Kazuki Takahashi Explained

Birth Date:4 October 1961
Birth Place:Tokyo, Japan
Death Place:Nago, Okinawa, Japan
Occupation:Manga artist
Years Active:1981–2020
Organization:Studio Dice
Notable Works:Yu-Gi-Oh!
Module:
Child:yes
Kanji:高橋 和希
Romaji:Takahashi Kazuki

, known professionally as, was a Japanese manga artist. He is best known as the author of Yu-Gi-Oh!, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1996 to 2004. The manga spawned a trading card game of the same name, which holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling trading card game of all time.

Early life

Kazuo Takahashi was born in Tokyo on October 4, 1961.[1] In his childhood, he drew artwork of manga he enjoyed such as Tiger Mask, Ultraman, Space Battleship Yamato, Mazinger Z, Devilman, and Kamen Rider.[2] He also played tennis in his youth.[3]

Disinterested in his studies,[3] [4] Takahashi was shamed by his homeroom teacher as "the poop machine that knows nothing except eating, sleeping and pooping" in front of other students. Angered by the humiliation, Takahashi decided to become a manga artist.[5] In his second year of high school, he also sought to be a background animator of Tezuka Productions. He planned to drop out of school if he passed the recruitment exam, but he failed as his drawing skills were not yet up to industry standard.[6] Takahashi gave up on his goal of becoming an animator, instead becoming a designer of corporate logos and banners, which included making designs for pachislot panels.[4] [7] It was at this time he started submitting his manga to publishers.[3] [2]

Career

In 1981, at the age of 20,[2] Takahashi's one-shot manga Ing! Love Ball, submitted under the pen name "", won the Shogakukan New Comic Award and was published in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in the same year.[1] His serial debut was in 1986 with Gō-Q-Chōji Ikkiman, an adaptation of the TV sports anime of the same name, published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine.[1] [3] In the meantime, Takahashi explained that he experienced extreme poverty as his home lacked electricity and he made thirty-six times of credit card installments in the magazine.[8] George Morikawa, author of Hajime no Ippo, described his living place from that time as "dilapidated Showa era wooden apartment that people immediately thought of".[7] Because his early works were unprofitable, Takahashi switched his direction to Shueisha.[7] In 1990, his one-shot Tokiō no Taka was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump.[9] Another manga, Tennenshoku Danji Buray, was published in the magazine from 1991 to 1992.[3] [10]

In 1996, Takahashi launched Yu-Gi-Oh! under the pen name "Kazuki Takahashi" in Weekly Shōnen Jump, where it was serialized until 2004.[11] The series became a huge success and has sold more than 40 million copies. It has also received several media adaptations, notably an anime television series and a trading card game developed by Konami,[11] which holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling trading card game in history, with more than 25.1 billion cards sold as of 2011.[12] Following the end of the original manga's serialization, Takahashi would supervise adaptions made by his assistants, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! R by Akira Itō, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX by Naoyuki Kageyama and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's by Masashi Sato.[7] [9] He was also involved in the animation production of Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions.[2] [7]

In 2013, his one-shot manga Drump was released in Weekly Shōnen Jump.[13] In 2015, Takahashi received the Inkpot Award from Comic-Con International for his outstanding contributions to comics.[14] In 2018, Takahashi published the limited series The Comiq in Weekly Shōnen Jump.[15] Takahashi also wrote a two-part manga, titled Secret Reverse, for the Marvel × Shōnen Jump+ Super Collaboration, which was released on Shōnen Jump+ in September 2019.[16]

Style

Takahashi's early art style was comical and influenced by traditional anime. Some illustrators such as Drew Struzan, Alphonse Mucha, and Norman Rockwell had a tremendous impact on Takahashi's later art style. His choices of traditional art tools were g-pen, watercolors and Copic markers, whereas Adobe Photoshop and Painter were the art programs he used during post manga serialization.[3] [2] [4]

Personal life

Takahashi enjoyed playing games such as shogi, mahjong, card games, and tabletop role-playing games.[3] [17] In an interview with Shonen Jump, Takahashi stated that his favorite manga from other authors included Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki, and Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama.[18] He also enjoyed reading American comics[3] and stated that Hellboy was his favorite American comic book character.[19] His pet dog, a shiba inu named, was the basis for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game monster card ; the card's artwork was personally drawn by Takahashi.[20] [21] Takahashi also enjoyed sea diving and visited Okinawa seaside each July.[22] [23]

Takahashi occasionally expressed his political views in his art, such as when he posted a drawing on Instagram of Yu-Gi-Oh! characters criticizing Shinzo Abe's government and asking his followers to "vote for justice" in the 2019 House of Councillors election. He later apologized.[24]

Death

On July 6, 2022, Takahashi was found dead in the water 300m (1,000feet) off the shore of Nago, Okinawa, by Japan Coast Guard officers following a civilian report from a passing boat.[25] He was found wearing snorkeling gear, and his cause of death was determined to be drowning.[26] [27]

It was subsequently reported, first in the American military newspaper Stars and Stripes on October 11, that Takahashi had died in the afternoon of July 4 while assisting in the rescue of three others who were caught in a rip current.[28] [29]

Works

As Hajime Miyabi

As Kazuo Takahashi

As Kazuki Takahashi

Others

3 episodes of anime shorts made by Takahashi.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ja:『遊戯王』の作者・高橋和希さんが死去。沖縄県名護市で遺体となって発見、海上保安署と警察が死亡するまでのいきさつを調査中と報道. https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/220707p. Den Fami Nico Gamer. July 7, 2022. July 23, 2022. ja.
  2. Web site: Duel Art, Kazuki Takahashi Yu-Gi-Oh! Illustrations. Internet Archive. December 21, 2011 . Shueisha. July 24, 2022. ja. December 21, 2011. //archive.org/details/040_20220724. live.
  3. Die Welt von Yu-Gi-Oh!. Banzai!. 23. September 2003. Shueisha.
  4. US Shonen Jump Magazine (February 2003). Archived in Taretare 和希の素　語録.http://taretare.s56.xrea.com/sugoroku/interview/ajump0302.html
  5. Yu-Gi-Oh! tankobon vol. 28
  6. Original from Studio Dice blog, now deactivated. 1500077323369938947. Kazuki_bot_ygo. ja:実はオレ高校生ん時、アルバイト雑誌に載っていた手塚プロダクションのアニメ背景スタッフの募集広告見て.... Mar 5, 2022. Mar 5, 2022. ja.
  7. 1545234277960679424. WANPOWANWAN. ja:「高橋かずお」と「高橋和希」は貧乏か金持ちかの差でしかなく中身はほぼ同じだ。.... Jul 8, 2022. Jul 8, 2022. ja.
  8. Shonen Magazine, year 1986, vol. 19. Archived in Taretare 和希の素　語録.http://taretare.s56.xrea.com/sugoroku/sakuhin/i_01.html
  9. Web site: ja:遊☆戯☆王. https://natalie.mu/comic/artist/1955. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. April 21, 2016. July 7, 2022. ja.
  10. Web site: ja:天然色男児BURAY. https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/C319430. Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. July 7, 2022. ja. July 8, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220708081314/https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/C319430. live.
  11. Web site: ja:「遊☆戯☆王」の高橋和希が60歳で死去. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/484594. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. July 7, 2022. July 7, 2022. ja. July 8, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220708081311/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/484594. live.
  12. Web site: Loo. Egan. Yu-Gi-Oh! Sets Guinness Record with 25.1 Billion+ Cards. Anime News Network. June 14, 2011. July 23, 2022.
  13. Web site: Kazuki Takahashi Draws 'Drump' 1-Shot 9 Years After Yu-Gi-Oh's End. Anime News Network. Sherman. Jennifer. October 17, 2013. July 7, 2022. March 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220328070127/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-10-17/kazuki-takahashi-draws-drump-1-shot-9-years-after-yu-gi-oh-end. live.
  14. Web site: Ressler. Karen. July 13, 2015. Yu-Gi-Oh! Creator Kazuki Takahashi Receives Comic-Con Int'l's Inkpot Award. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122005402/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-07-13/yu-gi-oh-creator-kazuki-takahashi-receives-comic-con-intl-inkpot-award/.90405. January 22, 2021. October 9, 2020. Anime News Network.
  15. Web site: Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga Creator Kazuki Takahashi Launches Short Manga in Shonen Jump. Hodgkins. Crystalyn. October 5, 2018. Anime News Network. January 24, 2019. January 24, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190124153918/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-10-05/yu-gi-oh-manga-creator-kazuki-takahashi-launches-short-manga-in-shonen-jump/.137759. live.
  16. Web site: Yu-Gi-Oh's Kazuki Takahashi, Other Jump Artists Draw Marvel Superhero Manga Shorts. Anime News Network. Pineda. Rafael. September 3, 2019. July 7, 2022. April 9, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220409135358/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-09-03/yu-gi-oh-kazuki-takahashi-other-jump-artists-draw-marvel-superhero-manga-shorts/.150664. live.
  17. Web site: SHONEN JUMP . SHONEN JUMP . https://web.archive.org/web/20080412091758/http://www.shonenjump.com/reskin/manga/yugioh/creator . April 12, 2008 . June 4, 2019.
  18. Kazuki Takahashi interview. Shonen Jump. 1. 20. August 2004. Viz Media.
  19. When Yugi Met Hellboy.... Shonen Jump. 2. 9. September 2004. Viz Media. 330.
  20. April 21, 2016 . ja:「柴戦士タロ」があ出頭え!? . Shiba-Warrior Taro appears!? . ジャンプSTUDIO発掘隊 [JUMP STUDIO FINDING CORPS] . ジャンプ流！ . JUMP-RYU! . DVD付分冊マンガ講座 [magazine bundled with DVD containing some of the same content in video format] . Japanese . . 8 . 7.
  21. 723358137856589828. jc_jumpryu. ja:vol.8好評発売中！.... April 22, 2016. July 13, 2019. ja.
  22. de. Ich tauche gerne. Leider war ich in den letzten Jahren zu beschäftigt, aber in Zukunft möchte ich gerne wieder häufiger tauchen gehen.. Banzai! On Tour, Buchmesse Leipzig 2005. Banzai!. May 2005. Shueisha.
  23. studio_dice . CDOAb7-nCTx97NceUb7YRv9Nq_-sGigQvoITQM0. July 29, 2020 . ja:オレは毎年7月に沖縄に行っているけど、今年は行けないのがツライぜ... . July 29, 2020.
  24. Web site: Loveridge. Lynzee. July 16, 2019. Yu-Gi-Oh Creator Kazuki Takahashi Apologizes for Political Statements. Anime News Network. July 13, 2022.
  25. Web site: Tolentino . Josh . July 7, 2022 . Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga Creator Kazuki Takahashi Has Died . July 7, 2022 . . July 8, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220708081306/https://www.siliconera.com/yu-gi-oh-manga-creator-kazuki-takahashi-has-died/. live.
  26. Web site: ja:サメのかみ傷は死後 「遊☆戯☆王」作者の死因は溺死と発表 12キロ離れたビーチにレンタカー. https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/990029. Okinawa Times. July 12, 2022. ja . July 12, 2022.
  27. Web site: Dooley . Ben . July 7, 2022 . Kazuki Takahashi, Yu-Gi-Oh! Creator, Dies at 60 . New York Times . November 2, 2022.
  28. News: Burke . Matthew M. . 11 October 2022 . Army officer recognized for rescuing three people from riptide that killed 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' creator . 12 October 2022 . Stars and Stripes.
  29. Web site: Ives . Mike . Ueno . Hisako . October 28, 2022 . A Celebrated Japanese Artist Died Trying to Save Others From Drowning . New York Times . 2 November 2022.

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