Golgo 13 Mangaka Takao Saito Passes Away at 84

Renowned for Golgo 13, Takao Saito was one of the most important figures in manga history. Even at the age of 84, he had no intention of slowing down.

He had everything going for him. The series just broke the record for the most manga volumes published for a single series, with the 202nd volume coming out just earlier this month. Even his first spinoff about Gunsmith Dave was gaining steam.

He worked relentlessly, which is reflected by the 52-year hiatus-less run of Golgo 13.

Sadly, he could not do it forever.

Takao Saito, the creator of Golgo 13 manga, passed away on September 24, 2021, due to pancreatic cancer at 84. 

As per his wishes, Golgo 13 will continue its serialization, with Saito Productions taking charge in his stead. 

As commonplace as it might seem now, he was the first to create a production system where every work process was divided among different people. At that time, the nature of collaboration was just having different people do all the things for small parts of the story.

Each story process, such as scriptwriting, storyboarding, and drawing, was divided into separate tasks. This eventually revolutionized the manga industry and paved the way for meaningful collaboration.

He was also one of the founders of gekiga, a manga genre targeted at adults. This was more realistic and serious than the children’s manga, which was popular in the 1950s.

When Golgo 13 broke the Guinness record, he stated how the manga no longer belonged to him but to the readers. A beautiful message that will continue to define his legacy.

Rest in Peace.

About Golgo 13

Golgo 13 is a manga series by Takao Saito that started serialization in 1968 and is still ongoing. It is the longest-running manga.

The series is about Duke Togo, or Golgo 13, a seasoned assassin whose real identity is not know to anyone. He goes to various missions all over the world and often gets involved with dangerous crime syndicates and police organizations.

His past is a mystery except that he might be of Japanese origin.

Source: Shogakukan Statement

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