Earlier this month, Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Kazuki Takahashi passed away. In response, editors from Shonen Jump and other editorial departments in Shueisha have released an official statement.
The statement was released in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #34, and it comes from the editorial departments of Weekly Shonen Jump, V-Jump, Saikyo Jump, and Shonen Jump+.
The statement was translated and shared by Shonen Jump News – Unofficial on Twitter, and it reads:
We regret to inform that Kazuki Takahashi, a manga artist who published many works in Jump magazines, has sadly passed away. The entire editorial staff at Shueisha is deeply saddened by the sudden news.
His most representative masterpiece, Yu-Gi-Oh! has fascinated children not only in Japan but all over the world, and has taught them to overcome hard situations through dreams, hopes and a strong spirit.
We would like to express our most sincere gratitude to him for his incredible achievements and pray for his soul to peacefully rest.
Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist best known for creating Yu-Gi-Oh!, a manga series that was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from September 1996 to March 2004.
The series became one of Shonen Jump’s biggest hits, and it spawned a massive media franchise with several anime adaptations, trading card games, and more.
Aside from Yu-Gi-Oh!, Takahashi also published other work on Weekly Shonen Jump, including the limited series The Comiq along with several one-shots.
Takahashi was found dead on July 6, 2022, off the coast of Naga City in Okinawa Prefecture while wearing snorkeling equipment. His passing was confirmed shortly after and was reported by Japanese media outlets on July 7, 2022.
A few days following his passing, the results of his autopsy confirmed the cause of death. In the autopsy, it was revealed that the cause of Takahashi’s death was drowning, and it is unlikely that there was any foul play.
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