‘Yu Gi Oh!’ Creator Kazuki Takahashi dies at 60

The creator, also known as Kazuo Takahashi, started working in the manga industry in the 80s and achieved great success the following decade with “Yu-Gi-Oh!” The influential underdog-fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Takahashi features a spiky-haired stranger named Yugi who, after solving an ancient puzzle, becomes a mystical version of himself: Yu- Gi-Oh, the king of games and evildoer-fighting champion.

” Yu Gi Oh ! was serialized in Japan’s widely read boys’ magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, from 1996 to 2004. Takahashi’s creation has grown into a multi-billion dollar global business, spawning an anime franchise and video games . In 2011, Guinness World Records recognized “Yu-Gi-Oh!” as the biggest collectible card game of all time, with more than 25 billion cards sold, according to game maker Konami. Takahashi received the Inkpot Award from San Diego Comic-Con International in 2015.

Takahashi’s creation has been praised for its wide appeal, including anime, which has been touted in the United States as “the heir apparent to Pokémon,” Daniel Dockery, senior writer for Crunchyroll, told The Washington Post.

“The common theme that connected him to fans was Takahashi’s fascination with the way people play and the way we fall in love with our favorite monsters,” said Dockery, author of the upcoming “Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All”. “The spirit of interactivity and the way people grow through it guarantees the legacy of his work.”

Takahashi’s creatures range from horror to fantasy, but “there’s a common craftsmanship between them – the kind of thing that reveals hidden details over time, as well as the visceral ‘Oh my God, that looks so awesome,'” Dockery said. “The fact that they would be summoned into a world not too dissimilar to our own makes them even more appealing to the eyes. They are truly yours to worship and play with, making you feel powerful and inspired in equal measure.

Takahashi had recently worked on Marvel’s “Secret Reverse” this year, a manga graphic novel team featuring Spider-Man and Iron Man/Tony Stark, who travels to a Japanese gaming convention.

“As one of his fans, who also had the privilege of working on the English adaptations of his comics, I am deeply saddened to hear that Takahashi died so young,” said Jason Thompson, who has edited VIZ Media’s English manga editions of “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, “Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist,” and “Yu-Gi-Oh!: Millennium World.”

“He was a pleasant man who loved American games and comics and was a pleasure to work with.”

Thompson noted that the original “Yu-Gi-Oh!” The graphic novel series was one of his favorite manga, with “an emotional core that gives it life beyond cliffhanger battles and bizarre monsters”.

On social media, fans shared their favorite memories of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” and Takahashi. “Yu-gi-oh! defined my taste for anime as a kid, and the game got me out of the house and out of my own head when I needed it most as an adult” , a fan said on Twitter. Another added that the fantasy series had “had a massive impact on global culture. It’s an important story about facing evil head on with hope and friendship, and always fighting for a better future.