Kazuki Takahashi

, 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. In his childhood, he drew artwork of manga he enjoyed such as Tiger Mask, Ultraman, Space Battleship Yamato, Mazinger Z, Devilman, and Kamen Rider. He also played tennis in his youth.

Disinterested in his studies, Takahashi was shamed by his homeroom teacher as "a poop-making machine", in front of other students, saying that all Takahashi did was "eat, sleep, and poop". Angered by the humiliation, Takahashi decided to become a manga artist. 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. 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. It was also at this time he started submitting his manga to publishers.

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". Another manga, Tennenshoku Danji Buray, was published in the magazine from 1991 to 1992.

In 1996, Takahashi launched Yu-Gi-Oh! under the pen name "Kazuki Takahashi" in Weekly Shōnen Jump, where it was serialized until 2004. 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, 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. In 2015, Takahashi received the Inkpot Award from Comic-Con International for his outstanding contributions to comics. In 2018, Takahashi published the limited series The Comiq in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Takahashi also wrote and illustrated a two-part manga, titled Secret Reverse, for the Marvel × Shōnen Jump+ Super Collaboration, which was released on Shōnen Jump+ in September 2019.

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.

Takahashi stated that his favorite manga from other authors included Doraemon and Mataro ga Kuru!! by Fujiko Fujio, Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki, and Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama. He also enjoyed reading American comics Takahashi was a great fan of wrestling and admired Antonio Inoki.

Takahashi's 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. Takahashi also enjoyed sea diving and visited the Okinawa seaside each July.

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.

Death On July 6, 2022, Takahashi was found dead in the water off the shore of Nago, Okinawa, by Japan Coast Guard officers following a civilian report from a passing boat. He was found wearing snorkeling gear, and his cause of death was determined to be drowning.

Later reports stated 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.

Works As Hajime Miyabi (1981; one-shot, published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday) (1982; one-shot, published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday) (1982; one-shot, published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday) (1982; one-shot, published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday) (1983; one-shot, published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday)

As Kazuo Takahashi (1986; serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine) (1990; one-shot, published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump) (1991; one-shot, published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump) (1991–1992; serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump)

As Kazuki Takahashi (1996–2004; serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump) Drump (2013; one-shot, published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump) The Comiq (2018; serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump) Secret Reverse (2019; released on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+)

Others Button (2010; released on Studio Dice official website) 3 episodes of anime shorts made by Takahashi.