From AR402004@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU Sat Apr 4 18:07:59 1998 Date: Sat, 04 Apr 98 17:48:26 EST From: Steven Feldman To: "Mike Johnson, nausicaa listowner" Subject: Letter from NAUSICAA PT. 2, no. 1 Resent-Date: Sat, 4 Apr 1998 17:18:41 -0800 (PST) Resent-From: "Michael S. Johnson" Resent-To: "Michael S. Johnson" >From NAUSICAA PART TWO #1 (Winter 1989): OUT OF THE MIASMA A limited series with a letter column, you ask? Well, we received so much mail for Nausicaa Par 1 that we decided to make space here for a sampling of the mountain of praise you've buried us under. Our first letter comes from Stephen (sic) Feldman and is required reading . . . Viz, I've only seen the American versions of the Nausicaa manga and anime, and so am ill equipped to make comparisons to the originals, yet feel compelled to extoll Mivazaki's creation. Nausicaa blends familiar elements in the fantasy canon, alternately recalling Lord of the Rings, Dune, Star Wars, and even Elfquest in its hybridization, but smoothly synthesizing the parts into a whole that is fresh and unique. This is in large part due to Mivazaki's particular emphasis on less frequently used genre motifs. It could be argued that The Road Warrior too, had an environmental angle to it, but postapocalyptic (sic) scenarios from Planet of the Apes to The Terminator always bemoan the destruction of nature while giving few suggestions on how to set things right (Silent Running is a notable exception). Nausicaa's ecosystem, however, functions narratively on a variety of levels, many of them overt and immediate. The harshness of the landscape is no mere springboard for dramatic confrontation between warring tribesmen as in Robert Altman's Quintet, but serves as a veritable personification of a long struggle's aftermath. Man is oppressed by nature gone mad, by his own madness but he doesn't realize that this oppression is temporary --the Sea of Corruption is, in fact, a sort of self-healing manifestation that will allow him to someday reap Gaea's bounty once more. Princess Nausicaa lives among a tribe of holistic post-nuclear descendants who strive to get along with their more than others. She in particular is attuned to the mutated giant insects which overrun a deadly poisonous, spore choked forest. No simple girl, she is a budding messiah, recognized by the secretly sentient insects, yet not by people. Before the elements of the intertribal intrigue and messiahship lead one to comparisons with Dune, let it be clarified that Nausicaa's trials are neither as dark nor portentous. Despite the story's often dynamic and realistic treatment of "fantasy" fare the characters display heart and a generally rational approach to problems, so that conflicts are not grossly overstated nor characters one-dimensional. Characterization, nuance, and tone are great concerns here, making Nausicaa a surprisingly rewarding comic. It has great range. There is excitement, even mayhem, on the one hand, and drama, pathos, and life-affirming revelation on the other. The drawing style Miyazaki used for the Nausicaa manga differs from the style seen in popular manga for two main reasons. Firstly, he has a predilection for many rather than few (an average of ten) panels per page. Secondly, his line work resembles the French comic style moreso than the Japanese. While these two elements would superficially imply that Miyazaki is "less cinematic" than his countrymen and more conversant with the American style of dense comics storytelling, the result is paradoxically otherwise. A comic book with an abundance of heart, intelligence, and action, Nausicaa bridges the gap between last year's two industry award winners, Watchmen and Concrete. The novelistic coherence and depth of the former is omnipresent in Nausicaa, as is the humanity and deceptive simplicity of the latter. Truly, Nausicaa is in a class of its own. Stephen (sic) Feldman Providence, R.I.