Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 4
Originally published in 1987.
A monk warns Nausicaä that omens of an apocalypse, Daikaisho, will appear soon and the forest will boil over to cover the land. His predictions appear to be coming true when she arrives in the Forest in the South and discovers Lord Miralupa has developed mutant spores for biological warfare, but the mold begins growing uncontrollably and there's no antidote.
Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki (born 1941 in Tokyo, Japan) is a prominent filmmaker of many popular animated feature films. He is also a co-founder of Studio Ghibli, an animation studio and production company.
Miyazaki's films often incorporate recurrent themes, such as humanity's relationship to nature and technology, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic. The protagonists of his films are often strong, independent girls or young women; the villains, when present, are often morally ambiguous characters with redeeming qualities.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind consists of seven books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.