Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Stage Play Shares Stunning Clip

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind may not receive as much notoriety as its “cousins” at Studio Ghibli such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, but the anime film that originally spawned from a manga of the same name was one of the original reasons as to why the legendary animation studio formed. In creating the anime adaptation for this anime franchise, the spirit of Nausicaa continues to live on not just in the hearts and minds of anime fans the world over, but also with a live action stage play that blends the sci-fi story with the ancient Japanese art of Kabuki!

The video itself shows how the creators behind the stage play have been able to do a fantastic job of recreating the environment and characters to be found in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, taking place in a magical, sci-fi setting that follows a princess attempting to save her world from a looming war.

Kabuki has long been a part of Japanese culture, spawning in the 1600s as a form of “dance art” that has the stage players painting their faces in garrish make up, with only men allowed to portray all of the characters within the play itself. The practice obviously continues to this day, with numerous anime franchises getting kabuki plays of their own, including a Kabuki play for the ninja anime franchise of Naruto!

With Studio Ghibli already putting together the elements for a theme park that will bring a number of their properties to life, we’ll be crossing our fingers that Kabuki versions of films like Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro will be performing as an upcoming attraction.

What do you think of this amazing display that uniquely brings Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to life? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Studio Ghibli!

For those of you unfamiliar with Nausicaa, the story began under Miyazaki way back in 1982. The story was published under Tokuma Shoten and ran until 1984 when Miyazaki directed a film covering the series. Nausicaa tells the story of of its titular heroine who is the princess of a small kingdom. Living in a rather desolate world, Nausicaa tries to save the Valley of the Wind from disaster as ecological warfare wages around her, and the young princess discovers how the sins of her ancestors damned the world she must live in. After its movie was released, Nausicaa became a quick favorite with Studio Ghilbli fans thanks to its unforgiving commentary on sustainability and pollution. Now, Miyazaki’s cult classic is getting re-imagined for an entirely new medium, and fans are eager to see how Studio Ghibli will fare on the live stage.