Kyoto animation studio set on fire in worst massacre in post-war Japanese history

[Remilia Scarlet]

Today a tragedy has occured at Kyoto Animation Studios 1. A 40 year old man set the studio on fire in what has been confirmed as an act of arson. This is Japan's worst mass murder in their post war history. 

The arsonist yelled 死ね which translates to "Die" or "Drop dead" as he burned the building. Apparenty Kyoani received a sudden surge in death threats several years prior but it's unknown if it's related since the threats were anonymous. Three directors are missing, including the Kobayashi-san animation director Kadowaki Miku. Takemoto Yasuhiro is also missing, the actual director of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. 

 

33 confirmed dead:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190718_54/

 

Sentai Filmworks, an American licensing company, has started a GoFundMe as an effort to help Kyoto Animation. Please donate if you can:

 

https://www.gofundme.com/help-kyoani-heal

A perspective of the fire:

 

https://twitter.com/mainichiphoto/status/1151694460415172608?s=20

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/mainichiphoto/status/1151734263831617542?s=19
____________________________________________________________

As of 12:15 PM JST, 10 people seriously injured, 10 people unconscious, and 18 people mildly injured:

 

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20190718/k00/00m/040/084000c

 

A man in his 40s has confirmed to starting the fire:

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20190718/k00/00m/040/084000c

 

Multiple deaths have been confirmed by NHK police report: 

 

 

The arsonist had tried pouring gasoline on people too:

 

 

 

 

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20190718/k00/00m/040/105000c

 

Sharp tools (knife-like) found near scene, unknown if related to incident:

 

 

Kyoto Newspaper confirming people running outside on fire:

 

 

At least 35 injured, 20 missing, and several still inside building at time of this tweet:

 

 

10 people were found lying face down on 2nd floor, all believed to be dead:

 

 

Several people who had suffered cardiac arrest within the building and had stopped hearts left behind as rescue operations continue:

 

 

In the NHK article, it was stated that 70 people were working inside at time of arson

 

 

According to Kyoto City Fire Department, 12 had suffered cardiac arrest, and 36 are injured:

https://twitter.com/47newsflash/status/1151733857185460227?s=19

 

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by DaivRules
Fixed all caps title

[Lonemankane]

F ing assholes who done that bloodly asshats.

[Cobby]

Imma be that guy but I'm sure there was a worse fire in the 00s which 10-15 more deaths and they didn't catch the guy .. But humans are assholes. Whats new  

[Honor_Hand]

This is truly a sad piece of news to start off the day. Can't believe some unstable psychopath would go to great lengths to cause so much damage to this company. And with damage, I mean all the lives that have been lost here. Kyoto Animation has been a fundamental piece of what anime is nowadays, like it or not. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On!, Lucky Star, Clannad, Kanon, A Silent Voice, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, and many others, all these great pieces of entertainment have been produced here and have been an important part of our anime culture.

 

For the studio having to go through such an event is truly heartbreaking. This studio will never be the same now...

 

Something that really hits me here is the motivation of the so-called human being who did this. I mean, you have to be quite the miserable piece of shit to cause so much damage. From what I understand (been reading a Spanish piece of news on it) is that they got the guy responsible for this arson act but his motivation hasn't been determined yet. Whatever it was, I hope truly he is dealt with accordingly.

[Metal Slime King]

English articles coming in.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/18/20699268/kyoto-animation-fire-arson

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49027178

Quote

"He seemed to be in pain, irritated and suffering, but also angry as if he was resentful. I heard him saying something like 'you copied it'," a neighbour said.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper quoted a 61-year-old neighbour as saying she clearly heard the man shout: "You ripped me off."

 

So a guy who had an idea or script and thought the company infringed upon it.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Metal Slime King

[Undead Wolf]

I heard about this awful news when I woke up this morning. It truly saddens me to think that KyoAni, a studio who have brought joy to countless numbers of people including myself, could be on the receiving end of such a despicable act. The arsonist is an evil scumbag, no matter how hard he tries to justify it to himself. Taking innocent lives is never the answer. The victims of this attack and their families are in my thoughts. 

 

KyoAni have made many of my all-time favourite anime and they are undoubtedly one of the greatest studios in the industry. Such a tragedy... 

[ShonenCat]

This is heartbreaking news ): How could someone do such a thing? KyoAni are an amazing studio that deserve all the praise in the world. They've brought happiness to soooo many, including myself. Shows like Lucky Star, Haruhi Suzumiya, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and K-ON all have a special place in my heart. We take animation for granted these days and never stop to think about how many people it takes to make it truly come to life, especially from a workaholic country like Japan. These talented individuals probably had to sleep in their offices just to meet deadlines on a lot of these projects. There is no job that is too small in these animation studios, to say they all do extraordinary work is a major understatement. Animation is about pictures that move with real sound and voices, the stuff that novels, comics and paintings are incapable of. The beauty of animation is only the limit of the studio's imagination. Live action cannot recreate the wondrous worlds and characters that animation bring to life. That's what makes the art form so unique and wonderful, and it's the skills and talents of dozens of people working together to make it all happen.

 

And now some monster comes along, sets the studio on fire and takes away all that magic, killing several innocent talented people in the process with his own personal grudge. My heart goes out to the suffering families, individuals and fans affected by this tragedy. It'll be difficult, but I hope everyone caught up in all this will eventually recover ): Take a moment today to be thankful for the loved ones that still remain in our lives and remember that when you have it bad, someone always has it much worse. Be strong, everyone ❤️

 

[Sigma999]

On 18/07/2019 at 8:52 PM, ShonenCat said:

This is heartbreaking news ): How could someone do such a thing? KyoAni are an amazing studio that deserve all the praise in the world. They've brought happiness to soooo many, including myself. Shows like Lucky Star, Haruhi Suzumiya, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and K-ON all have a special place in my heart. We take animation for granted these days and never stop to think about how many people it takes to make it truly come to life, especially from a workaholic country like Japan. These talented individuals probably had to sleep in their offices just to meet deadlines on a lot of these projects. There is no job that is too small in these animation studios, to say they all do extraordinary work is a major understatement. Animation is about pictures that move with real sound and voices, the stuff that novels, comics and paintings are incapable of. The beauty of animation is only the limit of the studio's imagination. Live action cannot recreate the wondrous worlds and characters that animation bring to life. That's what makes the art form so unique and wonderful, and it's the skills and talents of dozens of people working together to make it all happen.

 

And now some monster comes along, sets the studio on fire and takes away all that magic, killing several innocent talented people in the process with his own personal grudge. My heart goes out to the suffering families, individuals and fans affected by this tragedy. It'll be difficult, but I hope everyone caught up in all this will eventually recover ): Take a moment today to be thankful for the loved ones that still remain in our lives and remember that when you have it bad, someone always has it much worse. Be strong, everyone

 

Truly wonderful expression of yourself , Kitty-kun , i coudln't have said more suitable and caring words myself . Let the families and caring ones of those who've passed away in that tragedy recover and remember their loving ones that are gone and also those that are still alive. KyoAni might not be the same after this awful and avoidable tragedy at the hand of a person who really didn't judge his selfish actions and criminal acts to try to paicify his soul and ended up being a murder at the end , may his crimes be paid and his mind fully aware of his horrible acts. 

[Honor_Hand]

A great video that I think pretty much encompasses how this tragedy feels to a lot of us.

 

 

 

To think that the Help KyoAni Heal campaign has already amassed more than USD $2 million is nothing short of amazing. Deep inside, It really makes me feel nice to think that there's legitimate support from the anime community on the things they love the most and that definitely deserve some form of support. I recently read on MAL that Kyoto Animation will be pushing forward with the premiere of the new movie on Violet Evergarden and that the money that has been collected on the campaign will be assigned onto a separate bank account so that it can be redirected appropriately towards the victims and their families. Now, money will never be able to bring back those who died, nor the talent and potential creative output that was lost during this attack, but in the same way, it is comforting to see that at least it will be used to alleviate some form of pain to those who suffered through this.

 

You have my best wishes, Kyoto Animation. Here's hoping we can continue to see more in the nearby future from this excellent studio once they have completely healed from this traumatic experience.

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by Honor_Hand

[RadiantFlamberge]

I am so angry that someone would do such a thing. The guy who did this deplorable act is a repulsive devil. May the judge strike him hard with the hammer of justice. Put him away for life with zero chance of getting back into society, so that he may never harm anyone else.

 

I'm sad to the point of nearly being at a loss for words. I feel sad for Kyoto Animation & its hardworking staff, their friends, their families, & also the anime community in general. ? They are in my prayers. At least they are getting some help with that campaign (right now they are at $2.25M). My best wishes to them.

[Remilia Scarlet]

UPDATE

 

Yasuhiro Takemoto is confirmed to be dead. 

 

Relief efforts by Sentai Filmworks' GoFundMe #HelpKyoAniHeal has reached over $5.6 MILLION in donations.

 

KyoAni representative says it will require over ¥1 billion ($9 million) to completely recover.