Everything Is Final Fantasy

We listen to and analyze Dancing Mad, the masterpiece final boss battle music from Final Fantasy VI. What techniques does Nobuo Uematsu use to invoke Bach fugues and which are more akin to classic rock like Emerson, Lake, & Palmer? How does it so expertly give voice to the villain, the ruined world, and even our heroes? Let's listen!

Nausicaa must race from the toxic jungle back to the Valley of the Wind to tell everyone what she has learned but once again the forces of industry and violence and power get in her way.

Nausicaa saves and meets the Pejitei Pilot who seems to think he is the hero of this story. He wonders about her as she discovers a deep truth about the world.

Our hero crosses the threshold into the toxic jungle and fully embraces her mantras of non-violence. Plus, we witness a strangely beautiful vision.

This Studio Ghibli classic carries a powerful message of non-violence but it is also a complicated question when our hero is moved to take a life.