Lucca Comics & Games pays tribute to Go Nagai, the Japanese author whose creations revolutionised the world of manga and anime and left an indelible mark on the collective imagination of an entire generation, with the immersive installation Sole, Cuore e Acciaio (Sun, Heart and Steel), hosted at the Foundation’s Palazzo delle Esposizioni throughout the festival.
The undisputed stars are the steel giants, such as the robots Mazinger Z and Grendizer. The former was a seminal chapter in the evolution of the ‘mecha’ genre in Japan; the second of which became a cultural phenomenon in Italy, a symbol of an era and a bridgehead for the peaceful invasion of Japanese anime. After 1978, many other robotic creations beloved by the Italian public arrived, such as Jeeg, Il Grande Mazinga and Getter Robot.
From robots, the focus then shifted to the sensei’s masterpiece, Devilman. Sensei Nagai also boldly adapted Dante Alighieri’s epic poem The Divine Comedy into a manga, demonstrating his unique expressive ability to bridge the gap between classical literature and pop culture. For his provocative, unrestrained portrayal of the demons that dwell within man, the master drew inspiration from the edition of Dante’s masterpiece illustrated by Gustave Doré.
It was for this work that he received the Pegaso for Culture, the highest honour awarded by the Region of Tuscany, which was presented to him in 2025 at the Osaka Expo.
