Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind 4 by Hayao Miyazaki: A-

From the back cover:
Now Princess Nausicaä and the God Warrior, a biotechnological abomination of the war known as the Seven Days of Fire, embark on a journey to the Crypt of Shuwa to seal away forever the terrible weaponry hidden within. But everyone seems to be conspiring to prevent Nausicaä from carrying out her mission, even the mysterious guardian of the crypt himself! In the end, as the surprising secret of the crypt is finally revealed, Miyazaki makes a profound statement about free will and the sanctity of life that sheds light on our own technologically advanced, yet morally troubled, twentieth century.

Review:
I was a little disappointed by this final volume because I had trouble understanding exactly why Nausicaä made the decision she did at the very end. I think that she wanted humanity to take its chances and not accept any help from the crypt’s technological capabilities, since that would once again be fiddling with life, but said chances look very slim indeed, so I’m a little confused.

In any case, the ending is suitably epic, with a couple of moving casualties. Mostly it’s action, action, action and plot, plot, plot, but there is actually a bit of humor, too, from the unlikely source of a crazy emperor’s severed head. I also liked how one little romantic subplot gets resolved in a couple of panels, even though Nausicaä’s eventual fate is a little less clear.

Overall, reading this series has been an interesting and enjoyable experience. It has required a lot of brain power to digest ideas, events, and their significance, but it’s been worth it. It’s not every day a manga can make you put it down and stare contemplatively at your wall for a few minutes, after all.