Publisher Shogakukan announced today the death of author Takao Saito , who passed away on September 24th from pancreatic cancer at the age of 84.
Takao Saito's most famous work was Golgo 13 .
Saito was born in Wakayama in November 1936. He debuted with the manga Kūki Danshaku in 1955 . He also published the manga Sagashiya hage Taka Tōjō!! in 1968 , before launching Golgo 13 later that same year.
Golgo 13 won the 21st Shogakukan Manga Award , an award from the “ Japan Cartoonists Association Grand Prize ”. Saito was also awarded the “ Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon ” in 2003 , and the “ Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette ” in 2010 . Golgo 13 celebrated its 50th year of serialization in 2018 , and Saito celebrated his 65th year as a manga creator in 2020 .
Shogakukan announced that Saito had said before his death that he wanted the manga to continue without him, the group of artists “ Saito Production ” will therefore continue the work with the help of the editorial department of Big Comic , as well as a team additional scriptwriters. Saito Production released the franchise's first spinoff manga on July 17 .
Golgo 13, centered on a legendary assassin, is the oldest manga still in print .
Osamu Akimoto 's crime comedy manga “ Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo ” to compete for the Guinness World Record for “ most volumes published for a single manga series ”, both featuring 200 volumes on April 5th , however, Golgo 13 has already surpassed the record, publishing a 201st volume on July 5th and a 202nd volume on September 6th .
Source: ANN
