The giant prehistoric creatures in Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are called Ohmu. Their name is often rendered as Ōmu or Ohm in English translations, but “Ohmu” is the widely used romanization associated with the film.
The Ohmu inhabit the Toxic Jungle, a vast ecosystem created after environmental catastrophe. They resemble enormous armored insects and have multiple eyes that change color according to their emotional state. Although they can be terrifying when enraged, they also function as protectors of the forest and its living systems.
Nausicaä was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released in 1984, before Studio Ghibli was formally founded. The film adapts Miyazaki’s own manga, which continued for years beyond the movie’s story. The Ohmu are sometimes mistaken for kodama, the small forest spirits in Princess Mononoke, but the two belong to entirely different Ghibli worlds.