This is an original B2 Japanese poster, printed in 1984, for the release of “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” (風の谷のナウシカ).

Based on Miyazaki’s own manga, “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” tells the story of Nausicaä, the princess of a small nation who lives in a world devastated by a holocaust called the “Seven Days of Fire”. She tries to stop other warring nations from destroying themselves and from destroying the only means by which their world can be saved from the spread of polluted wastelands.

While created before Studio Ghibli was founded, the movie is often considered to be the beginning of the studio because of the involvement of Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki, Hideaki Anno and Joe Hisaishi. Because of this, Studio Ghibli generally includes Nausicaä as a “Ghibli film”.

This particular style is pretty uncommon, but not the rarest one. It’s also worth noting that there is another version of this same poster with no text on the left of the aircraft (the one that sits on the top of the poster).

This style is much more Western than Japanese. Notice the heavy details on everything and the realistic look of the piece. The “action” feels somewhat static and posed. It’s clearly not something Hayao Miyazaki conceived. Despite of that, this is a very impressive illustration, full of color and rich saturation. The poster features some important elements of the movie, such as the Valley of Wind’s mills and castle, Nausicaä’s glider, the Ohmu, the God Warrior and the polluted wastelands.

Daiei used this poster for secondary distribution.