#I'm going to reread the manga my sister has it. This was always her favourite Ghibli film she has such good taste

[mightydyke]

Watched Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind a few nights ago and I loved it so much. Obsessed with all the metaphors and the symbolism. When Kushana said she wanted to destroy the toxic jungle in order for humans to rule the world again, but we know or can guess that humans trying to gain too much power is probably the exact reason why the toxic jungle is so dangerous. And then we learn that the jungle itself isn't toxic, it's just the soil and water that has been poisoned by human activity!! And the fact that the forest actually purifies the water! And of course Nausicaä discovers this by going into the jungle and learning about it. She's a hero because she studies ecology.

I also loved the theme of the danger of violence, and also Nausicaä trying so hard to stay as pacifist as is feasible even when violence is so tempting. During the battle in the castle in the Valley of the Wind when Tolmekian soldiers are invading, Nausicaä fights them off but she's blocked by Yupa and her sword goes through his arm. My friend was like "surely if he's a master swordsman he knows not to block with his arm?" but I was like "No it shows the damage of violence and how war hurts everyone!!" Another moment that seemed really key to me was when the Tolmekian airship was getting attacked and Nausicaä goes to steal a gunship. Kushana sees her and smiles because she thinks Nausicaä is going to use this ship for battle, that she's been seduced by violence, but then Nausicaä uses that ship to save Kushana! She transforms this weapon into a vehicle of peace, when using it for violence would be so easy, she chooses a different path and that scares Kushana more than anything, which is why she tries to take back control using her gun in the toxic jungle, even though Nausicaä knows that this is only going to cause more suffering. Of course there's the ending where she stops the stampeding Ohm not by force but by empathy, taking the pain of the baby Ohm onto herself when she goes into the acid lake trying to save it, and her dress is stained from it's blood, symbolically allowing its suffering to change her so she can understand it, bringing peace by sacrificing herself, not the Ohm (honestly you could read Nausicaä as a sort of Christ-figure but that's a whole other post). For me, a big thing that really resonated with me and drove in the idea of choosing peace over violence even when it's really hard was every time that Nausicaä cried. Every time she cried I felt like I understood the frustration and feelings of powerlessness so vividly. When she tells Yupa she's going to cut off the water to her underground plants so that they die, just like how the jungle is going to die, because the Tolmekians are stronger and forcing them to go along with the plan, and I could *feel* the anger that everything she'd worked so hard for would be destroyed because she wasn't powerful enough to stop it. And this feeling of helplessness is so similar to when she tried to hide a baby Ohm but it was killed by her own people and her own father. And when she learned of Pejite's plan to use the Ohm to destroy the valley of the wind and she just cant convince these people not to murder her valley. And when she sees the baby Ohm and how much it's been injured and she says something like "I'm so sorry for what we did to you" whilst crying... I felt that so much. And all the time it's because she realises the value in all life, and she can't convince people who see life as worthless compared to their greed, but because she knows life is so valuable she can't respond with violence, but her path of always valuing life works in the end! She doesn't need any weapons when she has compassion and ecology.

[kimium]

For the book asks: 7, 10, and 15!!💜💜💜

(From this ask HERE)

Thanks friend!!! These are great questions!!

7. Is there a series/book that got you into reading?

No, there isn't. I've always been a person that just enjoyed reading, even as a child. When I was old enough to have an allowance I used it all up on books. There were books/ series as a child I enjoyed more than others, but there isn't a particular one that got me into reading.

10. Do you have a guilty favourite?

For manga it's anything written by Kaori Yuki. As a teenager I was shocked by her taboo topics, but now I see some of them are slightly goofy/soap opera-ish. That does not stop me from still loving her works and occasionally rereading her manga.

For novel it's Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Don't get me wrong, I love the book. It also just takes some tropes explored by teen books ("normal" girl who is mistreated, accidentally meets a supernatural being with Power and Sexy Looks, roped into helping him, both falling in love) and writes them for an adult audience.

Still, it's a great story with tons of inspiration from Mexican-folklore. I definitely recommend it. It's a fun story and scratches my favourite trope "supernatural being meets human".

15. Recommend and review a book.

The book I'm going to recommend is The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye. It's a modern retelling of Hamlet, set in New York City.

Picture this: It's modern day New York City. Instead of being a prince, Hamlet (named Ben in the book) is the heir to a massive theatre corporate conglomerate. His dad still dies. His mother still remarries his uncle. Hamlet still believes something is Rotten in the State of Denmark (just New York City now). He is also bi and in an on and off again relationship with Horatio.

Horatio, who is loyal to a fault, immediately flies back to New York City after he hears of Hamlet's father's death. There is, after all, a mystery to solve.

Meanwhile Ophelia (Lia in the book, Hamlet's ex fiancé) has been drawn to this flower shop run by three, seemingly ageless sisters...

This book is breathtaking. The way the mystery has been woven is perfect. All the main characters are perfectly written and are distinctly the characters from the play. Ophelia having a bigger role in the story is fantastic. The three sisters as a reference to the three witches in Macbeth? Perfect.

I also like this book because you don't need to understand Hamlet (or Macbeth) entirely. Sure, knowing the plays helps, but having little to no background knowledge doesn't hinder the story.

An easy 10/10 book. Highly recommend.

(For manga I highly recommend Phantom Tales of the Night. It has Japanese folklore/myths intertwined in seemingly unrelated stories. There is also a shopkeeper that's Less Benevolent than Yuuko from XXXHolic and is definitely Chaotic Neutral to Chaotic Evil depending on their mood. If you meet this shopkeeper you Will have to give up a secret. Even if you think you don't have one, you do. The shopkeeper will make sure of that.)