List of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters

This is a list of characters from the manga Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Major characters

Valley of the Wind

Princess Nausicaä

Nausicaa is the main character, she is a brave, caring person. Nausicaa has a special connection between animals and believes that burning the Toxic Jungle is a bad move. She is a very courageous and smart girl who doesn't think war is the answer to anything.

King Jihl

Nausicaa's father, the king of the Valley of Wind. He dies in the first book, due to long-term poisoning caused by the Sea of Corruption.

Lord Yupa/Yupamiralda

An explorer and the greatest swordsman in the Periphery. A mentor figure to Nausicaa, he travels with Asbel and Ketcha in the early parts of the story. He dies protecting Kushana from the vengeful Mani Tribe.

Mito

The sergeant-at-arms and King Jihl's retainer. His primary role is piloting the Valley's gunship in support of Nausicaa's mission. and enjoys living in the valley.

Tepa

A young wind rider who attempts to fill Nausicaa's role back in the Valley after she leaves.

Gram/Matriarch

One of the wise women.

Pejite

Asbel

Prince of Pejite, forced to journey in exile after Princess Kushana invades Pejite. He becomes Nausicaa's, and later Yupa's, friend and ally throughout the manga.

Lastelle (Rastel)

Princess of Pejite and Asbel's twin sister. Dies at the story's beginning, fleeing from Kushana's invasion.

Tolmekia

Kushana

Princess of Tolmekia. She cares deeply for the men under her command, but is portrayed as brutal and harsh to her enemies. Hideaki Anno, who worked on the film of Nausicaa, had planned to do a manga side story centered around Kushana's military exploits, but Miyazaki refused him permission, believing that Anno would only use her to "play war games".^[1]

Susan J. Napier and Patrick Drazen note a parallel between the character of Kushana, the rival warrior princess, and that of Nausicaä - Napier describes Kushana as Nausicaä's "shadow", noting that Kushana is not shown with any "alleviating, "feminine" virtues" as Nausicaä is, but that they share the same tactical brilliance.^[2] Drazen describes this as a "feminine duality".^[3] Miyazaki has described the two characters as being "two sides of the same coin", but Kushana has "deep, physical wounds".^[1]

Kurotowa

Kushana’s aide and a spy for the emperor, at first. He switches allegiance to Kushana when he realizes the Emperor will probably kill him after he fulfills his usefulness. Kurotowa prides himself in being a cynical survivor, but he also feels irresistibly attracted to the idealism and purity of spirit of Nausicaa.

The Emperor of Torumekia (the Vai Emperor)

Fearless, ruthless, and would even assassinate his own children should he perceive them to be an actual threat to his power. Despite his actions, he later plays a key role in destroying the master of the crypt, and formally pronounces his daughter the heir of the remains of the Torumekia before he dies. It is implied in his last warning to Kushana, the dark side of killing family, that his paranoia transformed him into the murderous individual he once was.

The three Princes of Torumekia

The first prince dies when his airship is attacked by insects. The two other princes are shown to be similar to the first, but state that their behavior was an act to convince their father that they were stupid and, therefore, not a threat. The two are content to stay with the Master of the Garden, away from politics and safe from war.

Dorok

Charuka

Priest and commander of the Dorok armies. At first Nausicaa's antagonist, he becomes her ally.

Namulith/Namulis

The Dorok Emperor, or "The Emperor the Elder" in some translations. The elder of two brothers, he is charismatic and a warrior, but has none of his younger brother's psychic abilities. Namulith is over a century old, surviving by having his brain periodically transplanted into cloned bodies. Namulith captures Kushana, hoping to marry her and thus unite the two empires.

Miralupa

The Emperor’s brother, also known as "The Emperor the Younger." Co-regent with Namulith, Miralupa's connection to the ruling Dorok theocracy and his psychic powers give him an edge in the early part of the series. Although he is the younger of the two, he appears much older than his brother because he still inhabits his original body, kept alive by painful life extension treatments. After a reversal of his and his brother's fortunes, Miralupa is assassinated by Namulith. His spirit is redeemed and saved by Nausicaa. He had repeatedly tried to destroy her, but her purity of spirit prevailed, and she returned good for evil.

Chikuku

A young boy with strong telepathy. He was the disciple and assistant of an elderly holy man. This mystical hermit, feeling the approach of his death, left Chikuku in Nausicaa's strong and capable hands. Chikuku becomes loyal to Nausicaa and fiercely protective of her. His weapon of choice is a blow gun that he uses to fire sharp darts. He uses his highly-developed telepathy to help Nausicaa communicate with those with whom she does not share a common language. In volume 6, Chikuku rallies the Dorok people to disobey the Emperor and follow the path of Nausicaa instead. At this time he also reveals for the first time his true full name: Luwa Chikuku Kulubaluka, with Kulubaluka being the name of the emperor who reigned before Namulis's father staged a coup.

Mani tribe

Elder of the Mani tribe

Makes the Ohmus attack Kushana's forces by using a captured, injured baby Ohmu. After Nausicaä stops the attack, he recognizes her as the "Blue Clad One", a savior from old legends. Dies using his psychic powers to save Nausicaa from Miralupa, who considers the legends heresy.

Ketcha/Kecha

An interpreter from the Mani tribe who befriends Asbel and Yupa.

Forest People

Selm

A man of the forest who helps Yupa, Asbel and Ketcha when they crash into the forest. He is with Nausicaa in spirit many times when she needs his guidance, including at the end when she confronts the Master of the Crypt.

Ceraine

Selm's sister.

Others

Ohma

A God-Warrior that who is accidentally activated by those who find him. At first it has the mentality of a child or toddler. However, when Nausicaa gives him his missing core component (along with naming him), his intelligence skyrockets and he begins to mature: discoursing about justice and how he was tasked with judging mankind. He considers Nausicaa to be his mother. He delivers the final blow to the heart of the Crypt before dying from the massive damage received while battling the crypt (His body had been torn in two).

Master of the Garden

A mysterious entity tasked with preserving the knowledge of the ancient world within an isolated and concealed area referred to as "the Garden", an idyllic place containing plants and animals long extinct in the outside world, and samples of literature, music, and advanced sciences. The Master, himself an engineered life-form, cures Nausicaä of her radiation poisoning and reveals to her the plan of the previous civilization: to purify the Earth of toxins using the genetically-engineered Sea of Decay, then use the old sciences and creatures contained within the Garden to rebuild the world. Though he attempts to persuade Nausicaä to remain in the Garden for the rest of her life, her conviction proves too strong and he permits her to leave.

God Warriors

Gargantuan biomechanical beings considered largely responsible for the Seven Days of Fire. While the metal/ceramic skeletons of God Warriors are a common sight across the landscape, the creatures are believed extinct at the beginning of the story. They have the ability to fly by "twisting space", and can fire devastating energy beams. These abilities are fueled by atomic energy, and contact with them is known to cause radiation poisoning, which suggests that the Seven Days of Fire may have been at least partially a Nuclear holocaust. The characters of the manga refer to the radiation emitted by the God Warriors as "poisonous light".

Heedra

Powerful, biologically-engineered warriors (possibly with mechanical additions) from before the Seven Days of Fire. While not capable of destruction on as vast a scale as the God Warriors, they are far more numerous and easier to maintain. Heedra are extremely strong and difficult to kill; they can only be killed by destroying their "core", apparently located in the head just behind the uppermost of their three eyes, or blasting a Heedra into pieces. The cloned bodies of the Dorok Holy Emperor and the Master of the Garden are also referred to as Heedra, suggesting the name may in fact be a catch-all term for genetically engineered humanoids.

Animals

Fox-squirrels

Small, catlike animals, generally found feral and considered impossible to domesticate. These creatures also make a brief cameo appearance in Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

Teto

Nausicaä’s fox-squirrel. Initially hostile, Nausicaa wins him over through her connection with living things, and he accepts and accompanies her on her various destinations. Late in the series, he dies from exposure to the radiation Ohma generates.

Horseclaws

Large, flightless birds genetically-engineered as replacements for horses, which are now entirely extinct in the world of Nausicäa. They are commonly used as beasts-of-burden and as riding animals. Based on Diatryma.^[4]

Kai and Kui

A mated pair of horseclaws, originally belonging to Lord Yupa but given to Nausicäa to aid her on her journeys. Kai is killed saving Nausicäa, after which Kui lays their egg.

Kest

An Ibex, assistant to the Master of the Garden.

Ohmu

Enormous crustaceans resembling pillbugs, the Ohmu play a very important role in the story of Nausicaä. The Ohmu are greatly feared by many people in Nausicaä's world: though they are ordinarily docile, killing any insect while in the forest will drive any nearby Ohmu into a berserk rage. Due to their great size, they can destroy entire settlements in this state, and the spores from forest plants which they scatter as they move can kill crops and render an area unsuitable for human life if left unchecked. However, the molted exoskeletons of the creatures are stronger than ceramics, capable of resisting most human weaponry, and thus highly sought-after as material for weapons, tools, and structures. The Ohmu possess a hive mind with which certain sensitive persons may communicate.

Slug Worms

Slugs the size of small dogs, adept at tracking by scent. The Wormhandler people derive their name from their practice of domesticating and using these creatures. While they appear harmless, they are considered unclean creatures by many non-Wormhandlers.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Saitani, Ryo (January 1995). "I Understand NAUSICAA a Bit More than I Did a Little While Ago". Comic Box. http://www.comicbox.co.jp/e-nau/e-nau.html. Retrieved 2008-11-06. 
2. ^ Napier, Susan J. (1998). "Vampires, Psychic Girls, Flying Women and Sailor Scouts". In Martinez, Dolores P.. The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture: Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Culture. Cambridge University Press. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0521631289. 
3. ^ Drazen, Patrick (October 2002). "Flying with Ghibli: The Animation of Hayao Miyazaki and Company". Anime Explosion! The What, Why & Wow of Japanese Animation. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 253–280. ISBN 1-880656-72-8. 
4. ^ http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/manga/nausicaacharacters.html Nausicaa.net article on "Nausicaä characters"