Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese author and illustrator, created Yu-Gi-Oh! (died 2022)

Kazuo Takahashi , known professionally as Kazuki Takahashi , 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.

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump between September 1996 and March 2004, with its chapters collected in 38 tankōbon volumes. The series follows Yugi Mutou, a teenager who solves the ancient Egyptian Millennium Puzzle. Yugi becomes host to a gambling alter-ego or spirit who solves his conflicts with various games. As the manga progresses, the focus largely shifts to the card game Duel Monsters, where opposing players "duel" one another in mock battles of fantasy monsters.