In what is sad news for anime and manga fans all around the world, NHK News has reported that Yu-Gi-Oh! series creator Kazuki Takahashi has died at age 60.
According to the NHK News report, Takahashi was found dead off the coast of Naga City in Okinawa Prefecture. More details regarding his passing were revealed in the report.
The report mentioned that a man wearing snorkeling equipment was found floating off the coast of Nago City at 10:30 am on August 6. His death was confirmed shortly after.
Earlier today, the Nago City Coast Guard confirmed that the man was Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
Takahashi was a manga artist and video game creator born in Tokyo, Japan on October 4, 1961. One of his earliest works is the Tennenshoku Danji Buray which was published from 1991 to 1992.
Takahashi became renowned for his next work, which was the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga.
While most fans probably know Yu-Gi-Oh! for its popular trading card game and anime shows, the franchise began as a manga series.
The original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga was written by Kazuki Takahashi and was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from September 1996 to March 2004.
The manga quickly became one of Shonen Jump’s biggest hits, so much so that the series expanded into a large media franchise.
A Yu-Gi-Oh! anime adaptation was animated by Toei Animation and was the first of many projects in the franchise. This was followed up by Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game which was released in 1999
Now, Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, with the trading card game grossing over USD 9 billion since its release.
Currently, the Japanese Coast Guard and local officials are investigating the incident. No official cause of death has been reported yet.
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