Just found out Kazuki Takahashi is… dead. I’m…
I feel like I haven’t really processed it yet? It just feels so surreal and hasn’t really sunk in. I don’t think I can fully express how much Yu-Gi-Oh! means to me. Sure, to some, it is just that weird show about a card game and a few kids in class would try to play said game at recess but would fail miserably because nobody knew the rules not even the characters because screw the rules… but it was our weird show!
It was fun, it was cool, the characters were quirky and had funky hair with equal amounts of flair, the show was surprisingly deep, but also ridiculously funny and had an awesome abridged series that we could all appreciate and laugh together about. Yugioh was the niche interest that connected a lot of people.
Personally, it holds such a special place in my heart because I watched the shows on tv as a kid, I used to play the game with my sister, I would bring a bunch of decks over to my friend’s house to play, I got cards as Christmas and birthday gifts… these cards hold memories for me.
Not only that, but the whole Yugioh franchise has more significance to me than ever because I have bonded with so many people over it in the past and in recent years. When the pandemic was just starting, and I was experiencing extreme burnout from university, it was Yugioh that reconnected me with my hobbies, and I met so many wonderful people. I was drawing so much, I was writing, and chatting with people regularly. Yugioh helped me find drive, and motivation, and just made me… happy, when the whole world felt like it was forcibly put on pause.
So… I think the shock is just even greater because I got back into the franchise, after basically not having touched it for years. It somehow managed to carve an even bigger part of my heart for itself, and… I think I can pretty much say there isn’t another franchise that has impacted me as greatly as Yugioh has. People that have watched the show as kids are adults now. It’s been over 20 years since the show first aired. All the anime that followed, and the game, grew and stuck with us over the years.
Again, I just don’t think I could fully express all my feelings in words, but I guess it all just sums up to… thank you, Kazuki Takahashi. I know Yu-Gi-Oh! started off as a horror story, and just ended up veering off into something so different from its original intention, but damn am I happy with where it went. I am happy you blessed us with this over-the-top, quirky, fun, and wonderful franchise so many of us love and enjoy.
