The publisher Shogakukan announced today the passing of author Takao Saito, who died 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. Healso 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, a "Grand Prize of the Japan Cartoonists Association." 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 stated before his death that he wanted the manga to continue without him;Saito Productiontherefore Big Comic , as well as an additional team of writers. Saito Production launched the first manga spinoff of the franchise on July 17th.
Golgo 13 centers on a legendary assassin and is the longest-running manga still in publication.
's police comedy manga Osamu Akimoto "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo" to compete for the Guinness World Record for "most volumes published for a single manga series," both having 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