After yesterday's tragedy, the extent of the material damage caused by the fire at Kyoto Animation's (KyoAni) studio is beginning to be assessed and clarified. Hideki Hatta, president of the animation studio, gave an interview this Friday (19) to NHK World to address questions about the arson attack.
Hideaki Hatta, president of Kyoto Animation, during his interview with NHK World.
Hatta mentioned that all materials from the company's animation history, including animation cels and original sketches, were lost, along with every computer located in the first studio.
The amount of monetary damage? Extreme. I do not know the full details.
The president also described how he was feeling after the incident:
My heart is deeply broken. I cannot bear it anymore. Never in my dreams would I have thought such a huge disaster would happen. [...] This is a very serious blow to our company and our industry. Every one of them was an excellent and wonderful colleague.
Support and Understanding from All Sides
The GoFundMe campaign organized by Sentai Film continues at full strength. Just one day after the incident, donations had already reached an impressive $1,498,613, greatly surpassing the original goal of $750,000.
The anime Fire Force, originally scheduled to air this Friday, was postponed out of respect for what happened, since the anime stars firefighters who battle fires and other similar threats. A new airdate for the episode has not yet been revealed.
Fire Force is one of this season's new anime, with a premise centered on firefighters.
Perpetrator Confesses His Possible Motive
The newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported that, according to several investigative sources, the suspect reportedly said that he set fire to Kyoto Animation because the company had stolen an idea he had, saying that "they stole my novel, so I started the fire." It was also discovered that the suspect already had a criminal record, including an arrest for robbing a convenience store in 2012. He spent three and a half years in prison for that crime. More details will be obtained through a police interrogation.
As always, Epic Play will continue to keep everyone updated on this event.
