Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise (Japanese:ペリリュー -楽園のゲルニカ-,Hepburn:Periryū -Rakuen no Gerunika-) is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byKazuyoshi Takeda [ja]. It was serialized inHakusensha'sseinen manga magazineYoung Animal from February 2016 to April 2021 and has been collected in eleventankōbon volumes. Aspin-off manga titledPeleliu Gaiden was serialized inYoung Animal in July 2021 to June 2025. Ananime film adaptation produced byShin-Ei Animation and Fugaku is set to premiere in December 2025.
The story is set on the island ofPeleliu taking part in theBattle of Peleliu duringWorld War II and follows Private Tamaru during the summer of 1944. Unfortunately for Tamaru, a young soldier simply wishing to become a mangaka, he will quickly find himself in the heart of a terrible battlefield, where 10,000 Japanese soldiers will do their best to resist the onslaught of 40,000 American soldiers. Their only instruction: resist until the last.
Written and illustrated byKazuyoshi Takeda [ja],Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise was serialized inHakusensha'sseinen manga magazineYoung Animal from February 12, 2016, to April 9, 2021.[3][4] The series was collected in eleventankōbon volumes from July 2016 to July 2021.
Aspin-off, titledPeleliu Gaiden, was announced at the end of the series in April 2021.[5] It was serialized inYoung Animal from July 21, 2021, to June 27, 2025.[6][7] The spin-off was collected in fourtankōbon volumes from July 2022 to July 2025.[8]
In April 2021, it was announced at the end of the manga's final chapter that the series would receive ananime adaptation.[5] In January 2025, it was later confirmed that it would be a film adaptation. The film is produced byShin-Ei Animation and Fugaku and directed by Gorō Kuji, with the screenplay written byJunji Nishimura and series creator Takeda, characters designed by Ryōji Nakamori, and music composed byKenji Kawai.[2] The film is distributed byToei Company and is set to premiere in Japanese theaters on December 5, 2025.[24] The film's theme song is "Kiseki no Yō na Koto" (奇跡のようなこと; 'Something Like a Miracle'), performed byMone Kamishiraishi.[25]
Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise was one of the Manga division's Jury Selections at the 20th and 21stJapan Media Arts Festival in 2017 and 2018.[26][27] The series ranked twelfth in the 2018 edition ofTakarajimasha'sKono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for male readers.[28] The series also won the Excellence Award at the 46thJapan Cartoonists Association Awards.[5] In 2021, it was nominated for the 25thTezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and was ranked at #9 in the 2021 edition of Takarajimasha'sKono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for male readers.[29][30] The manga was again nominated for the 26th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2022.[31]
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