2022 Volume 21 Pages 127-143
A mythical flood is a motif in many of the world’s origin myths. The content of these myths tells of a few chosen humans who survive a disastrous flood and start a new human history.
Most of these stories share a similar theme, namely that a first creation by a deity (or deities) was a failure and only a second one after a flood succeeded. Thus, the second [group of] humans is a reset of the first creation. We may, therefore, name this type of myth “resetting myth.” This kind of resetting-myth story is often used as a motif in near-futuristic SF fantasies.
The essay takes up “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,” a manga story drawn by Miyazaki Hayao and “Evangelion” by Anno Hideaki and focuses on these stories as they refute a resetting myth. But, on the other hand, there are also stories of resistance against a deity/deities in origin myths (including flood myths) among the Miao and Yi populations in the valleys of southeast China.
The study aims to deepen the aspects mentioned above by focusing on the “resetting myths” authored by Miyazaki Hayao and Anno Hideaki.
