It is a sad day for animation fans. Kyoto Animation (KyoAni), a studio located in the city of Kyoto, was the target of an arson attack this Thursday (18). According to firefighters' reports, 33 people died (20 women, 12 men, and 1 unidentified person), while more than 35 people were injured, including 10 seriously. The rescue team's work has ended.
The criminal act was carried out by a 41-year-old man whose motives are still unknown. He spread gasoline throughout the building and set it on fire at around 10:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Brasília time). His last word before committing the act was “die.” The attacker was injured by the flames and is currently in custody at a hospital.
One of the people whose whereabouts remain unknown is Yasuhiro Takemoto, director of the popular anime Maid Dragon. Naoko Yamada (Koe no Katachi, Liz to Aoi Tori, K-On), Tatsuya Ishihara (Clannad, Hibike Euphonium), and Taichi Ishidate (Kyoukai no Kanata) have been confirmed safe and well.
The fire prompted an outpouring of emotion and support from across the Japanese animation industries. Animation is one of the aspects of Japanese culture most widely recognized around the world.
Yuichi Maeda, a film commentator, said the studio had an enormous impact on the entire industry.
It is one of the best and largest animation companies in Japan, and with this loss of life, many of the nation's best animation professionals are probably dead.
A Profound Impact on Anime
Kyoto Animation, also known as KyoAni, was founded in 1981 by producers Yoko and Hideaki Hatta. The company is known for several works, including K-On, Violet Evergarden, and Maid Dragon. The studio is also well known among genre enthusiasts for its unique art style, which was used repeatedly across many of its works.
Violet Evergarden is one of the KyoAni studio's most recognized works.
Another work that had an impact and touched the hearts of many fans was the film A Silent Voice, released in 2016. The film is about a deaf girl and a boy who had bullied her in the past, and how he begins to understand her perspective as a romance starts to form between them. The film received praise from critics around the world for not being afraid to address serious subjects respectfully, including depression among teenagers. The feature film ultimately ranked tenth among the year's highest-grossing Japanese films.
Silent Voice is one of the KyoAni studio's most recognized films because of its emotional and serious narrative.
Help Coming from Everywhere
Sentai Filmworks, the distributor of KyoAni productions in the West, decided to take action to help the company recover and to provide every possible kind of aid to the victims. A GoFundMe campaign was created and has already received $596,067 in donations from 22,073 people around the world. You can donate by clickinghere.
Although the situation is still developing, it is clear that our friends at Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) have suffered greatly. In addition to the loss of life, many lives will be changed forever. Like all of you, we want to take action to help in any way we can. That is the purpose of this GoFundMe campaign.We know KyoAni through the many works that have inspired, influenced, and entertained us for so many years. They are true masters of the art and one of Japan's national treasures.
Japan's prime minister, Shinzō Abe, also spoke about what happened.
https://twitter.com/AbeShinzo/status/1151748479531667457
An arson attack took place in Kyoto today, causing a large number of casualties, and I am left speechless by so much suffering. I pray for the happiness of those who died. I would like to express my sympathy to the injured and pray for their speedy recovery.
Epic Play will keep everyone updated as any new information emerges.
