Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: Difference between revisions

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Two video game adaptations of Nausicaä were released; both were generic top-down shooters, which greatly offended Miyazaki, since the games openly subverted the message of his film. He has never allowed video games to be made from his films since.

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Ace Pilot]]: Nausicaä, of course.

* [[Adipose Rex]]: The king of Torumekia and both of his sons.

* [[After the End]]

*** The starship is supposed to be the Yamato from [[Uchuu Senkan Yamato]].

* [[Aristocrats Are Evil]]: The Torumekian nobility usually combines this with [[Villainous Glutton]] and maybe [[Dirty Coward]].

* [[Artistic License: Biology]]: Even if they are {{spoiler|bio-engineered}}, [[Square-Cube Law|arthropods simply can't get that big]] and if they could it's unlikely that they would have blue blood, since hemocyanin is far too inefficient at conducting oxygen for such massive creatures.

* [[Badass Grandpa]]: Master Yupa, a very well-known (and feared, for good reason) [[Old Master]] and [[Master Swordsman]].

* [[Badass Pacifist]]: Nausicaä. Most of the time she prefers to solve her problems nonviolently, and the one time she used a weapon to kill ([[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|after her father died]]) she was overcome with guilt. She does use a gun to ''[[Technical Pacifist|threaten]]'' the Pejite, though.

* [[Barehanded Blade Block]]: Lord Yupa does this to prevent a slaughter aboard a ship, taking a sword point in the forearm, through his armor. Despite Yupa's calm, unflinching demeanor, Nausicaä is the only one who notices the blood dripping from the hilt, and the shudder of pain in Yupa's body, showing the extent Yupa will go to to keep the peace.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: All semblance of the compassionate, loving and unconditionally kind Nausicaä gets ripped away when her father is murdered: In her place emerges [[Unstoppable Rage|a rampaging beast in the guise of a Princess]], who proceeds to ''[[Foe-Tossing Charge|slaughter]]'' the soldiers responsible. This is even more pronounced in the manga, where Nausicaä's father only dies later of natural causes and she flies off the handle simply because the soldiers were trespassing on her kingdom and getting spores everywhere. She only kills one guy, though.

* [[Blinded by the Light]]: Nausicaä uses flash grenades to stun the Ohmu and convince them to leave her people alone, since she's not willing to kill them. It works much better than trying to do so anyway.

** Later on in the film, the people of the Valley use them against the Tolmekians and capture a [[Tank Goodness|tank]].

* [[Bling of War]]: Kushana's got it, big time.

** [[Bling Bling Bang]]: And a very nice pistol.

* [[A Boy and His X]]: Nausicaä and her pet Teto.

* [[Bug War]]: In the film, anyways. Torumekia is trying to destroy the bugs because the spores they spread are swallowing up their territory. In the manga they're at least smart enough to realize the futility of fighting against a force of nature and start a war with the Doroks to try and take their territory instead. Either way, the typical portrayal of the bugs as mindless monsters is subverted six ways from Sunday. The giant bugs are probably some of the nicest folks in the entire story, and this shows [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|by the end of the movie]].

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Kurotowa early in the story. Whenever things seem to go his way or he gets a good line, something blows up. Usually right beside him.

* [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp]]: Ohmus, or giant trilobites. It translates to "king insect", not too far off given their size and [[Nigh Invulnerability]].

* [[Call a Smeerp a Rabbit]]: [[wikipedia:Fennec fox|Fox]]-Squirrel, or striped chihuahua-cat-rat life form

* [[Charm Person]]: Nausicaä, which is why the Ohmu listen to her and no other human.

* [[The Chosen One]]: Nausicaä, as foretold by the prophecy of "The Blue-Clad One."

* [[Cool Old Guy]]: Master Yupa, in times of peace. He's seen as a wise and experienced mentor whose advice everyone seeks, from mothers who want to name their babies to kings and chieftains older than he is.

* [[Coat, Hat, Mask]]: Master Yupa wears an outfit like this when Nausicaä first meets him, which makes sense since humans have to wear gas masks at all times to protect themselves from the Toxic Jungle.

* [[Cool Plane]]/ [[Cool Ship]]: Nausicaä's Mehve/Möwe. The Valley's Gunship gets its own share of the spotlight, too.

* [[Creative Closing Credits]]: The film details life in the Valley returning to normal as the invaders peacefully leave. The final shot {{spoiler|is of Nausicaä's cap lying next to a tree sprout, implying that the world is healing.}}

* [[Crucified Hero Shot]]: When Nausicaä risks her life to stop the Pejite from destroying the Valley, she flies at them on her glider with her arms outstretched {{spoiler|and gets shot twice. She gets better though}}.

* [[Daddy's Girl]]: Nausicaä appears to take after her father quite a bit, which is why she flies into such a rage when he's {{spoiler|murdered by the Kolmekians}}.

* [[Days of Future Past]]: Of the [[Feudal Future]] variety.

* [[Depraved Bisexual]]: The Holy Emperor.

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: A preferred style of Master Yupa, usually wielding a full or short sword and off hand main-gauche, or parrying dagger.

* [[Empathic Environment]]

* [[Everything's Better with Princesses]]: Nausicaä, not that you could tell. Kushana, on the other hand...

* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Kushana to Nausicaä. Both are princesses, but the former is scheming and ambitious while the latter is entirely selfless.

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]: Mito has one.

* [[Faceless Goons]]: The Tolmekian soldiers.

* [[Fantastic Nuke]]: The Giant Warrior.

* [[A Father to His Men]]: Kushana to the Third Army.

* [[Gambit Roulette]]: And it was several ''millennia'' in the making.

* [[Garden of Evil]]: The Sea of Corruption, {{spoiler|at least at first.}} In the manga, though, Nausicaä considers {{spoiler|the Hidden Garden}} to be uncomfortably close to this.

* [[Ghibli Hills]]: The titular valley. The rest of the world, though, tends to [[Scenery Gorn]] more often than not.

* [[A God Am I]]: The Holy Emperor, as well as the {{spoiler|Heart of the Crypt of Shuwa}}.

* [[God Save Us From the Queen]]: Princess Kushana.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: More so in the manga.

* [[Heel Realization]]: {{spoiler|The King of Torumekia}}, although [[Redemption Equals Death|too late to do anything about it]], as well as nearly anyone who takes Nausicaä seriously and isn't a [[The Chessmaster|Chessmaster]].

* [[Hollywood Cyborg]]: Movie!Kushana's arm, legs and an unspecified portion of her lower body including where her reproductive organs used to be have been replaced with cybernetics after being eaten by a bug.

* [[Horse of a Different Colour]]: Horseclaws, genetically reconstituted, domesticated prehistoric flightless birds serve as the primary mount of the Torumekians and most of former Eftal. The Doroks use creatures known as "Warbeasts" or "long haired cattle", which look like gigantic Irish Setters with horns and lizard feet.

* [[Humongous Mecha]]: The God Warriors qualify as much as the [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Evangelions]] do (and in fact, [[Hideaki Anno]] worked on both).

* [[Immortality]]: The {{spoiler|Holy Emperor}} is immortal inasmuch as his head can be cut off and he's still as jolly a fellow as ever.

* [[Implacable Man]]: Any [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|enraged Ohmu]]. Actually used as part of a plot to spread the Sea of Corruption on an enemy country.

* [[Important Haircut]]: Kushana slices off her braids as a pledge to avenge her soldiers who were killed when her brothers betrayed her. Also, Nausicaä in the manga gets an [[Important Haircut]] prior to leaving the valley.

* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: Again, Nausicaä, oh so much. She doesn't carry a rifle in her glider for ''ballast''.

** One early example: shooting a rope hanging from a moving vehicle with a pistol while flying a glider at high speeds with the other hand.

* [[Inferred Holocaust]]: The defeat of {{spoiler|the Crypt of Shuwa}} marks a subtle endgame scenario. Selm tells Nausicaä that the center of the forest, {{spoiler|where the toxins have been cleansed, is uninhabitable by the present humans, plants, and animals. Everything was modified to survive along side the forest, and cannot survive in the cleansed world.}} The forest will survive, but {{spoiler|all mankind will perish.}} The final confrontation reveals {{spoiler|the Crypt's}} plans to restore the world to it's pre-Days of Fire state using its {{spoiler|"eggs", preserved animals and humans}}, which are destroyed by Ohma. Without the advanced engineering {{spoiler|the Crypt}} possesses, humanity is doomed to slow extinction. This fulfills Nausicaä's role as {{spoiler|the Blue-Clad One: the prophecy is revealed in the fourth book to not be of a messianic savior, but an angel of death and release, harbinger of the ultimate end.}}

** And yet, Nausicaä assures him that {{spoiler|though he believes humanity is doomed to destruction, life may just find a way without the [[Ancient Conspiracy|interference of the Cult.]]}} In fact, her own experiments about the Sea of Corruption, as well as the Dream of the Ohmu, point to {{spoiler|a world where the current humanity can indeed exist in a world already purified by the forest}}. It is only the {{spoiler|Crypt of Shuwa which calls her on destroying (the old) humanity's chances, but the Heart of the Crypt isn't exactly the best judge of character nor does it care for (or desire) the current humanity's survival.}}

* [[Kill It with Fire]]: How the people of the Valley deal with the spores. The difference is that they only do this when their own trees have been infested, whereas the Tolmekians want to burn down ''the entire forest''.

* [[Lady of War]]: Princess Kushana. Nausicaä strikes a balance between this and straight up [[Action Girl]].

* [[The Messiah]]: {{spoiler|Nausicaä}}.

* [[Missing Mom]]: Nausicaä's mother appears in a flashback, but at the time of the film only her father is alive. {{spoiler|And not for long, either.}}

* [[The Messiah]]: Nausicaä, no matter how much she tries to deny it.

* [[Mordor]]: The Holy City Of Shuwa. Tolas has a bit of this going on, too.

* [[No OSHA Compliance]]: Justified in that the OSHA died out along with Industrialized Civilization. The Pejiti excavation is really ''not'' safe and has a ''lot'' of accidents, including one of Kurotowa's soldiers falling a hundred or so feet to his death in front of him.

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: {{spoiler|Kurotowa in the manga}}, after being severely injured and thrown around like a rag doll, is rescued by {{spoiler|Kushana}}. Then [[Unexplained Recovery|he recovered unexpectedly soon]].

* [[Not So Harmless]]: Rather spectacularly, the manga version of Kurotowa manages to pull this off in the space of his first appearance, going from a seemingly buffoonish lackey to proving himself dangerously competent. If he pulled the switch any faster, he wouldn't count at all.

* [[Nuclear Weapons Taboo]]: The God Warriors. Somewhat averted in that they are actually radioactive, and merely being in their presence is akin to standing next to an open reactor.

* [[Old School Dogfighting]]: The airships engage in plenty of it. See [[Cool Plane]].

* [[The Password Is Always Swordfish]]: The challenge and response chosen by the kids guarding Kushana? "Valley - Wind".

* [[Path of Inspiration]]: The religion founded around the {{spoiler|Crypt of Shuwa}}. All "holiness" that radiates from it is actually [[The Plan|a plot]] {{spoiler|by the Heart of the Crypt to cleanse the world and bring the old mankind back}}.

* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Ohmus when enraged.

* [[Redheaded Hero]]: Or auburn, technically.

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: ''Every single time'' an insect, particularly an Ohmu, is hurt, will bring on an onslaught from the bugs. See [[Implacable Man]] above for how it's deliberately used by the warring nations.

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]:

* [[Small Girl, Big Gun]]: Nausicaä when she grabs a hold of a Pejite machine gun. She doesn't actually kill anyone with it though, just intimidates them.

* [[The Siege]]

* [[A Storm Is Coming]]: Before the climax of the film.

* [[Surrounded by Idiots]]: The men under Kurotowa's command seem to be rather incompetent, which annoys him to no end.

** [[Word of God|Word of Miyazaki]] states that Nausicaä's resurrection near the end of the movie was not meant to be analogous to Jesus and that he would have changed it if somebody had pointed out the similarities before the film came out.

* [[Winged Humanoid]]: Explicitly averted and ridiculed: when Nausicaä is identified as [[The Messiah]] by a throng of religious people, they wonder where her (prophesized) angel wings are. [[Wise Beyond Their Years|Chikoku]] angrily states that only a monster would have wings and that, instead, Nausicaä's white glider fills this role.

* [[Youngest Child Wins]]: Nausicaä is younger than any of her siblings and, unlike any of them, lived long enough to become an adult.

* [[Zip Me Up]]: Kushana asks Nausicaä to fasten her armor at one point in the manga. [[Les Yay]]? Of course.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]

[[Category:Manga]]