Golgo 13 Manga Creator, Takao Saito Passes Away

Takao Saito (Shogakukan)

JAKARTA - Comic artist Takao Saito passed away on September 24. He died at the age of 84 from pancreatic cancer he suffered.

Takao Saito was born in Wakayam in November 1936. He made his debut through a manga titled Kuki Danshaku in 1955 followed by Sagashiya hage Taka Tojo!! in 1968.

That same year, Takao Saito started the Golgo 13 manga which is still running for 200 volumes. Golgo 13 has been named the second best-selling manga of all time after Eiichiro Oda's One Piece.

Golgo 13 tells the story of a legendary assassin who uses the code name Golgo 13 or Duke Togo. He was willing to kill anyone at any price.

The success of Golgo 13 was expanded into live-action versions in 1973 and 1977 as well as anime and video games.

According to Jiji Press, the latest volume of Golgo 13 was delayed for a year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Takao Saito as the creator also hopes that the Golgo 13 series will continue without his intervention. Therefore, he founded Saito Production which consists of a writing staff and a production company.

Shogakukan as the publisher expressed his condolences for the death of Takao Saito. They also revealed plans regarding the continuation of Golgo 13.

“We express our condolences and respect for Saito's achievements. We plan to continue Golgo 13 by intervening with the staff as expected (Takao Saito)," Shogakukan said.