Tragedy at Kyoto Animation

Date: 2019 July 19 22:01

Posted by Joe

On Thursday 18th of July at 10:30am tragedy struck Kyoto Animation. An arsonist started an explosive fire. The resulting fire killed 33 people and injured 35 others, with most of the victims dying from carbon monoxide posing as a result of the fire. This attack is the deadliest in post war Japan, killing more people than the 1995 sarin nerve gas attacks on the Tokyo Subway system.

Kyoto Animation is affectionately abbreviated to KyoAni. They've produced many hit anime titles including The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On, Full Metal Panic, Free!, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and Violet Evergarden. They've had success with movie adaptations of various series plus have created popular movies such as A Silent Voice.

KyoAni are renowned for their animation quality and for producing memorable titles with a gentle charm to them. They are a studio with a special relationship with their staff, the staff hired as salaried employees and not paid by frame like some other animation houses.

There's been an outpouring of grief and support from fans all around the world.

US distributors Sentai and Aniplex have both set up crowd funding campaigns help.

You can read more about this story on:

• NHK World
• BBC News
• The Guardian
• New York Times
• The Asashi Shimbun
• The Mainichi
• Anime News Network