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Lucca Comics & Games: cosplay and a bit of Japan

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Lucca Comics and Games is an international cosplay event in Italy which turns a medieval town into a gaming area.

Cosplayers with skull masks at Lucca Comics and Games in Italy
Cosplay in Lucca (Tuscany) is an art

Elves, Space Marines, Jedi, Sith, Assassins, it’s all Lucca Comics and Games babe! Once a year, since 1966, in Lucca, a beautiful little town in Tuscany (Italy), not too far away from many of the cities that made it into my list of favorite Italian getaways, a huge number of fantasy worlds meet, intertwining in a single, intricate and colorful plot.

Lucca Comics Cosplay attracts fans and artists from all over Europe. The work of the incredible cosplayers, veterans and newbies who attend Lucca Comics & Games, is one of the main reasons me and Aldo have been taking part to this event for years. 

Cosplayer in Lucca wearing an anime costume with a long bow
It can take months or years to craft the perfect cosplay costume!

Lucca Comics Cosplay: what are we even just talking about?

What is cosplay

The word cosplay comes from “costume” and “play“, and indicates the art of wearing a costume representing a character and playing that same character.

The term was created in 1984 by a Japanese reporter, Takahashi Nobuyuki, after a trip to the United States, where for many years some people had begun to sew their costumes, inspired to their own favorite characters, to participate to themed conventions.

However, it was only in 1995 that the Japanese press devoted itself to this phenomenon.

Specifically, they wrote about a group of Tokyo kids who wore costumes inspired by the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise (now you know why we were fangirling all over the Evangelion XR ride at Universal Studios Japan!).

We can say that they managed to give to this phenomenon a mainstream trait: since then, in fact, cosplay has become more and more popular.

Sure, there will always be someone ready to turn their nose up.
I’m certainly not a “professional” cosplayer, but I will never forget the “You’re weird” from the wife of one of our friends, when we told her of how we meet once a year with our friends in a ranch to wear costumes inspired to western movies and tv series.

Soon after (unfortunately I’m not joking), she unfriended me on Facebook and disappeared from my life.
The old saying “live and let live” is not for everyone.

Nowadays it’s quite common to see cosplayers in Tokyo, especially on Sundays: it’s part of the otaku culture.

Monster Hunter Generation cosplayers in Lucca
Stefania and Luca, representing Monster Hunter Generation: find their costumes here!

Wearing the costumes is a form of art

Many believe that you can just wear a nice ready-to-go costume, maybe recycling the one you bought to celebrate Halloween.
And that’s how you become a cosplayer.

Actually, I have seen more than one expert turning up their nose in seeing costumes that looked absolutely wonderful.
They bought it.” There’s no faking it, cosplay costumes have to be handcrafted!

Cosplayer at Lucca Games wearing a dark cape
Cosplayers love to have their photos taken!

Being a cosplayer is a serious thing for those who love this form of art.
A hobby that people dedicate themselves to for many years.

There’s no fun in buying a ready-to-go costume.
On the forums and on the official Lucca Comics & Games facebook page, it won’t take you much to find posts from boys and girls on the verge of a panic attack.

Oh my gosh, Lucca Comics Cosplay is in two weeks and my costume isn’t ready!

It takes months to craft the wonderful costumes you see in these photos. There are those who go at it with a sewing machine and lots of patience, and those who let their creativity do all the work, incorporating common use items into their costume.

I was impressed by a steampunk cosplayer who used a skimmer as an antenna for his futuristic hat, but at Lucca Comics Cosplay you’re bound to learn that there are much more creative uses to the things you see every day in your house!

Ghostbusters cosplayers in Lucca (Italy)
The Ghostbusters Italian Fan Club is always attending Lucca Comics Cosplay!

Cosplay is for the strong of heart

In Lucca, during the Lucca Comics and Games event, there are thousands of  people who are proudly wearing the costumes they crafted by hand with hard work, spending money and sleepless nights drawing, sewing, glueing… just to start all over again if they aren’t satisfied with the results.

I have often read that the greatest compliment for a cosplayer is to have a large number of people approaching them to take a picture.

I think that their biggest challenge is to put together a costume that, in great detail, represents the one they have seen on their favorite character. And wearing it in such a big event, chin up, because they know they have done all they could.

Lego Ghostbuster cosplayers
Did you know that there are also Lego Ghostbusters costumes?

Walking for hours on high heels, with a tiny costume like Lum from Urusei Yatsura, even when outside it’s freezing cold, taking part to the parades even if it’s raining hard, riding overcrowded trains just in order to present your newest creation to a Comic Convention.

Being a cosplayer can be tough, and yet they still love what they’re doing.

Sometimes people tend to underestimate all the work they do in order to craft a costume they like.

So perhaps if you look at it from this point of view, then yes, asking a cosplayer to pose for a picture is like paying a compliment to their creativity.

But they will definitely be much more pleased if you stop by and tell them: don’t be afraid to ask them questions about their costume, they are always willing to chat!

While we were visiting Kyoto we met a few fellow Italians who were looking to buy original Japanese fabrics (which can definitely be bought as cool souvenirs from Japan) to sew a few costumes for anime that we don’t even have in Italy “officially”.
This is the kind of dedication they have.

IronMan cosplayer in Lucca main square, Italy
IronMan costume completely crafted from scratch? It takes 3 months!

Lucca Comics Cosplay also means posing for lots and lots of pictures. At Lucca it’s easy: wherever you go, you’ll have an awesome monument or building as a backdrop.

Becoming” a character, for a cosplayer, means that they have to study poses that emphasize their costumes when in front of a camera.

Things become much more complicated though when there are group cosplay like the Akatsuki from Naruto or the Nazgul from the Lord of the Rings.

Coordinating many people, in fact, is by no means simple. But Lucca is perfect for this because they have a whole ancient town they can use as a stage.

Resident Evil and Star Wars at Lucca Comics

Over the years two groups have become something absolutely stunning. The Umbrella Italian Division and the 501st Italica Garrison.

It’s been a few years already that the Lucca Comics & Games management has offered a big space on the Medieval walls that surround Lucca to the two groups, created by a handful of people in love with Resident Evil and Star Wars.

The Umbrella Italian Division

The Umbrella Italian Division, always promoting zombie walks or themed shows for the Resident Evil franchise, has now become a reference point for the science fiction re-enactment.

To put it using their own words, they reenact a fictional atmosphere, but in a real and plausible context, to engage the audience to a much deeper level.

In their dedicated area, we found military vehicles with turrets and sentinels, a “zombie bus” people could enter for a good scare and even a (fake) helicopter.

A few make-up artists applied zombie make-up for free: for the whole 4 days of the convention, a long line of kids and grown ups has asked for “half zombie” or “full zombie” make up. 

The great dedication of this no profit organization is truly an inspiration for many other groups in Italy and abaorad!

Star Wars Cosplayers at Lucca Comics in Italy
Our very own Obi-Wan Kenobi!

501st Italica Garrison

The 501st Italica Garrison is the Italian branch of a worldwide organization of Star Wars saga fans.

The 501st Legion has been featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest Star Wars costuming club in the world.

In Italy there are about 130 members, divided into 5 teams that cover the national territory and who participate in major national and international conventions.

Famous not only for the magnificent costumes, but also for the hard work they do for charities as Amref, Unicef or the Italian Red Cross, the 501st Italica Garrison guys have been busy for years, trying to offer an increasingly “realistic” experience to the viewers.

I think the only way one could understand what I mean would be to see the face of a little kid who meets one of their Jedi or Stormtrooper: it’s priceless. They truly believe that their heroes are real.

Jedi and Sith cosplayers on Lucca Medieval Walls
The 501st Italian Garrison is involved in a lot of good causes

During the Lucca Comics & Games 2017, to commemorate the death of Carrie Fisher, the actress who, in addition to many other iconic roles, played Princess Leia in the Star Wars saga, the 501st organized a series of flash mobs.

Hundreds of fans responded to their call not only to remember a character from the Star Wars saga, but to remember a brave woman who wasn’t afraid to talk about her bipolar disorder.

Me and Aldo took part to one of the flash mobs and we sincerely believed that nobody was ever going to talk about her bipolar disorder.
It was a comic convention and here people still shy away from such topics.

However, we were pleasantly surprised by the fact that Carrie was reminded as an incredible woman who, even after passing away, is teaching people that there is no need to feel ashamed of sharing our own pain.

Mental illness shouldn’t be a topic we can’t talk about. Hats off to these people who are trying to break a taboo explaining it so tactfully.

Stormtrooper cosplayer posing at Lucca Comicon
Taking pictures with Star Wars cosplayer is free!

The 2017 edition of Lucca Comics Cosplay also saw the presence of great names in the video games industry such as Activision and Blizzard, who brought big pavillions and gaming stations at Lucca Comics.

Yet they also promoted a few cosplay initiatives.

Being a World of Warcraft player since vanilla, I have to say that it was awesome to see so many of my favorite characters from the saga parading in the streets of Lucca.

It showed that this MMORPG still has a lot to offer. We almost expected to be the only ones interested in the live streaming from the Blizzcon opening ceremony in Anaheim (CA) and instead… the enthusiastic cries of joy from dozens of WoW fans made us feel part of a big family.

After a few years of a complete invisibility, it was great to see Blizzard back to the Lucca Comics and Games!

Call of Duty WWII barraks with cosplayers in Lucca (Italy)
Call of duty WWII was introduce with vintage jeeps and true barraks

Activision dedicated a large pavilion to Call of duty: WWII in Santa Maria Square.

A total of 100 gaming stations, show matches broadcast on a huge screen, and above all, the rebuilding of a US military headquarters in the Second World War with authentic jeeps dating back to the 1940s.

Once again, the cosplay has turned out to be the perfect means of delivering a message, in this case by fuelling the hype for a video game that came out in the early days of November 2017.

You just have to look at the faces of these guys to understand that it was the right choice.

Kids attending the Call of Duty WWII presentation in Lucca (Italy)
A total of 100 gaming stations were offered just to play Call of Duty: WWII!

Lucca Comics Cosplay is the Oldest Cosplay Contest in Italy

Each year Lucca Comics Cosplay also organises the oldest cosplay contest in Italy.

A major hook-up for every cosplayer throughout the Country. You can sign up for the cosplay contest either online, filling a specific form, or in Lucca during the Lucca Comics and Games: it’s completely free.

The contest is held every year on the last day of the convention, on the Lucca Comics stage located in Baluardo San Donato.

The cosplayers will have to provide some reference photographs that they used to create their costumes, and perform a little something about the character they are portraying on stage.

There are many categories in this contest, and range from the best characters (man and woman) to the most difficult costume (obviously hand made), to the best acting, just… like some kind of Oscar ceremony in the middle of Tuscany!

Coming to America Cosplayers in Italy
Coming to America cosplayers were a big hit!

Many people get scared of the crowds who take part to the Lucca Comics and Games, after having read exaggerated reports from the previous years. Some even claimed that attending can be “dangerous“.

It’s been a few years now that the organization has chosen not to sell more than 80.000 tickets for each day of the convention.

But to be honest, even before that, I’ve never felt in danger.

The crowds in Lucca are quite polite, if they push you, they will apologize right after.

There’s a huge number of families who take part to this event also with very young children in tow, and that’s why there’s also a “Junior area” where kids can play with their parents.

The educational pavillion offers insights on how comics are drawn, but also teaches kids how to make origami, among other things.

Lucca Comics & Games is becoming, now more than ever, an Italian event suitable for both adults and children. 

Skeletor and Rocket cosplayers from Guardians of the Galaxy
Quite often characters from big franchises get together in a funny mix

Do you need a ticket to attend?

Attending the Lucca Comics & Games doesn’t require a ticket.
The event takes place in the whole town, inside the medieval walls: every shop decorates its windows with superheroes or manga characters.

Unless you want to enter one of the pavillions where they sell merchandise and comics, or attend one of the exhibits, then you can just walk around for free.

Lucca Comics Cosplay attracts every year a huge number of cosplayers: you can just meet them in the streets, they’ll be more than happy to pose for a few photos.

If you are worried about the crowds, I suggest you attend the Lucca Comics the first or second day, avoiding the busiest days of the fair, generally Saturday and Sunday.

Steampunk cosplayers at Lucca Comics event in Italy
Steampunk parades are quite popular at Lucca Comics

A few useful tips to enjoy the Lucca Comics

Every year during the Lucca Comics Cosplay there will be quite a number of parades that circulate freely within the city walls.

That’s why if you are specifically interested in seeing the cosplayers, you won’t need to buy a ticket.

Just make sure you are wearing comfortable shoes and always check the weather conditions before to head to Lucca.

There’s so much to see, which is why, especially if you get there using a train from Florence or any other big city in Tuscany, you will walk a lot.

While the city might seem tiny, and the train station is very close to the city walls, there is no public transport inside.

Because the convention spreads all over Lucca, the only way you have to see everything is by walking.

Lord of the Rings Cosplayers in Lucca in autumn
There are Lord of the Rings parades every year!

If you are in Tuscany for a trip between the end of October and the beginning of November, I strongly suggest you not to stop only in Florence, even if it’s an absolutely beautiful city.

Tuscany’s small towns, just like Palazzuolo sul Senio, are certainly worth a day trip. And then, even if you aren’t huge nerds, visiting Lucca during Lucca Comics might be a way to experience a very unusual festival.

You might also like:
The best day trips from Florence you can plan on your own

The Blues Brothers Cosplayers as Jake and Elwood
Characters from vintage movies are the most sought after

A little bit of Japan in Tuscany

Japan Town in Lucca

You might be wondering why I have mentioned Japan in the title.

While you might have understood how deeply rooted the Japanese culture is in this Italian festival, I didn’t only refer to it because of the cosplayers. Japan is one of the main “themes” at Lucca Comics and Games.

Every year there are more and more events dedicated to the Japanese culture and traditions.

A big area of the city, during the convention, is in fact renamed “Japan Town“.

Here people will be able to attend Japanese fashion shows, or themed events and exhibits that represent the Japanese culture.

Buying a ticket for the Lucca Comics you will be able to attend calligraphy courses, seminars that teach you how to translate from Japanese, or courses that will explain what to do if you want to move to Japan

Lupin III cosplayer with a real Fiat Cinquecento on its back
Lupin III and his Fiat Cinquecento attend this event in Lucca every year

In the Japan Town area there are small shops selling Japanese handicrafts and merchandise inspired by animation and manga masterpieces.

Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, but also One Piece, Bleach and Dragon Ball, just to name a few.

You will also be able to experience the Matsuri traditional Japanese festival, with yukatas, kimonos and traditional Japanese games.

Batman Cosplay in Lucca (Italy)
Some cosplayers perform on stage for the Lucca Cosplay competition

The “Mangiappone”

Mangiappone is a large stand, always pretty crowded, which sells Japanese food. You can order sushi, onigiri, ramen and noodles, or Japanese drinks unavailable in Italy except from the few days of the Lucca Comics.

If even the long queues won’t scare you, I’d still recommend having an early lunch there, to be able to sit at one of the few tables available to their guests.

The first two days of the convention are pretty good, because there aren’t too many people, so it won’t be difficult to find a spot at Mangiappone.

Many people at Lucca Comics eat “Japanese cup noodles“. They are pretty cheap and the sellers offer the chance to use hot water to melt the spices in your cup.

Yet if I have to be completely honest, I’m not a huge fan! After all, with all the delicious dishes from Tuscany, I prefer to rely on the traditional recipes! And please when you visit, make sure you apply our Italy tipping etiquette!

You might also like:
19 Japanese snacks you will absolutely LOVE!

Steampunk Cosplayers with a line of people waiting for a picture
Some Cosplayers visit all the cosplay conventions in Italy

An Anime Concert for Italian Fans

Every Saturday during this cosplay event there’s a completely free concert.

On stage, Cristina D’Avena, who sang the most beautiful anime songs in Italy.

Here we all grew up with her voice and it’s an incredible experience to see so many “grown ups” attending her concerts, wearing costumes from the anime she is singing about.

The concert is free for those who have bought the ticket to attend the Lucca Comics & Games, and it’s yet another way to discover a slice of Italy that you won’t find in any travel guide!

Pin it for later!
Lucca Comics Cosplay is a cosplay event in Italy, held in the little town of Lucca in Tuscany. Read a useful guide to attend for free!

Travelling Dany – Danila Caputo

Danila Caputo is a bilingual travel writer living in between Naples and the Amalfi Coast (Italy), graduating from the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa in Foreign Languages and Literature. She travels and works with her husband Aldo, photographer and videographer. Their blog chronicles their adventures around the world, their love for the USA (where they have family), Italian/European culture and tips on how to be responsible travelers. You can find out more about their latest trips and their life on Youtube, Instagram and Facebook.

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70 Comments

  1. Being a comic book nerd, I am really jealous that you got to spend time among these amazing cosplayers. wow

  2. Sandy N Vyjay says:

    Lucca comics cosplay seems like a great fun event. What a colourful and fascinating scene. I for one would feel as if I had fallen into a dream and woken up in a fantasy world of comic characters.

  3. Cosplay events are some of the most fun there are. Even if it is not quite your usual scene, you can’t help but appreciate such passion and commitment! Lucca is such a fantastic place, we loved our time there. To be there during such a major event would be so much fun!

  4. Punita Malhotra says:

    We thought this was one of Tuscany’s prettiest towns. Lucca seems transformed with this lively comics festival on its medieval streets. We visited on a non-festival day and experienced a very different character of the town.

    1. Lucca it’s much more quiet in any other day but for the Comics it changes completely!

  5. Juliette S says:

    What insane costumes! Amazing how many people get into this. I think it would be super fun to be part of. And I agree with an earlier comment here – I’d totally go for the Dr Who companion too!