The autopsy for Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, rules out foul play and determines an apparent cause of death.
The autopsy for Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Kazuki Takahashi has released a cause of death.
As reported by the Japanese news outlet Mainichi Shinbun, Takahashi’s autopsy reportedly ruled out foul play as a cause of death and stated that the creator of the beloved manga series died as a result of drowning. The events leading up to his death are currently under investigation by both the Japan Coast Guard and police. It was reported on July 6 that Takahashi had died in what authorities believed to be a snorkeling accident. He was 60 years old.
Takahashi’s body was found by Japan Coast Guard after a passerby in a boat reported an apparent body floating 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) off the coast of Nago city in Okinawa, Japan. The coast guard reported that Takahashi was found wearing snorkeling gear. He was later identified as the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! when his white rental car was found abandoned a few miles from where his body was pulled from the water, as he reportedly traveled to Okinawa by himself. Reports state that Takahashi’s body had no noticeable signs of injury.
Written and illustrated by Takahashi, the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga was first published in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1996 to 2004. While Takahashi had written other manga prior to the publication of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the manga went on to be an international success and would inevitably sell over 40 million copies. Overall, the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga published 38 volumes. The story of Yu-Gi-Oh! followed 16-year-old Yugi Mutou who awakens the spirit of an ancient pharoah named Yami after solving a Millenium Puzzle, which was given to him by his grandfather. While the manga was intended to see Yugi, with the spirit of Yami now laying dormant inside of him, playing a variety of games, the most famous became a card game called Duel Monsters, on which the real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is based.
After launching a franchise comprised of a tie-in trading card game, two anime adaptations, video games and a variety of spinoffs, Yu-Gi-Oh! would go on to become an international success as one of the highest-grossing media franchises ever. As of January 2021, the card game itself had earned $9 billion. Though Takahashi did not work as a writer or an illustrator for Yu-Gi-Oh! after the manga’s original run, he would serve as an advisor for the franchise in the years leading up to his death.
Source: Mainichi Shinbun, via Anime News Network