Of course Hayao Miyazaki is famous for his Japanese animation movies (anime) like Spirited Away, but what some of you might not know is that he has also made some manga. His most famous manga work is of course the Nausicaa manga on which the movie Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is based on. This splendid story has fortunately been translated into English by Viz Communications. Unfortanately, there are other manga by Miyazaki which haven't gotten an English translation yet...



One of them is "Hansu no Kikan" (also known as The Return of Hans), which is a three episode, all water-color, manga serialized in 1994 by the Japanese modeling magazine Model Graphix. This manga by Hayao Miyazaki is based on the fictional adventures of Hans, a German chief tank mechanic, at the end of World War II. 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. More info on Nausicaa.net.



There is already somewhat of a translation available, which is a kind of literal word-for-word translation by Maki Kamikura and Tom Wilkes. However, in my opinion it's not fully correct (for example it doesn't always fit into the context of the story) and because the words aren't integrated in the pictures (it's only a text document) it's not really pleasurable to read.

Anyway, because it hasn't gotten a good readable English translation yet I have made one. It is mostly based on the translation by Maki Kamikura and Tom Wilkes, but is edited in some places with the use of the actual Japanese text as translation source. Of course this is an unauthorized fan translation, the original work is copyright 1994 by Hayao Miyazaki, Model Graphix/Dai Nippon Kaiga, and/or other appropriate copyright holders, but I wanted to make this Miyazaki work not to be only accesable to those who can read Japanese, but also for the English readers. The artwork and translations are here only for the purpose of encouraging interest in, and discussion about the works of Miyazaki. If you like "Hansu no Kikan" (The Return of Hans), then please support it's copyright holders by buying the original Japanese work. It's available as a book called "Miyazaki Hayao Mousou Note: Doromamire no Tora" (ISBN 4-499-22790-9), which can be bought at several stores like Amazon.co.jp for example. It also contains another manga by Miyazaki called "Doromamire no Tora", information about Otto Carius, German military activity on the north-eastern front during World War II, and Miyazaki's trips to Estonia and Germany.



Below you can find the English translation I made. It took me quite some time editing the pages, but it looks quite good if I must say so myself. Click on the small pics to open each individual page. You can read them online, but I'd recommend you to print them if you've got a good printer. It doesn't only read much better, but also does more justice to Miyazaki's work. Anyway, enjoy!!!