Astrologians in FFXIV Honor Yu-Gi-Oh Creator Kazuki Takahashi After His Passing

Astrologians in FFXIV Honor Yu-Gi-Oh Creator Kazuki Takahashi After His Passing

It’s not outlandish to say that a lot of Final Fantasy XIV players also enjoy anime and manga. It’s a Japanese MMO and, thanks to extensive glamour, there are always players dressing up as their favorite anime characters. You can’t throw a rock in Limsa Lominsa or Ul’dah without hitting an Uchiha or an E’ren Yea’ger.

This means that some losses hit the FFXIV community harder. One example of that is the recent death of Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh. On July 6, Takahashi was found dead off the coast of Nago, Okinawa. He was wearing an underwater mask, snorkel, and fin in an area that was popular for snorkeling. The Japan Coast Guard is still doing an investigation into the cause of his death.

Takahashi’s most widely beloved creation, Yu-Gi-Oh, is actually somewhat responsible for one of the Jobs in FFXIV. The Astrologian, a card-based healer introduced in the Heavensward expansion, originally had a weapon based heavily on the Duel Disk from Yu-Gi-Oh. That was ultimately scrapped for the Star Globe weapon, but fans still associate the Job with the anime and manga. Modded controller guru SuperLouis64 even played his Astrologian using a functional Duel Disk.

With the news of Takahashi’s death, fans of his work decided to honor him within FFXIV. One of the bigger vigils happened on the Leviathan server in Ul’dah, but there were similar events around the Limsa Lominsa Aetheryte on Hyperion. Some players even had Yu-Gi-Oh-themed glamours ready for the event.

#FFXIV community honoring the passing of Kazuki Takahashi using the Astrologian class as it uses cards pic.twitter.com/MO4fL25nK0

— Maljinwo, Darkspear Beard Champion (@Maljinwo1) July 7, 2022

Rest in Power Kazuki Takahashi, the true King of Games.

Join us for a memorial in Adamantoise Ul’dah, bring your deck, and campfires can be made by crafters on hand.#FFXIV #YuGiOh pic.twitter.com/mm3wUBkdlz

— Octavia Autumnborne (@MsAutumnborne) July 8, 2022

There was also a full Alliance Raid group that tackled the World of Darkness in his honor. Every member of the group was an Astrologian, with the conceit being that the World of Darkness was the “Shadow Realm” from the dubbed iteration of the anime. Of course, the raid was done unsynced to make it a smooth run.

This isn’t the first time that the FFXIV community has come together to honor the death of an influential creator. When Berserk creator Kentaro Miura died last year, a number of Dark Knight players came together to honor him. The aesthetics and style of the Dark Knight job are definitely inspired by Guts, the main character of Berserk, especially when you look at his Berserker Armor and Dragon Slayer sword.

These events honoring Takahashi are yet another example of the excellent FFXIV community coming together in a time of great sorrow. It’s great that the game has brought together so many, especially in situations of great loss.

Author: Deann Hawkins