Tokyo –
Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” comic manga and trading card game, died, apparently while diving off southwestern Japan, the coast guard said on Friday.
The body of Takahashi, 60, was found floating about 300 meters off the coast of Okinawa on Wednesday by a person running a maritime leisure business, according to an official at the Naha Coast Guard Nago Station.
The coastguard and firefighters came by boat and jet skis and found the body, face down and wearing a snorkel mask. He may have been dead for a day or two, according to the coast guard official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because his job did not allow them to be cited by his name.
The body showed signs of being attacked by a sea creature, possibly sharks, but the cause of death is still under investigation, the official said.
Takahashi was identified after police in another part of Okinawa contacted the coast guard on Thursday, saying a rental car had been found abandoned on a beach. The car had a driver’s license, which confirms the identity. Takahashi’s real given name was Kazuo. His family was contacted and identified him, the coast guard official said.
“Yu-Gi-Oh!” Debuting in Shonen Jump magazine in 1996, it became a hit, selling over 40 million copies as a manga, although the number of cards distributed worldwide is much higher, in the billions.
The official card game was released in 1999. A TV show and video game, as well as figures and toys, were also part of the franchise.
There was an outpouring of mourning on social media.
Eric Stuart, the American actor who did the animation’s voiceover, said he was saddened by the news.
“An incredibly talented man. Sensei created a role that would help define my career as a voice actor.” Stuart said on Twitterusing the Japanese word for “master”.
Fans from all over the world posted their cards and manga images online. Some noted that this was how they became interested in Japan. People remembered how the cards had helped them make their first friends.
“We are deeply grateful for the wonderful ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ universe he has created, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” the London-based YuGiOhNews account said on Twitter and on its official site.
Georgian Ambassador to Japan Teimuraz Lezhava said “Yu-Gi-Oh!” evoked a different world.
“I will never forget the thrill of playing,” he said on his official Japanese Twitter.
Takahashi’s work had children, and the young at heart, collecting the cards, decorated with mechanical monsters and wizard-like creatures, in a frenzy. Prices for some skyrocketed during the height of fashion.
When a “Yu-Gi-Oh!” The event was held in a Tokyo baseball stadium in 1999, so many children and parents came to buy the cards, the game maker Konami, the organizer, had to call the riot police.
“Yu-Gi-Oh!” It is played by having two people face each other and place cards from their deck with different powers in an attempt to defeat the other. Each player starts with 8,000 “life points”, which are removed as you lose your cards.
The main character is a doe-eyed boy with spiky blond hair named Yugi Muto, an expert in card games. “Yu-Gi-Oh” means “king of games”.
The most expensive cards, the ones that literally have glitter, are powerful in the game, called “super rares” and “secret rares.” But they weren’t that easy to find, so people bought more packs or boxes of cards.
The success of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” in the West it was similar to that of other Japanese animation works and games such as Pokémon.