'Yu-Gi-Oh!' Creator Kazuki Takahashi Reportedly Drowned Trying to Save Child Caught in Riptide

The anime and TCG community was shocked in July when news broke that Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Kazuki Takahashi was found dead. While it was learned that he drowned, many questions were left unanswered after a report from the coast guard.

Stripes has just released info surrounding Takahashi's death. On that fateful day at Mermaid’s Grotto in Onna, Okinawa, the weather conditions were very rough and a mother was found crying out for help as her 11-year-old daughter along with a 39-year-old U.S. soldier were trapped in a rip current that was about 100 yards from land.

Major Robert Bourgeau, the deputy operations officer for the 10th Support Group at Torii Station in Yomitan and scuba diving instructor, would later encounter the pair in dire need of aid, that is when the mother herself got sucked into the whirlpool with its six-foot waves. Bourgeau jumped in with his shoes still to save them. He explained to the press, "I grabbed mom and I grabbed [the girl] and I just kicked for all life." After bringing the two to the shore, he painfully admits that he couldn't return for the soldier as he was just too tired to make it at risk of losing his own life to the waves. "That was one the hardest things I have ever had to do, I let [the man] go so I could save myself." Bourgeau was later awarded a Soldier’s Medal for his heroism.

The 60-year-old Yu-Gi-Oh! creator jumped in and attempted to help Bourgeau where Bourgeau's students caught glimpses of him until the waves took him. Bourgeau elaborated on Takahashi's involvement with "He's a hero. He died trying to save someone else."

In other news, Hideo Kojima teases new game with Elle Fanning.