One of the great ecological fables of our time, Nausicaa is a post-apocalyptic tale about the adventures of the princess of a tiny independent valley on the fringes of a poisonous jungle the periphery of a vast empire. A neighbouring state is attacked and destroyed by supposedly allied imperial forces searching for something, and that search also brings them to the Valley, where Nausicaa sees them off, but war is brewing and the Princess will soon find herself forced to serve under the treacherous and ruthless general Kushana, fourth daughter of the Emperor.

The lush and detailed imagery of the opening pages belies some clumsy story-telling - it was Miayazaki's fist attempt at writing and drawing a comic - but by the end of this volume the pacing of the action scenes become a wonder. The terrible epic majesty and horror of the gunship attack on the Imperial formation and the desperate flight thought the insect-filled jungle are breathtaking rushes of beauty and adrenaline. Meanwhile the strong moral heart of Nausicaa, with an inner core of rage, is sorely tested, and balanced by the more spiky and ethically dubious characters of the charismatic Kushana and her cynical and wily advisor, Kurotawa.

In the background the world of the Jungle of Corruption poisoning the air with miasma unfolds - a deadly place for humans but it has evolved to clean the soil of human pollution, though whether humans can survive in a cleaned world is unknown. War spreads and so does the jungle, humans heedlessly marching to their own destruction. it's a powerful and sobering vision, but also an epic and majestic one.