Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

One of my favorite pieces of fiction in any medium. I really can't gush about how underlooked it is because of its age (1982 - 1994). It's such a shame we'll probably never see a proper adaptation since Hayao Miyazaki is protective of his work (and rightfully so, his work is incredible).

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is an epic fantasy post-apocalyptic steampunk-ish story where the earth has been engulfed by fire and what remains are tiny pieces of inhabitable land and giant forests of corruption, filled with miasma and massive insects. The world is incredibly well made and always very interesting. The story always kept me interested and was surprisingly varied. The action is S-tier, with a ton of great battles and set pieces... I could go on, you get the point.

Really, if there's a single issue with this manga, it's that the action scenes can sometimes be a little difficult to follow because of how much is happening at one time. You get used to it fairly quickly though, and it's still good that fights aren't drawn out like other manga.

If you're going to read ONE manga in your entire life, absolutely read this!