Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Kazuki Takahashi was found dead at age 60

NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, has confirmed that the body of Kazuki Takahashi was found this July 6, 2022, floating off the coast of the city of Nago, on the island of Okinawa. The coast guard rescued him from shallow water with snorkeling equipment at 10:30 a.m., but could do nothing for him. Japanese police are currently investigating what happened.

At 60 years old, Kazuki Takahashi is best known as the mangaka who gave us Yu-Gi-Oh!, his first solo series, which he published and quickly made into an international hit between 1996 and 2004. Since then, Takahashi has spent most of his time growing the franchise from other areas and roles. Supervisor of the immense amount of Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-offs, such as the ARC-V series with Shin Yoshida and Naohito Miyoshi, the author also dabbles in writing from time to time, as was the case with one of the manga's most recent movies, The Dark Side of Dimensions. The most recent video game in the franchise, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, was released in 2022.

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Born in October 1963 in Tokyo, Takahashi grew up between Ultraman and Fujiko Fujio's series, influences that made him an avid manga and anime lover. His first manga was an adaptation of the anime Go-Q-Choji Ikkiman (1986) and apart from Yu-Gi-Oh! he has published his own one-shot works such as Tokyo no Taka, The Comiq (2018) or Secret Reverse (2019). But in addition, the mangaka was always a follower of mahjong and role-playing and board games, being a great promoter of the card game Yu-Gi-Oh!

Whether we enjoyed his creation through anime, cards or video games, we can only thank Kazuki Takahashi for everything he has given and will give us. Because beyond the tragedy, the legacy of his work will live on in the future, as will the memories of the good times he has given us, which will always remain with us. May he rest in peace.

Source | Crunchyroll