Drawing Inspiration
Kazuki Takahashi is absolutely escaping samsara.
Now that I’ve got a couple full time jobs back in full swing, the inkling desire to doodle has begun to rear its head once more. A fascinating phenomenon, but one that I’ve observed many times: The busier you get, the more you have time to do. And while I don’t take much time to post the artwork I do for fun, the ol’ sketchbook is chock-full of warm ups and fanart once more.
But while I’m having fun with my half-finished doodles and off-time sketches, doing the deep dives for the two panels I hosted with Monpian earlier this year had me checking out some of the later works Kazuki Takahashi was whippin’ up long after he finished writing Yu-Gi-Oh! And as an illustrator, I gotta say, Takahashi was absolutely killin’ it.
There’s a big to-do about when he drew these and what it was meant for, but that’s a whole story in itself. Right now I just want to focus on these beautiful illustrations and the incredible amount of passion Takahashi clearly had for his Egyptian fanfiction that had been finished 6 years prior.
These monsters and gold hues and group compositions and COLOR WORKS are simply gorgeous. There’s a smidge of same-face syndrome, but after seeing some of Takahashi’s earlier works, it’s definitely because of sticking to the style rather than any lack of creative vision. And while his finished pieces are gorgeous enough, the pencil work done around this time is also top-notch.
With everything that Takahashi went through while writing his story, and considering how he chose to end it, only to come back 10 years after the fact to rectify things, this beautiful art just brimming with soul is a real punch in the gut.
That man must’ve had a serious coming to Jesus moment sometime between all the depression and coerced deadlines. And its for this, and many other reasons, that I find myself continually coming back to his card-game-plagued comic. If not for Monpian pointing out his incredible grasp of narrative parallels and archetype knowledge evident in every part of the story, and completely spelled-out in the limited edition tarot cards of all things, I definitely would’ve passed up most of the manga outside of the Egyptian story arcs.
Truth be told, Takahashi’s probably one of the greatest writers I’ve seen in the mango industry, and God only knows what we could’ve seen from him had he not gone out with a hero’s flare in 2022.
God speed, Kazuo Takahashi. We’ve got the watch from here.