# Manga AI OCR Translator (`parseforge/manga-ocr-translator`) Actor

Extract and translate text from manga images using Nano Banana AI. Processes manga panel images to extract text in multiple languages and translates to multiple target languages simultaneously. Each extracted text includes the original text and translations to all selected languages.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/manga-ocr-translator.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Developer tools, Other
- **Stats:** 119 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

![ParseForge Banner](https://github.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/blob/ad35ccc13ddd068b9d6cba33f323962e39aed5b2/banner.jpg?raw=true)

## 🖼️ Manga OCR Translator

> 🚀 **Extract and translate text from manga images in minutes.** Upload manga panels, choose source and target languages, and get translated text. Supports 16 source languages and any target language. No coding, no translation accounts required.

The **Manga OCR Translator** reads text from manga panel images, recognizes it using OCR, and translates it to your target language. Each result returns the original text, detected language, translated text in one or more languages, and text bounding boxes. Supports 16 source languages including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English, and more.

The Actor includes an optional two-step translation enhancer that runs the text through an LLM for more natural, context-aware manga translations.

| 🎯 Target Audience | 💡 Primary Use Cases |
|---|---|
| Manga fans, translation teams, publishers, scanlation groups, localization services, accessibility tools | Manga translation, webtoon localization, OCR text extraction, multilingual publishing, fan translation |

### 📋 What the Manga OCR Translator does

Image-to-translation in one step:

- 🖼️ **Image input.** Upload manga panel image URLs for OCR processing.
- 🌐 **16 source languages.** Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), English, French, German, Spanish, and more.
- 🌍 **Any target language.** Translate extracted text to one or more target languages.
- 🔄 **Translation enhancer.** Optional two-step LLM process for more natural manga translations.

Each result includes the original extracted text, detected source language, translations in each target language, and text positions within the image.

> 💡 **Why it matters:** translating manga page by page requires reading Japanese/Korean text, typing it out, and running it through translators. This Actor combines OCR and translation in a single pipeline, processing entire chapters in minutes.

> ⚠️ **Good to Know:** OCR accuracy depends on image quality and text clarity. Clean, high-resolution scans produce the best results. Very stylized or hand-drawn text may have lower recognition accuracy.

### 🚀 How to use

1. 📝 **Sign up.** [Create a free account with $5 credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) (takes 2 minutes).
2. 🌐 **Open the Actor.** Go to the Manga OCR Translator page on the Apify Store.
3. 🎯 **Set input.** Upload image URLs, pick source and target languages.
4. 🚀 **Run it.** Click **Start** and let the Actor process your panels.
5. 📥 **Download.** Grab your translations in the **Dataset** tab as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

> ⏱️ Total time from signup to translated text: **3-5 minutes.** No coding required.

### 🔗 Recommended Actors

- [**🎨 Modern Manga Colorizer**](https://apify.com/parseforge/modern-manga-colorizer) - AI manga colorization from B\&W panels
- [**🎨 Pixel Art Generator**](https://apify.com/parseforge/pixel-art-generator) - AI pixel art from text prompts
- [**🖼️ Watermark Images**](https://apify.com/parseforge/watermark-image-api) - Batch watermarking
- [**📸 Restaurant Photo Enhancer**](https://apify.com/parseforge/restaurant-photo-enhancer) - Food photo enhancement
- [**🎬 Auto Video Thumbnail Generator**](https://apify.com/parseforge/auto-video-thumbnail-generator) - Video thumbnails

> 💡 **Pro Tip:** browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge) for more creative and translation tools.

> **⚠️ Disclaimer:** this Actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any manga publisher or OCR provider. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

### 🆘 Need Help?

If you hit a bug, have questions about setup, or need a scraper we haven't built yet, open our [contact form](https://tally.so/r/BzdKgA) or write to parseforge@protonmail.com. We also take on paid custom data projects.

For faster answers, join our [Discord](https://parseforge.co/discord). It's the best place to get support and suggest new actors.

# Actor input Schema

## `imageUrls` (type: `array`):

Array of manga image URLs to process. Each image will be analyzed to extract text regions. Supported formats: JPG, PNG, WebP.

## `originalLanguage` (type: `string`):

The language of the text in the manga images. This helps OCR accuracy by using the appropriate language model.

## `targetLanguages` (type: `array`):

Select one or more target languages for translation. The text will be translated to all selected languages.

## `enableLingoTranslationEnhancer` (type: `boolean`):

If enabled, uses a two-step translation process: first translates to English using Lingo.dev (raw translation without context), then refines and translates to multiple languages using Gemini AI (with context and Lingo translations). This can improve translation quality by providing a base translation that Gemini can refine. If disabled, only Gemini AI will be used for translation.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "imageUrls": [
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/S8l2sknfAAra9YPZ7/records/Chapter_113_Title_Page.jpg"
  ],
  "originalLanguage": "japanese",
  "targetLanguages": [
    "english",
    "spanish"
  ],
  "enableLingoTranslationEnhancer": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "imageUrls": [
        "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/S8l2sknfAAra9YPZ7/records/Chapter_113_Title_Page.jpg"
    ],
    "originalLanguage": "japanese",
    "targetLanguages": [
        "english",
        "spanish"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/manga-ocr-translator").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "imageUrls": ["https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/S8l2sknfAAra9YPZ7/records/Chapter_113_Title_Page.jpg"],
    "originalLanguage": "japanese",
    "targetLanguages": [
        "english",
        "spanish",
    ],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/manga-ocr-translator").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "imageUrls": [
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/S8l2sknfAAra9YPZ7/records/Chapter_113_Title_Page.jpg"
  ],
  "originalLanguage": "japanese",
  "targetLanguages": [
    "english",
    "spanish"
  ]
}' |
apify call parseforge/manga-ocr-translator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/manga-ocr-translator",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/vDEVaJFKkvwJxDu6t/builds/d8UgXBn7emuydvPUS/openapi.json