Kazuo Koike, a veteran of the Japanese comics industry, passed away. He conceived "Golgoku 13" and serialized it for 51 years

Mr. Kazuo Koike, a veteran writer in the Japanese manga script original world, died of pneumonia on April 17 at the age of 82. He created many classic manga scripts throughout his life. Among them, the most famous one is the manga version of "Golgo 13", which has been serialized since 1968 and has been for more than 50 years.

Mr. Kazuo Koike was born in Akita Prefecture, Japan in 1936. He loved writing since he was a child and was also a huge comics fan. He studied law at Chuo University and hoped to become a respected lawyer in the future. During his college years, he tried to write scripts for his cartoonist friends as a part-time job and gradually developed a strong interest in the original comics.

Later, Kazuo Koike conceived a story about a dark killer. The work tells the story of a killer codenamed "Golgoku 13" who has superb marksmanship and terrifying killer skills, is proficient in multiple languages, and can be hired by different clients for money. This original work was written and drawn by the famous cartoonist Saito Takao. In 1968, the long-running comic series "Golgoku 13" (also known as "Hot Hand 13") was officially launched. It has been serialized to this day, and its longevity even surpasses Akimoto Osamu's "Ulong Police Station".

Another work that is well known to Chinese readers is probably "The Weeping Star" (also known as "The Crying God"), a collaboration between Kazuo Koike and Ryoichi Ikegami. Kazuo Koike's writing style is sharp and pungent, facing the fierce social competition and ruthlessly exposing the dark side of human nature. The plots are usually related to current political events in reality, and are very popular among comic fans who pay attention to hot news.