More Like Miyazaki: 13 Mesmerizing Manga and Graphic Novels for Fans of Hayao Miyazaki

Of course, I had to kick off this list of manga and graphic novels for fans of Hayao Miyazaki with Miyazaki’s original manga series that inspired his film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. This is a must-read whether or not you’ve seen the movie adaptation. The artwork is stunning, and the manga series gives more detail and depth to the atmospheric world Miyazaki creates. One thousand years in the future, civilization has been destroyed by wars. A wasteland of deserts, toxic jungles, dangerous predators, and deadly spores spread across the world. Princess Nausicaä lives in the Valley of the Wind, but her kingdom’s tenuous peace may soon fracture.

While we’re on the topic of Nausicaä, the graphic novel adaptation of Dune is a great next read for Miyazaki fans. The desert landscape and the ohmu creatures feel reminiscent of Dune’s hostile environment and sandworms. Frank Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, adapted Dune into two graphic novel editions so far, and the artwork is quite eye-catching. With the Dune: Part Two movie coming out next March, it’s an ideal time to pick up this graphic novel series.

Before we move on to other manga and graphic novels, I wanted to include another manga written by Hayao Miyazaki himself. This epic adventure promises all of Miyazaki’s signature elements, including compelling worldbuilding, memorable characters, and breathtaking illustrations. While the inhospitable landscape brings Nausicaä to mind, Prince Shuna’s devotion to his people and ensuing quest reminds me of Ashitaka’s journey in Princess Mononoke, too, so fans of either film are sure to love this story. With his people struggling to grow grain in their lands, Shuna sets out to find the source of a promising golden grain from the West.

If you enjoyed the historical setting, fantastical creatures, and epic battles of Hayao Miyazaki’s film Princess Mononoke, check out this classic manga series by Rumiko Takahashi. Teen Kagome’s having a rough time of it when she’s dragged into a well that brings her back to feudal Japan. Things get a lot more complicated and entertaining, though, when she accidentally releases a demon named Inu-Yasha from his magical imprisonment.

One of my favorite aspects of many of Miyazaki’s movies, especially Castle in the Sky and Howl’s Moving Castle, are the steampunk elements. If you love that steampunk aesthetic, too, you’ll enjoy immersing in the atmospheric world of this graphic novel series by Marjorie M. Liu. This story intertwines steampunk with horror and fantasy in an alternate 1900’s Asia. As teen Maika navigates a war-torn world, she explores the mysterious connection she shares with a powerful monster.

Alright, let’s be honest: who doesn’t love the hot wizard vibes of Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle? If you’re here for those vibes like I am, check out this sweet and romantic manga series by Syuri Nakamura. When aristocratic daughter Filimena via Adina gets reborn into a world of magic, she finds herself engaged to the powerful stepson of a renowned wizard.

Navigating the woes of a curse makes for a compelling theme in Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Porco Rosso, as well as this graphic novel by Jake Wyatt. Lizzy enjoys her life with her grandfather, tending their goats and chatting up the charming ferry woman. When she steals coins from a well to pay a debt, though, she lands herself with a curse that can only be broken by granting three wishes.

Fans of the hilarious heist antics of Miyazaki’s Lupin III, along with the action-packed battles and characters with mysterious backstories of Porco Rosso, will love this manga series by Tatsuya Endo! Master Spy Twilight is ready to take on any assignment, even if it means finding a fake wife and child so he can infiltrate a mysterious academy. Of course, if his new fake wife happens to be an assassin and his fake child a telepath, things might just get a little more interesting.

A plot device I love in Miyazaki films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Miyazaki’s latest movie, The Boy and the Heron, involves the blending of the human world with the spirit realm. This new manga by Mai Mochizuki promises this, along with a retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Ready to escape her difficult life living with her abusive uncle, orphaned teen Alice sets out to return to Kyoto only to find herself swept into a very different version of the city than she remembers from years ago.

I’m a sucker for a sweet meet-cute, and Miyazaki’s Whisper of the Heart truly captures that when Seiji checks out countless books in the library to get Shizuku to notice him. This charming romance manga by Suu Morishita includes another heartfelt meet-cute as Deaf college student Yuki meets her popular classmate Itsuomi-san on a train. While Itsuomi-kun speaks three languages, he doesn’t know sign language. The more time he spends with Yuki, though, the more he begins to learn.

For those who love the tween witch protagonist of Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, this delightful graphic novel series by Míriam Bonastre Tur makes a great next read. After twins Dani and Dorian miss the bus to magic school, they try to set things right by finding a mentor to teach them magic instead. Along the way, they’ll team up with a troublemaker and a princess and find themselves on the run from more than one powerful magical family.

The reason I find myself rewatching Kiki’s Delivery Service all the time is not just for the heartwarming, coming-of-age witch plotline but also for the slice-of-life feels. This manga series by Hitoshi Ashinano includes that cozy atmosphere, along with an environmental, post-apocalyptic setting like Nausicaä. This story would make an incredible Miyazaki film adaptation. In this future version of Japan, Alpha the Android runs a small cafe, and she meets an interesting cast of characters amidst the world’s slow spiral toward the end.

Speaking of cozy seaside towns, this manga by Yoko Komori promises the heartwarming merpeople storyline of Miyazaki’s Ponyo. When tween Tokiko and her father move in with her grandmother in a town along the coast, she makes a new friend named Narumi and begins to have strange flashbacks involving a merman.