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In 2022, Kazuki Takahashi — the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! — drowned off the coast of Okinawa while trying to save a woman, her child, and a U.S. soldier who were trapped in a violent rip current. Witnesses watched him jump into six-foot waves and swim toward the struggling swimmers as the water twisted into a whirlpool. The soldier ultimately pulled the victims to safety, but Takahashi was overtaken by the current and vanished beneath the surf. His body was found two days later still in snorkeling gear, and investigators confirmed he died during the rescue attempt.