Tributes Pour In For Kazuki Takahashi, Creator Of 'Yu-Gi-Oh!,' Dead At 60

Kazuki Takahashi, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, was found dead yesterday at the age of 60. He was reportedly found in the water off Okinawa, Japan wearing snorkeling gear.

The news shocked fans of Takahashi's most popular work, which began in Shonen Jump in 1996 as a manga before becoming a global phenomenon. An anime for the series began airing in 1999 and was a crossover hit in the U.S., sitting alongside series like Dragon Ball and Pokémon as one of the rare series to truly breakthrough in the West in the pre-streaming days of anime. The series spawned several spin-offs and movies, as well as the popular trading card game.

Many modern anime fans cite Yu-Gi-Oh! as one of their gateways into the subculture, and as news of Takahashi's death spread online, tributes for his work poured out from the community all around the internet.

Kazuki Takahashi, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, has passed away.

An incredible author and artist responsible for some of the most iconic characters in manga, and a foundational creator in what modern shonen is, the industry will forever be indebted to him.

Rest In Peace pic.twitter.com/l43QvtR9IU

— Eyepatch Wolf (@EyePatchWolf) July 7, 2022

Yu-gi-oh! defined my taste in anime when I was a kid, and the game got me out of the house and my own head when I needed it most as an adult.

Kazuki Takahashi’s dark and brilliant imagination did a lot to shape the course of my life, and I’m far from the only one. RIP, Legend. https://t.co/xBze1vRgDW

— Geoff Thew (@G0ffThew) July 7, 2022

Takahashi Kazuki – the creator of YuGiOh – has passed away.

This man literally shaped an entire generation of childhoods, including my own.
It’s so incredibly sad to see amazing minds taken from us so suddenly and tragically. https://t.co/HSkfFbnjYU

— Joey (@TheAn1meMan) July 7, 2022

In addition to Yu-Gi-Oh!'s impact and influence in the world of anime, the series also helped craft the language of the internet, as some catchphrases and elements of the series defined the world of memes in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Phrases like You Activated My Trap Card and It's Time To Duel became massive memes, and concepts like "The Shadow Realm," essentially the series' version of hell, are still seen in memes today.

Additionally, Yu-Gi-Oh! inspired LittleKuriboh's classic early YouTube hit, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, which helped inspire YouTube culture and media parodies for years to come.

Yu-Gi-Oh brought so many of the people in my life together. It is responsible for a lot of the love I’ve felt and seen.

I didn’t feel alone anymore when I found it.

I cannot understate the profound effect Kazuki Takahashi’s life and works had. pic.twitter.com/GcVM6p0gKX

— LittleKuriboh (@yugiohtas) July 7, 2022

Takahashi leaves behind an incredible legacy, one that helped shape the industry and introduce anime to the wider world.