Published 09-03-2026
Keywords
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,
- animated film,
- soundtrack,
- harmony
Copyright (c) 2026 Cambridge Arts and Humanities Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This paper focuses on four selected cues from the animated feature Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Through close observation and study of their harmonic phenomena, the author examines how the music merges with the visuals from two perspectives: (1) the way tonal planning and chord progressions in the score drive the narrative and (2) their reflection of the film’s imagery. The aim is to illuminate the composer’s characteristic fusion of music and animation. All musical examples are drawn from Joe Hisaishi & Studio Ghibli Best Piano Collection.
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