An autopsy has confirmed that Yu-Gi-Oh creator Kazuki Takahashi died by drowning after his body was found in the sea.
His body had been discovered floating around 300 metres from the shore near Nago, Okinawa in a black t-shirt and snorkelling gear on the morning of 6 July.
Emergency services were called to retrieve the body and pronounced him dead at the scene.
The coast guard were able to locate a car rented by Takahashi abandoned on a farm road a few kilometres from where his body was discovered.
The investigation into his cause of death would appear to point towards a death by drowning.
There were injuries to his abdomen and lower body, but they are believed to have been caused by marine creatures after he died rather than the reason for his death itself.
No criminal involvement is suspected in Takahashi's death, though authorities are still working to determine the cause of his drowning.
Takahashi was the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, the manga series about a young boy who wins a series of dangerous and deadly games with the help of a dark spirit released from a puzzle he completed.
Yu-Gi-Oh, meaning 'King of Games' ran in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine between 1996 and 2004, and spawned an incredibly popular and increasingly complicated trading card game that featured in the series.
The manga's success also led to a popular anime series which focused largely on the card games, producing a series of further spin-offs based off the popularity of the original series.
Tributes for the Yu-Gi-Oh creator poured in as thousands thanked him for his work and everything it led to.
Some fans have launched a petition trying to get the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game cleared as an Olympic sport, and perhaps now is the time to make it happen in tribute to him.
If skateboarding can get into the Olympics then surely Yu-Gi-Oh can, a well executed kickflip has nothing on a perfectly coordinated strategy to blast your opponent's life points down to zero.
While I can't quite wrap my head around new rules that came in after I stopped playing like link summoning and pendulum summoning, games of Yu-Gi-Oh can make for a thrilling spectacle.
Another reason for the enduring popularity of the card game is the focus on being a pleasant participant, as tournaments recently introduced a new rule forcing players not to be smelly.
Players are expected to turn up being well washed and wearing clean clothes in an effort to keep standards high and rescue others from sitting across a table from a foul smell.
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Featured Image Credit: Handout/Konami
Joe Harker