The creator of the “Yu-Gi-Oh” comic book series, Takahashi Kazuki, a Japanese manga artist, was discovered dead on Wednesday. He was 60.
Takahashi’s body was discovered in the water around 300 meters off the coast of Nago in the Okinawa Province, according to public broadcaster NHK. He was reportedly sporting snorkeling gear at the time.
After the Japan Coast Guard made a connection between the body and a white rental car that had been abandoned some 12 kilometers away, Takahashi’s body was recognized as his on Thursday. Takahashi, according to the Coast Guard, went to Okinawa by himself. His body showed no obvious signs of trauma, and an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his passing has now been launched.
The artist’s website was made completely black by Takahashi’s firm Studio Dice.
Known also as Kazumasa, Takahashi began his career as a manga artist in the early 1980s. However, he did not find great success until he created the boys’ comic book series “Yu-Gi-Oh!” in 1996. Takahashi’s real name is Takahashi Kazuo. The main character of the series is a young boy who discovers his gaming alter ego after solving an old mystery.
A popular anime series and animated movie were produced from the manga, which was serialized in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.
More importantly, it sparked the development of a trading card game in which players compete with one another.
The game, which was initially released by Bandai and then Konami to be a one-off, ended up becoming a worldwide phenomenon with local, national, and international tournaments. The Guinness Book of Records recognized it as the trading card game with the highest global sales.
In addition to overseeing the manga, Takahashi also wrote and illustrated other works, such as Comic, a collection to mark the 50th anniversary of the Weekly Shonen Jump in 2018. Takahashi was given the Comic-Con International’s Inkpot Award in 2015, which honors a person for their extraordinary achievements in fandom, science fiction, and fantasy, film, television, and animation.
