Kazuki Takahashi death: Yu-Gi-Oh! creator found dead in sea, aged 60

Kazuki Takahashi, creator of the hit manga series Yu-Gi-Oh!, was found dead in the sea on Wednesday (6 July). He was 60.

Takahashi was discovered wearing snorkelling gear and floating in the sea near Nago, in the southern island prefecture of Okinawa, on Wednesday morning. He was identified a day later, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday (7 July).

Media reported that Takahashi was in Okinawa on a solo trip. According to The Japan Times, the car rental company he was using called the police on Wednesday saying they could not contact the artist.

Following a search, he was reportedly found 300m offshore, with injuries on his lower body and abdomen –believed to have been caused by sharks and other marine animals.

Authorities are currently investigating the circumstances around Takahashi’s death.

Takahashi, whose real first name was Kazuo, was born in Tokyo on 4 October 1961.

His manga series Yu-Gi-Oh! – which translates to “King of Games” – debuted as a serialised comic and ran from 1996 to 2004.

It features a boy, Yugi Moto, who solves conflicts using various games.

Yu-Gi-Oh! led to other series of manga – a form of comic or graphic novel with artistic roots in a traditional Japanese style – as well as video games, an animated TV series, and a card trading game that was popular around the world.

Guinness World Records in 2011 recognised Yu-Gi-Oh! as the world’s best-selling card trading game, with over 25 billion sets sold globally, Kyodo News reported.

Additional reporting by agencies