is a fifteen-page, all-watercolor

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

, on which his animated film ''

Porco Rosso is a 1992 Japanese animated adventure-fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on '' Hikōtei Jidai'' ("The Age of the Flying Boat"), a three-part 1989 watercolor manga by Miyazaki. It stars the voices of Shūichirō M ...

'' is based. It was published in Model Graphix in three parts, a monthly magazine about scale models, as a part of

's " Zassou Note" series. Like other manga in this series, "Hikōtei Jidai" is a manifestation of his love for old planes. It is filled with aircraft from the 1920s (heavily modified by Miyazaki) and their technical details, as well as with the men (good-hearted and silly) who love them. ''Hikōtei Jidai'' was published in 1992 by Dainippon Kaiga (). It is a book of about 60 pages, includes the ''Porco Rosso'' manga (15 pages total), several airplane vignettes, resin-kit models of aircraft, photos of some real counterparts of the

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, m ...

s which appeared in the film, and some interviews with Miyazaki regarding airplane model kits.

Differences from ''Porco Rosso''

Compared with the anime version, the manga is much more light-hearted. Other than being a "retired

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

pilot", Porco's past is not discussed, although the rise of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...

and the sentiment against it are mentioned. Gina doesn't appear at all, and Porco is much more lighthearted. Still, the basic story line and its charm are carried over into the anime. For the dogfight between Porco and Donald Chuck (the character was renamed Donald Curtiss in the anime), 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." (At the time, the ''Porco Rosso'' anime had not yet been announced.) Mamma Aiuto, who Porco saves in Part One, is also the name of a seaplane pirate gang in the movie. It is also Italian for "Help, mom!"

The story

It's the 1920s over the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

Air pirates The Air Pirates were a group of cartoonists who created two issues of an underground comic called ''Air Pirates Funnies'' in 1971, leading to a famous lawsuit by Walt Disney Productions. Founded by Dan O'Neill, the group also included Bobby Lond ...

with their seaplanes plague the sea, attacking ships, robbing money, and kidnapping women. Enter an Italian

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

, Porco Rosso. Flying his red seaplane, he is the best in the business. He is a very dashing fellow and women love him. There is, however, one peculiarity about him - he is a pig. ;Part One Porco Rosso saves a girl from the air pirates, the Mamma Aiuto gang. ;Part Two Porco is shot down by an American, Donald Chuck. Porco takes his plane to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

-based Piccolo, SPA, for repairs. Fio, a 17-year-old girl, redesigns and improves his plane. ;Part Three Porco and Chuck have a great air battle for Fio and for Italian pride.

Legacy

''Hikōtei Jidai'' was the basis for Miyazaki's 1993 anime film ''

''. In addition, the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

television series ''

TaleSpin ''TaleSpin'' is an American animated television series first aired in 1990 as a preview on Disney Channel and later that year as part of '' The Disney Afternoon''. It features characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature ''The Jungle Bo ...

'' also took inspiration from ''Hikōtei Jidai''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hikotei Jidai 1989 manga Aviation comics Comics by Hayao Miyazaki Comics set in Italy Comics set in the 1920s Manga adapted into films Works set during the Great Depression

Differences from ''Porco Rosso''

The story

Legacy

See also

References