Manga

by Hayao Miyazaki

Puss 'n Boots (長靴をはいた猫, Nagagutsu o Haita Neko^?)

• 1969: A manga version for the serialization in a newspaper of a feature film by Toei Dōga (Toei Animation Studio), for which Miyazaki worked as a key animator. Based on Charles Perrault's book. Pero, the dandy cat, helps a boy defeat an Ogre and win the heart of a princess.

People of the Desert (砂漠の民, Sabaku no Tami^?)

• 1969–1970: Sabaku no Tami is a manga which Miyazaki wrote for a newspaper targeted for children. It deals with the devastation of war, betrayal, and the ugliness of the human nature under desperate situations.

Animal Treasure Island (どうぶつ宝島, Dōbutsu Takarajima^?)

• 1972: A manga version for the serialization in a newspaper of a feature film by Toei Dōga, for which Miyazaki worked as a key animator. It's a fun, slapstick adventure story based on Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ, Kaze no Tani no Naushika^?)

• 1982–1994: Miyazaki's lifework. A complicated and thought-provoking manga (or "graphic novel") about a princess who struggles to live in the world filled with ecological disasters, war, hatred and anger. By the time Miyazaki finished he had tackled some of the most difficult themes in literature: the conflicts between Nature and Man, war and peace, hope and despair, and the meaning of life and death. The complete manga consists of 1060 pages which have been printed in a variety of formats and languages around the world. The 1984 Nausicaä anime is loosely based on the first 300 pages. The mood and scenery that Miyazaki creates in this manga is recognizable in several later Ghibli productions such as Laputa and Princess Mononoke.

To My Sister (妹へ, Imōto e^?)

• 1982: A six page graphic poem about a dream a boy has in which he and his sick twin sister fly and travel around the world, and he can bring happiness to her.

The Journey of Shuna (シュナの旅, Shuna no Tabi^?)

• 1983: An all-watercolour 147 page manga considered by some as a Nausicaä prototype. It's about a prince of a very poor country that journeys in search of the the Golden Wheat to save his people from starving.

The Age of the Flying Boat (2004 ed.) (飛行艇時代, Hikōtei Jidai^?)

• 1990: A 15-page all watercolour manga, which the animated film Porco Rosso is based on. It was serialized in Model Graphix, a monthly magazine about scale models, as a part of Miyazaki's "Zassō Nōto" series.
• 2004: Revised and expanded edition.

Daydream Data Notes (1997 ed.) (雑想ノート, Zassō Nōto^?)

• 1992: This is a series of manga (or rather, "graphic essays") which Miyazaki has (very) sporadically been writing in a Japanese scale model magazine, Model Graphix (1984–1992). They are totally independent manga stories, mecha ideas, or movie ideas about tanks, planes, or battle ships from the era before World War II – the "favourites" of Miyazaki.
• 1997: Expanded edition including The Age of the Flying Boat.

The Return of Hans (ハンスの帰還, Hansu no Kikan^?)

• 1994: An all-watercolour manga based on the fictional adventures of Hans, a German chief tank mechanic, at the end of World War II. It was serialized in Model Graphix, a monthly magazine about scale models, as a part of Miyazaki's "Zassō Nōto" series.

Dining in the Air (空中でお食事, Kūchū de o-Shokuji^?)

• 1994: An all-watercolour short manga about the history of in-flight meals.

Tigers Covered with Mud (泥まみれの虎, Doromamire no Tora^?)

• 1998–1999: An all-watercolour manga based on the memoirs of Otto Carius, a World War II German tank commander. It was serialized in Model Graphix, under Miyazaki's new manga series name "Mōsō Nōto".

The Wind Rises - Tankōbon (風立ちぬ, Kaze Tachinu^?)

• 2009-2010: An all-watercolour manga based on the life of Jiro Horikoshi (堀越 二郎, Horikoshi Jirou^?), the designer of the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen "Zero", Japan's famous World War II fighter aircraft. The manga was serialized in Model Graphix, under the continuing series name "Mōsō Nōto". A tankōbon edition was released in 2015.