On July 6, 2022, Yu-Gi-Oh! creator and author Kazuki Takahashi was found dead, shocking fans around the world. Takahashi's cause of death was determined to be drowning. Not many details surrounding his death were made public at the time, but a new report by the Japanese Police Department has shed some details on what has become an increasingly tragic death.
While the Japanese press didn’t report further details about Takahashi’s death, a U.S. military newspaper known as Stars and Stripes reported that Takahashi died trying to aid a U.S. Army officer in saving three people who were caught in a riptide at Mermaid's Grotto in Onna, Okinawa. The officer in question was U.S. Army Major Robert Bourgeau, a diving instructor. He was attempting to save an 11-year-old girl, her mother, and another U.S. soldier who were all trapped in a rip current about 100 meters from the shore.
According to Bourgeau, he was unaware that Takahashi was trying to aid him at the time. Bourgeau told officials that Takahashi entered the water, however, he did not see Takahashi during the rescue itself. Bourgeau's diving students were the ones who saw Takahashi in the water before he disappeared. The spokesman for Japan Coast Guard declined to confirm whether Takahashi participated in the rescue attempt, but several sworn witness statements provided by the Army confirmed the details of Bourgeau’s story.
Born October 4, 1961, in Tokyo Japan, Kazuki Takahashi came to fame when he created a manga about a boy who becomes possessed by an ancient spirit that played games of death. The manga was called Yu-Gi-Oh!, and despite the horror elements and dark beginnings, it would eventually become a worldwide sensation when the decision to retool the series to focus on a card game called Duel Monsters. The retooling of the manga (and a rebooted anime later) would result in one of the most profitable franchises of all time.
Takahashi ended the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga on March 8, 2004, yet the franchise lived on with spinoffs, sequel manga and anime, and various video games (most under the supervision of master licensor Konami). The card game still has dedicated tournaments to this day. While Takahashi helped with these various projects to different degrees (mostly character designs), he was ultimately enjoying his retirement. One of his hobbies was scuba diving, and he loved being out in nature. Many assumed he had a sudden heart attack or medical issue when his body had been discovered floating in the water, having been out in the ocean for a few days at that point.
While this story doesn’t make the pain of losing the beloved creator any easier to accept, it should warm the hearts of his fans that their favorite creator died doing something his own characters would have done themselves (there was a scene in the manga of Yugi jumping into the ocean to save his friend Jounouchi from drowning), making him just as much of a hero as the characters he created.
Source: Crunchyroll