In the future, the oceans have risen to flood all the continents due to humanity's negligence of the environment. Only a few bits of land have been spared, and one of those is the city-island where Elfie lives with her grandfather. One day, due to an underwater incident, she discovers that she can breathe underwater. Her grandfather reveals that in truth she is one of the mythical sea-people. Using the city folk's xenophobia, local politicians spark a war with this hidden people to distract people from their current resource problems, and Elfie is caught in the middle of it.
Direction
Kuroda squeezes epic scope into 72 tight minutes.
Production
Underwater sequences have that hand-painted 80s glow.
Director
Yoshio Kuroda
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Japan's 1980s eco-consciousness boom, it reflects real anxieties about industrial pollution and coastal development.
Sumi Shimamoto also voiced Nausicaä that same year—1986 was HER year for saving doomed ecosystems.
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