Kazuki Takahashi Best Known As Creator Of Pop Culture Juggernaut Yu-Gi-Oh! Passes Away Ay 60! RIP.
People reports.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Creator Kazuki Takahashi Found Dead in Japan at 60
The popular manga spawned trading cards, a long-running anime series, movies and video games
Manga fans around the world are mourning the death of Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Kazuki Takahashi. He was 60.
Authorities found Takahashi’s body in the water off the coast of Nago in the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan on Wednesday morning, according to The New York Times and The Japan Times, citing a Coast Guard official. A spokesperson told The New York Times that Takahashi appeared to have been snorkeling before his death.
The manga artist was traveling alone and was found wearing snorkeling equipment, the Coast Guard told NBC News, which also reported that the Coast Guard said there were “damages to his body which looked like they were caused by some sort of marine animal.”
“We are investigating the case as both a possible accident or crime,” said an official for the city of Nago, reported the BBC.
Takahshi’s official Twitter account posted a moving tribute to the manga artist on Thursday.
“Regardless of if you grew up with Yu-Gi-Oh or not, if you only played the card game or only read the manga, if you watched the anime in English or in Japanese, we were all brought together by one man’s passion,” the post read. “That’s the lesson he taught us.”
Takahashi, whose real name was Kazuo, started his career as a manga artist, according to The New York Times. He found success after a story he wrote about a spiky-haired boy named Yugi and his magical gaming powers gained a following.
Yu-Gi-Oh! went on to become a global craze that spawned trading cards, a long-running anime series, books, movies and video games.
On behalf of the IP team, I offer our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Kazuki Takahashi.
