Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Volume 4

Nausicaa departs from the besieged town and heads south to find the answers to the mystery of the southern forest. Kushana and Kurotowa leave on a mission of their own - to steal ships to rescue her besieged Third Army. Yupa and company travel through the forest and meet with the crew of the gunship. A massive migration of insects has begun, drawn south by the artificial spores created by the Dorok scientists, possibly triggering a catastrophic extension of the miasmic forest called the daikasho.

Once again the story unfolds around a breath-taking action set-piece. From the appearance of a single flying insect to the vision of vast swarms filling the sky, Kushana's daring raid on her brother's camp under cover of the insect migration is show more a terrifying, exhilarating spectacle, but it's the slowly mounting dread of the Dorok mold as it grows and spreads, poisonous to humans and insects alike, apparently unstoppable and intelligent that heralds the coming apocalypse. If I read much past this point I can't remember it - I've no idea how it all works out. Under the dazzling visuals and extraordinary storytelling, it's all getting rather sombre and grim. What hope for humanity's survival? show less