The World of Nausicaa Look-alikes Pt. 1

By now it's blatantly obvious of my inordinate adoration for Nausicaa. I haven't completely worn the idea into the ground just yet, so there's plenty of time to still do that. But you could read something like that elsewhere, for I'm sure the hordes of Miyazaki zealots are plentiful. If anything, the damned tattoo is going to say it better than words, so I won't clutter this blog up with something that easily exists in droves. I like to keep it fresh. Like my vegetable bin or some fresh laundry. Or seldom talked about anime. Something like that.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was, and is, obviously influential in the otaku world, both in its original manga format and the film adaptation of the same name. Most immensely popular media goes on to to inspire and influence other works, be it in theme, character design and motivation, setting or flagrant imitation. Throughout the years I've noticed some female characters through various forms of entertainment that looked an awful lot like the red-haired Gaian beauty. Some are subtle, having few similarities but a small shoulder clinging companion; others, not so much, with more than a few "coincidental" features. I'm here only to discuss fun little bits of discernment, so don't expect much critiquing or adverse reactions towards such creations. Hell, I'm sure if I were to ever make a damned story it'd probably pay more than a slight homage. Ah, such is the draw of Nausicaa.

• Yellow Iris, Battle Circuit

 Diana Martines, or Yellow Iris, is from the excellent Capcom Beat'em up Battle Circuit for the CPSII arcade hardware. Tons of great games on the CPSII, including Street Fighter II, Progear, Darkstalkers, Dungeons and Dragons, and loads more. Capcom easily made some of the best arcade games along with the Neo Geo in the mid-90s. That's an entirely different blog post, though, so I digress per usual and all that nonsense.

At first glance Yellow Iris doesn't have a whole lot in common with our subject lady except for her red hair, which is obviously much longer than Nausicaa's. Closer inspection, however, shows a small, furry creature nestled on her shoulder amid her hair. Teto? Pretty damn close, save for a different pattern of brown stripes on its forehead. Also, Yellow Iris herself is almost like an anthropomorphic fox-squirrel, or at least some sort of human hybrid. Just look at those ears. Anyhow, it's obvious that her companion 'Fin' was obviously inspired by Teto, but that's about all she really has in common. It's a marvelous game from Capcom's prime, and kind of a hidden gem of sorts. You should probably play it.

• Marin, Windaria

Having recently watched Windaria and admiring Marin throughout the film prompted me to make this list in the first place. She's a fairly conspicuous nod, if not just downright blatant, really. Mutsumi Inomata at least still gives both Marin and her companion a fresh look with her unique style, regardless of the obvious similarities. I'm a sucker for those big eyes that she draws so well. Red hair and a squirrel-like shoulder mount may look a bit uninspired, but I'd be lying if she wasn't one of the cutest damned characters I've seen in quite some time. But you'll just be too depressed by the end of the film anyway to appreciate such beauty with tears in your eyes and all that.

•  Lady Clarisse d'Cagliostro, Lupin the Third: The Castle of the Cagliostro

Hold it! Before anyone jumps down my throat: yes, I'm aware this film was made before anything Nausicaa. If anything, Lady Clarisse is a sort of proto-Nausicaa, for it's pretty obvious the route Miyazaki took when creating her, especially when looking back at his more raw, primitive concept art. Another interesting similarity between Clarisse and Nausicaa is the fact that they were both actually voiced by the same actress, Sumi Shimamoto, who would later go on to play Kyoko Otonashi of Maison Ikkoku. Nausicaa has brown eyes and a more mature look about her, but the similarities are quite obvious.

• Tia, Balthus: Tia's Radiance

 Oh boy. I'm only putting Tia on the list for her obvious Ghibli inspired art style and the fox-squirrel companions parked on her shoulder, which never even happens outside of the cover art. If anything, Balthus: Tia's Radiance is a condensed, abridged version of Castle in the Sky with some hentai thrown in. I don't really understand why this was made. Well, I obviously know it was to cash in off the success of the film, but the film is quite the enigma, really. It's a 30 minute OVA with a little hentai at the beginning with a nameless character, with another short scene about half into the movie. Otherwise it's a few panty and cleavage shots scattered throughout. The animation, voice acting and music is all quite good, despite the obvious stolen Ghibli art. It's like they almost tried to make a legitimate anime but didn't have enough time or money, and instead resulted with a complete inane mess of insipid storytelling and lackluster sex scenes. It's quite boring, really, and nothing really happens, making it fairly hard to recommend. Damn shame and a misuse of talent.

I know there are more Nausicaa clones out there amid the mass amount of anime, manga and videogames, and I'm almost certain I had at least one more I was going to put on this list. I'll conclude this for now, and am fairly certain there will be a part two. Have YOU seen any Nausicaas lately? Let me know if you strike paydirt; I pay good money. I almost put Rall on here from Cream Lemon, but I didn't think flying on a mehve thingy and having a talking companion that occasionally rode on her shoulder should count. Til next time.

Fun With References: Windaria; The Downfall of Kunihiko Yuyama

Awhile back I mentioned a phenomenal film I'd recently seen, Leda: The Fantastic Adventures of Yohko, and how much I adored it; I also mentioned that I love references and that they make me all giddy inside and whatnot. I recently spotted another little reference that happened to make me smile, which happens to be another film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, as well as character designs by the great Mutsumi Inomata. Inomata worked as both a character designer and an animation director, with work in such notable series as City Hunter, Urusei Yatsura and Magical Princess Minky Momo. I still can't believe that the original Minky Momo material remains un-translated, both in manga and anime form; but that's another story altogether, so I digress--and get back on topic. Anyhow, the film at hand here is Windaria, or, the butchered and edited localization title, Once Upon a Time. Actually, the original Japanese title isn't just Windaria, but Legend of Fabulous Battle Windaria, although that title is usually shortened. It's a beautiful, eerie, and stunningly animated film in the same vein of Leda. Oh, and speaking of Leda, that's where today's reference comes from!

See that dog with the red bandana riding on that hover bike with Leda? He talks. And floats. And doesn't know what a walkman player is. But that's okay, because he's Leda's sidekick, Lingum in that superb film. Go watch it--after you finish reading my rubbish blog, that is!

Lingum shows up in a few different frames throughout Windaria, most notably at the very beginning. He sadly isn't pseudo-anthropomorphic or has the ability to hover or talk, but instead acts as a normal, lethargic canine. I'm not quite sure if I ever caught Leda herself amongst the crowd in Windaria, but I wouldn't rule it out, especially since a certain Princess in the film shares a good deal of resemblances.

Windaria is an incredible piece of animation. I really can't express my infatuation for both of the aforementioned films, and especially couldn't provide eloquent prose at this damned hour to justify such a claim. I reckon such a thing may happen in the near future, but I certainly even doubt my own listless nature and procrastination. I blame the large list of things I need to watch. Clearly a good excuse. I did want to talk about something else, though: what the hell happened to Kunihiko Yuyama? I don't understand how you can make such fluid, beautifully crafted animation that stands out amongst most theatrical films of the time and just quit, only to make countless Pokemon specials, mediocre hentai and the completely superfluous Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning. I just hate seeing directors go into film purgatory, especially if it's self made. It's like John Carpenter or George Romero or Martin Scorsese or blah blah blah; you get the point. It's just sad, really. I guess this is the dilemma of the Anachronistic Otaku.