Miyazaki initially wanted to become a
mangaka but started his professional career as an animator for
Toei Animation in 1963. Here he worked on animated television series and animated feature-length films for theatrical release. He never abandoned his childhood dream of becoming a mangaka completely, however, and his professional debut as a
manga creator came in 1969 with the publication of his manga adaptation of ''
Puss 'n Boots, which was serialized in 12 weekly chapters in the Sunday edition of Tokyo Shimbun'', from January to March 1969. It was in color and created for promotional purposes in conjunction with his work on Toei's anime film of the same title, directed by
Kimio Yabuki. In 1969
pseudonymous serialization also started of Miyazaki's original manga
People of the Desert. This manga was influenced by he read in boys' magazines in his youth, such as Soji Yamakawa's and in particular
Tetsuji Fukushima's .
People of the Desert was serialized for 26 chapters weekly in
Boys and Girls Newspaper, a publication of the
Japanese Communist Party, between September 12, 1969 (issue 28) and March 15, 1970 (issue 53). Miyazaki made the manga under the pseudonym Akitsu Saburō. The strip has been identified as a precursor for Miyazaki's manga
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982–1995) and later emonogatari ''
Shuna's Journey'' (1983), published by
Tokuma Shoten. ==Citations==