Go Nagai
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of UFO Robot Grendizer, we are honored to announce the presence of a true manga legend: Master Go Nagai.
The Master will hold a conference and a live drawing demonstration on stage on Saturday at 4:45 PM, in addition to two free autograph sessions scheduled for Saturday, September 20, from 2:15 PM to 3:15 PM , and Sunday, September 21, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.
Gō Nagai, (born Kiyoshi Nagai, September 6, 1945 in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture) is considered one of the most important Japanese manga artists, and the pioneer of psychological horror and splatter with works like Devilman, Shutendōji and Violence Jack; the “cute fighting girls” genre with Cutey Honey ; and the giant robot genre, for which he is most famous worldwide, with Mazinger Z. In particular, Mazinger Z is hugely popular all over Asia, Central / South America and Spain, while Grendizer has been one of the greatest hits ever in Italy, France, Russia and the Middle East.
Fourth of five male brothers, while he was still in his early childhood, his father passed away and the family moved to Tōkyō. There, through his brothers who were all passionate readers and movie-goers, he had the chance to read the comic books of artists like Osamu Tezuka and Mitsuteru Yokoyama and to see Dante’s Divine Comedy illustrated by Gustave Doré, which deeply influenced his future works.
After graduating from the Metropolitan Itabashi High School, he studied to enter Waseda University, but when he felt ill and one of his brother jokingly told him that he was probably going to die soon, he decided that he wanted to leave some evidence that he had lived by doing something that he really liked. Consequently, he chose to leave his studies and work on a manga. However, publishers continually returned his works, until the day when his work was noticed by Shōgakukan. The publisher contacted Shōtaro Ishinomori, who finally hired him as an assistant in 1965.
His very first professional manga work was Meakashi Polikichi (Polikichi the Detective), a very short gag comedy oneshot, published in November 1967 in the magazine “Bokura” by Kōdansha. After that, his works consisted entirely of short gag comedy manga. This would change with Harenchi gakuen (Shameless School).
In 1968, when Shūeisha was getting prepared to launch its first manga publication, “Shōnen Jump”, in order to compete with other magazines from rival companies (like “Shōnen Magazine” from Kōdansha and “Shōnen Sunday” from Shōgakukan), Nagai was invited to be one of the first mangakas publishing in the new magazine. He accepted and the series became a big success, being the first for Nagai and making “Shōnen Jump” sell more than one million copies. This work has influenced Japanese society radically, completely changing the common perceptions of manga as a reading for little kids and imposing for the very first time the idea that comic books were enjoyable also by adult readers. Several live-action films and TV series based on this manga were developed, all with great success. In particular, the TV series’ record as the top-rating show at TV Tōkyō remained unbroken for nearly forty years.
It was also around this time, simultaneously to the worldwide student protests that shut down many universities in Japan, that he created Gakuen taikutsu otoko (Guerrilla High), an eccentric manga mixing the reality of the protest movements with graphic elements of the extremely popular “spaghetti-western” genre.
A little before that, in 1969, he released the comedy manga Abashiri Ikka (The Alcatraz Family) with a huge success. Overnight, Nagai had become the most popular and influential mangaka of Japan! In 1969, he founded with his brothers Dynamic Productions, originally meant to be a group of creators but which eventually focused on managing Nagai's relations and contractual rights of his work. The same year, Ken Ishikawa joined the company, becoming Nagai's regular work partner and his best friend.
In 1971 Nagai, long considered as a comedy writer, shocked the readers with some dark horror stories and finally started releasing Maō Dante , his first psychological horror manga. When the magazine featuring it was shut down by the publisher Kōdansha, Nagai started a very similar story on “Shōnen Magazine”, the higely successful Devilman, which is still considered one of the most influential comic ever in the history of manga.
Almost simultaneously, Cutey Honey , the story of a super-heroine who is in reality a cyborg, became a top seller: both Devilman and Cutie Honey were soon transposed to animated series, becoming the two first (and almost only) anime series to ever be broadcasted in a prime time slot on Japanese TV.
When asked by the animation studio to offer some ideas for a new series, Nagai brought a totally new concept: a giant robot piloted from inside its head by a man, just like we usually drive a car. Titled Mazinger Z, it immediately became one of the biggest hits of Japanese TV, hitting average ratings well over 30% and introducing the concept of multi-media development linked to a TV character: a huge number of toys, records and other gadgets were produced and sold by the millions, creating the basis for the modern form of anime-business.
Other huge hits followed: in the horror genre, Shutendōji , Violence Jack , Susanoō and Devillady were all incredibly successful, with Susanoō winning him the Kōdansha 4th Manga Award for a Manga Story for Boys.
In the robot genre, Mazinger Z was followed by Great Mazinger , Grendizer, Getter Robot (the manga of which was drawn by Ken Ishikawa), Steel Armor Jeeg and many others.
In the late Seventies, the animated versions of his characters started being broadcast worldwide: Grendizer became the only program in French TV history to hit a 100% record rating, with an average 45% in other countries like Italy. Mazinger Z was constantly over 60% in Spain, and became hugely successful all over Asia. International audiences were exposed for the very first time to the experience of Japanese animation, which eventually became a world-wide recognized for of entertainment.
In 2009, Gō Nagai Museum has been opened in the city of Wajima. Currently, Nagai pariticipated in several comic fairs and film festivals abroad, say Barcelona, Rome, Annecy, Paris and Los Angeles. In 2017, he commemorates 50th anniversary of his life as a comic artist. He was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2019. He continues to be actively involved in creative activities and continues to publish weekly comic series. Based on his Manga, many animation films and live-action films have been produced.
Autograph Sessions
The free autograph sessions with Master Go Nagai will take place at Pavilion E at the following times:
- Saturday, September 20, 2025 | from 2:15 PM to 3:15 PM
- Sunday, September 21, 2025 | from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM
Participation will be limited to a select number of fans to ensure an exclusive and high-quality moment with the Master.
Reservation is mandatory.
Important: To access the reservation system, you must already have a valid admission ticket for the Japan Matsuri on the day of the session.
Online Reservations
Online reservations will open on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at 8:00 PM.
You can book by clicking the button below.
⚠️ Attention:
Available spots are limited, and reservations will only be valid if linked to a previously purchased admission ticket. During the booking process, you will be required to enter your ticket number..
Once your reservation is complete:
- Your request will be verified.
- If accepted, you will receive a confirmation email with a QR code within 24 hours, which must be presented to access the autograph session.
- If you do not receive the confirmation email within 24 hours, the reservation will be considered invalid.
On-Site Reservations
For those unable to book online, a very limited number of spots will be available for on-site reservation at the designated outdoor area (see map here).
On-site reservations will be available:
- Saturday, September 20 | from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
- Sunday, September 21 | from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
A valid admission ticket for the day will still be required.
On-site registration will proceed as follows:
- A valid ID will be requested.
- The validity of the ID and admission ticket will be checked.
- The admission ticket will be stamped, and an identification wristband will be provided (to be worn immediately).
For 2-Day Pass holders, on Sunday it will still be mandatory to present the valid ticket and wristband, intact and properly worn. - A personalized entry slip with the session access code will be issued.
Holders of disability cards may register without having purchased the admission ticket (as ticket counters will not yet be open), but they will still be required to wait in line. Reservations will be made by showing the disability card.
⚠️ Only 10 spots per day will be available for on-site reservations, and they will sell out quickly.
Substitute List
It will be possible to collect 5 "substitute" tickets per day on-site. These tickets do not guarantee access to the session; holders will be called only if there are no-shows among the reserved participants.
Autograph Rules
During the sessions, Master Go Nagai will be available for photos and autographs.
Each participant may have only one official print of the Master's artwork signed (available for free on-site).
Personal items cannot be signed.
No additional autographs will be granted beyond the one provided.
For people with disabilities or reduced mobility, please contact us in advance via email at info@japanmatsuri.org, so we can facilitate access to the Pavilion E..
Please note that to access the autograph session, you must have a wristband that will be provided at the festival entrances. We recommend purchasing the festival ticket online to facilitate access. For more information, write to: info@japanmatsuri.org.