Hayao Miyazaki He was captivated by the file dedicated to the Phaeacian princess Nausicaä included in an introduction to Greek mythology. He was so fascinated by her free and courageous spirit that when he finally read theOdyssey He was disappointed to find that Homer's epic poem did not give the character the relief that the future director ofSpirited Away believed he deserved it. Surely, at that time Miyazaki had already begun to fantasize about his version of Nausicaä, materialized when in 1982 the magazine Animage commissioned him to write a manga.