From Viz: Winner of the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated feature, Spirited Away tells the story of 10-year-old Chihiro, a girl in the midst of a move to the suburbs who wanders into a strange town and finds a world of spirits ruled over by the mysterious Yubaba.

Humanity, in its hubris, has precipitated a devastating environmental disaster. Flourishing industrial civilizations have been swallowed up by the Sea of Corruption, an enormous forest of fungi releases a miasma of poisonous spores into the air. Nausicaa, a compassionate young princess, and her allies battle to heal a wounded world and its inhabitants... (Source: VIZ Media) *Note: Won the 26th Seiun Award for Best Comic (1995).*

Shuna, the prince of a poor land, watches in despair as his people work themselves to death harvesting the little grain that grows there. And so, when a traveler presents him with a sample of seeds from a mysterious western land, he sets out to find the source of the golden grain, dreaming of a better life for his subjects. It is not long before he meets a proud girl named Thea. After freeing her from captivity, he is pursued by her enemies, and while Thea escapes north, Shuna continues toward the west, finally reaching the Land of the God-Folk. Will Shuna ever see Thea again? And will he make it back home from his quest for the golden grain? (Source: First Second)

An all-watercolor manga based on Tigers In The Mud, the memoirs of Otto Carius, a German tank commander. Tiger Ace Otto Carius destroyed more than 150 tanks during his WWII career. Carius originally joined the 20th Panzer Division in 1941, during the attack on Russia. In 1943 he transferred to the 502 Tiger battalion. This unit fought at Leningrad and then in the area of Narva, Estonia. Carius was wounded in the summer of 1944, subsequently becoming the commander of a Jagdtiger company in the West at the beginning of 1945. He surrendered to the Americans in May. Miyazaki's manga concerns the exploits of Carius in Estonia during his fight against the advancing Soviet army. All of the characters appear as pigs. This series has the subtitle "Mousou Nouto" ("Fantasy Note" -- however, mousou can also mean "wild or crazy idea" or "delusion"). This is a change from the title "Zassou Note" used for previous manga by Miyazaki published in the same venue. (http://www.nausicaa.net)

The story begins near Berlin, Germany at the end of W.W. II. Hans, a German chief tank mechanic, and his commanding officer are racing west toward the American front lines. They hope to surrender to the US forces and escape capture by the approaching Russian Army. While traveling on foot, they discover an abandoned German Panzer IV tank near a large mansion. Hans attempts to repair the Panzer as his commanding officer heads for the mansion in search of provisions. There he discovers Rosa, a German girl; her elderly grandmother; and her dog, Gustav. Fearful for their safety, he convinces them to accompany Hans and himself on their journey West. Hans is successful in bringing the tank back to life, and they make their escape just as the Russian troops close in. More adventure and perhaps even romance will follow Hans and his companions as their story unfolds.

Is a manga which Miyazaki wrote for a newspaper targeted for children. It is more of a graphic novel than a manga, since most of the text are written outside of the frames and there are very few dialogue bubbles (though towards the end of the story, it moved closer to the traditional manga style). The surprisingly dark story deals with the devastation of war, betrayal, and the ugliness of the human nature under desperate situations, including deaths of several characters. One can see the influence of TEZUKA Osamu in the art style of this manga (as in most of the manga written in this time), but you can also clearly see the style and motives you find in Miyazaki's later works such as "Nausicaä". In a sense, this is a prototype of "Nausicaä".

"Hikoutei Jidai" is a 15 page all watercolor 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 "Zassou Note" series. Like other mangas in this series, "Hikoutei Jidai" is a manifestation of his love for old planes. It's filled with planes from 1920s (heavily modified by Miyazaki), technical details about them, and men (good-hearted and silly) who love these planes. Compared to the anime version, the manga is much lighter and sillier (in a good sense). Other than being a "retired Italian Air Force pilot", Porco's past is not in the story, so there is no conflict with the fascist government, although the rise of fascism and the sentiment against it are mentioned. Gina doesn't appear at all, and Porco is basically a happy guy. Still, the basic story line and its charm are carried over into the anime. In the air battle scene between Porco and Donald Chuck (Curtis in the anime version), Miyazaki wrote; "If this were animation, I might be able to convey the grandeur of this life-or-death battle. But this is a comic. I have no choice but to rely on the imagination of you, good readers." No one knew at that time, that we were going to be able to see this scene on the big screen as the animated movie "Porco Rosso". (Source: nausicaa.net)

Written from a boy's point of view, this manga is in the form of a poem. It tells a story about a dream the boy has in which he and his sick twin sister fly and travel around the world, and he can bring happiness to his sister.

A girl, Sheeta, falls from the skies, slowed by the power of a mysterious, glowing necklace. In a mining town sheltered among the mountains, Pazu, an engineer's apprentice with big dreams, catches her. As it happens they both want to find Laputa, the legendary flying castle in the sky.

*Kaze Tachinu* focuses on Jirou Horikoshi, the designer of Japan's famed Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane of World War II. It also adapts Tatsuo Hori's 1936–37 novelette of the same name, which follows the tentative relationship with a male narrator and Setsuko who suffers from encroaching tuberculosis.

Based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault, this is the story of the magical cat Pero, who helps the poor miller's son Pierre defeat an ogre and rescue a princess.

Air Meal, from 1994 - a short Miyazaki comic that comically shares his love of airplanes and that hallowed flight ritual, the in-flight meal. Painted in full watercolors, it looks absolutely wonderful - fans of the art of Miyazaki will complain loudly of another "lost" classic, hidden away from prying Western eyes. I'm surprised at the number of these smaller comics and short stories, which appeared in magazines and such. It seems there will always be another Miyazaki sketch or painting lurking around somewhere.