Film: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (English title)
Kaze No Tano No Naushika (Japanese title)
Voices: Shia LeBouf (English)
Yoji Matsuda (Japanese)
The Character
In this humble fan's opinion, Asbel is not the strongest Prince in the anime world. He is clearly overshadowed by Nausicaä. In fact, in his first proper scene, he has to be rescued by Nausicaä from the bottom of the Sea of Corruption.
However, he is not weak. He is in fact a very good pilot and mechanic. He can be forgiven for having the same views as Kushana and Torumekians for, just like them, he feels it's the right thing to do. It is only when the pair reach Pejite that he finally stands up for Nausicaä's beliefs.
Action-wise, he doesn't get much of it. He doesn't necessarily move the story along. You could call him a sidekick for he seems to follow Nausicaä. Due to their similar ages, Asbel would have made a potential love interest for Nausicaä and in a typical film, there would probably be a chance for a little bit of romance. But Nausicaä is not interested in romance; she has more pressing things on her mind until the battle and hate is over. I can see that Asbel and Nausicaä getting together but for the film and manga, they are mere acquaintances which could develop into something much much more....
The voices behind the character
I like Yoji Matsuda's voice in this. He brings passion and gentleness to Asbel's voice. Although the poor guy doesn't have many lines, he does it well. Same goes for Shia LeBouf except I feel that he tries too hard. I really don't know what to say about the voice actors behind Asbel as he doesn't get much screen time. I think this is one for the audience to decide.
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