Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of the beloved manga series Yu-Gi-Oh!, has died at the age of 60 in what authorities believe to be a tragic snorkelling accident.

As reported by NHK, the acclaimed mangaka was found floating 300 meters (approximately 1000 ft) off the coast of Nago city in Okinawa, Japan, after a passerby on a boat came across his body. The Japanese Coast Guard reported Takahashi was wearing snorkelling equipment when he was pulled out of the water. He was later identified as the famous Yu-Gi-Oh! creator when the Guard linked his body with a white rental car that had been abandoned around 7 miles from the scene, used by Takahashi when he reportedly travelled to Okinawa alone. Authorities have begun investigating the cause of Takahashi's passing, with reports that there were no noticeable signs of injury on his body.

Debuting onto the manga scene with Tokiō no taka in 1990, Takahashi soon found worldwide success with the creation of Yu-Gi-Oh! in 1996. It follows 16-year-old Yugi Muto, a timid boy who is relentlessly bullied and longs to make a true friend. Everything changes when he puts together the mysterious Millennium Puzzle gifted to him by his grandfather, who tells him that the relic will grant him his one, true wish. What Yugi does not know, however, is that the artifact houses a spirit of an ancient pharaoh simply known as Yami. Suddenly playing host to this shadowy entity, the dark spirit lies dormant within Yugi, only coming out when either he or his friends are threatened to challenge their foes to deadly Shadow Games that highlight the true nature of a person's heart.

Games are the centerpiece of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s story, with the most notable one being Duel Monsters, ultimately spawning the immensely successful Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game in reality. Takahashi was a huge fan of games throughout his entire life, basing Yu-Gi-Oh! on his belief that the player is the hero.

The series has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises in history, with the TCG grossing over $9 billion as of January 2021 and the original manga series receiving two successful anime adaptations and countless spin-offs. Although he did not write or illustrate any Yu-Gi-Oh! manga series after the run of the original story, Takahashi had taken on a supervisory role over the various sequel manga before his death.

Source: NHK via Anime News Network