The popular Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise’s inventor, Kazuki Takahashi, was discovered dead on Wednesday, according to NHK, a Japanese public broadcaster, and other media. He had reached age 60.

According to reports, Takahashi’s body was discovered floating in snorkelling gear off the shore of Nago, Okinawa.

The 1980s marked the beginning of Takahashi’s career as a comic book artist. However, his biggest breakthrough came in 1996, the year he released the Yu-Gi-Oh! in the well-known comic book Weekly Shonen Jump. The show centred on Yugi, a precocious child with spiky hair, who challenged different bullies and evil men to mystic games after solving an old mystery and becoming possessed by an ancient spirit.

The successful anime series lasted in the United States for 6 years and inspired several more spin-off series, movies, and video games. The comic ran for 8 years and became an international phenomenon.

Kazuki Takahashi continued to work in the comic book industry, most recently releasing the limited series The Comiq about a comic book creator who discovers that someone in prison is drawing his backdrops as well as working with Marvel on a book featuring Iron Man and Spider-Man.
The death of Takahashi is presently being looked into by the Coast Guard.