THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 8, 2022 at 19:00 JST
Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of the popular manga series and trading card game “Yu-Gi-Oh!,” has died at the age of 60, the Japan Coast Guard said July 7.
Takahashi was found dead in the sea off Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, at 11:30 a.m. on July 6.
The Nago Coast Guard Station said it received an emergency call at around 10:30 a.m. on July 6 from a person involved in a marine leisure business, who said that “something that looks like a dead body is floating” about 300 meters offshore.
Firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene and pulled the body out of the water. Takahashi was confirmed dead at the site.
He was reportedly found in snorkeling gear, including a diving mask.
A car rented by Takahashi was found near a beach in Onna village, about 10 kilometers from the location. His belongings, including his driver's license, were inside the car.
Takahashi was born in Tokyo. His legal first name is Kazuo. In 1996, he began serializing “Yu-Gi-Oh!” in the Weekly Shonen Jump manga anthology.
“Yu-Gi-Oh!” tells the story of a teenage boy named Yugi Muto, who battles his rivals in competitive card games where monsters come alive to duel. The manga was later made into an anime. The series has sold more than 40 million copies.
The trading card game that was launched in 1999 quickly became a worldwide hit.
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The cover of Volume 1 of the manga “Yu-Gi-Oh!” ((c) Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Dice/
Shueisha)
