Studio Ghibli’s ‘Nausicaa’ is one of the influences for Netflix anime ‘Eden,’ says director

With robot characters, Artificial Intelligence, and a post-apocalyptic setting, “Eden” seems like your quintessential science fiction adventure anime.

But if you’ve seen the trailer and felt that it was more Ghibli-esque than gritty cyberpunk, you would not be wrong.

In a virtual roundtable interview with the media, creator Justin Leach said that he is a fan of the classic Studio Ghibli films. He counts them among his main influences, along with Steven Spielberg films like “E.T.” and “Indiana Jones.”

“I think for ‘Eden’ we tried to basically combine sort of Ghibli aesthetic with a Steven Spielberg style of storytelling,” Leach said. “It’s sort of like, it has a wide audience appeal. We want to tell a moving story that everyone can enjoy and just have fun watching.”

Like many Studio Ghibli films, “Eden” has a young female protagonist, a human child named Sara. The color palette of the animation is also bright and warm, far from the dark and neon typically found many in science fiction shows.

Director Yashiro Irie also admitted that the show contains direct influences from a specific Ghibli film, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” released in 1984.

It makes sense that “Nausicaa” is one of the influences of “Eden,” as it is also set in a post-apocalyptic world where the environment has become dangerous for humans to live in.

“When you look at ‘Eden’ there is a kind of desert landscape within that world and that is a direct reference or something that’s directly influenced by ‘Nausicaa,’” Irie said, saying that he watched the film when he was in middle school and it made him want to pursue animation.

The protagonists of both films, Sara and Nausicaa, both drive their own vehicles across the desert. Sara has a scooter, while Nausicaa uses a flying device.

“Eden” is the first original anime offering from Netflix. The show has four episodes, which are now available for streaming on the platform. — LA, GMA News