicted in the film roughly corresponds to only the first quarter of the manga (which is all that had been written at the time the film was produced), with significant differences in plot.

In addition to the plot, there are other significant differences in the story – the characters are more developed and the environmentalist tone is more sophisticated, echoed in the complex worldview of Princess Mononoke. Nausicaä herself is portrayed as being much more potent, with abilities that are not always explained.

The Nausicaä manga is published in English by VIZ Media. Earlier editions of the English manga and fan translations often used the title Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, omitting the definite article.