A Rust manga translator showed LocalLLaMA what local OCR plus LLMs can feel like

A Rust-based manga translator on r/LocalLLaMA drew attention because it looked like a real workflow rather than a thin model demo. The creator said the project can translate manga or other images by combining object detection, visual LLM-based OCR, layout analysis, and fine-tuned inpainting models. For the LLM layer, it integrates llama.cpp, supports the Gemma 4 and Qwen3.5 families, and can also talk to OpenAPI-compatible services such as LM Studio or OpenRouter.

The interesting part is the product shape. The post describes a button-driven pipeline that runs the full process, then lets the user proofread and edit the output, including font, size, and color. That matters for manga translation because a single OCR miss can affect tone, bubble layout, and redraw quality. A fully automatic result is useful, but an editable result is what makes the tool viable for real reading or fan-translation workflows. The open-source repo is https://github.com/mayocream/koharu.

Detection, OCR, layout analysis, and inpainting divide a messy visual task into manageable stages.

llama.cpp support makes local model use a first-class path, not just a fallback.

OpenAPI-compatible providers let users switch between local and hosted models without changing tools.

Community discussion quickly moved from “cool demo” to requested controls: browser extension support, manual text boxes, better video demos, and more editing options. That is a good sign. Users were imagining where the tool would fit into their routine rather than treating it as a one-off trick. The thread shows a broader LocalLLaMA pattern: local models become more compelling when they are embedded inside narrow creative utilities with clear human correction points.

The project also shows why local-first tooling keeps finding niches. Image translation has copyright, privacy, latency, and style concerns that do not always fit a hosted black box. A local pipeline can let users keep source images on their machine, choose a model they trust, and still call a hosted API when quality matters more than locality.

The original thread is on r/LocalLLaMA.