Kazuki Motoyama, Super Mario Creator, Dies at 69

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Kazuki Motoyama, the creator of the manga published by Kodansha, died at age 69. His sister, Risa Motoyama, announced his death on Instagram.

We don’t yet have an official date for Kazuki Motoyama’s death, but it appears to have happened in October, based on a post from Risa on Instagram. The news began circulating on social media, starting with a post on X (formerly Twitter) that gained a lot of attention. The Super Mario Wiki account on X, which has almost 16,000 followers, shared this initial post.

Super Mario Bros. Manga Artist Kazuki Motoyama Passes Away at 69

A recent online post expressed shock and sadness over the passing of Kazuki Motoyama, the artist behind the Mario comics published in Bonbon. The poster shared that they discovered the series about 20 years ago with the second volume of Yoshi’s Island at a used bookstore and became a dedicated collector, deeply enjoying the comics’ compelling and dramatic storylines. They offered their condolences and prayers for his memory.

Manga creator Risa Motoyama, known for Start With a Happy Ending, shared the sad news of her brother’s passing on her Instagram account. She expressed gratitude to those who supported her and apologized for any concern this may cause. Motoyama said she will return to social media when she feels ready and asked for patience.

Between 1988 and 1998, Motoyama created artwork of Mario and other characters from the Super Mario Bros. series for official strategy guides and a manga published in Kodansha’s Comic BomBom magazine. These comics were known for playful self-references, nods to Japanese pop culture, and often included silly, sometimes immature humor, including jokes about sexuality and comical nudity. Motoyama’s Super Mario comics weren’t usually given unique titles; instead, they were typically named after the newest Nintendo game, like Super Mario 64. The last collections were based on the original Super Mario Bros. game before Kodansha lost the rights to publish Super Mario comics.

Rest in peace, Kazuki Motoyama.

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2025-11-11 01:09