Kyoto Animation Will Broadcast Arson Attack Second Anniversary Memorial

Kyoto Animation will broadcast live a special memorial service in memory of the 36 people who died in the 2019 studio arson.

Kyoto Animation will live stream a special memorial service in memory of the people who died in an arson fire at the anime studio in 2019.

July 18 will mark the second anniversary of the arson attack that killed 36 people, injured 33 more and completely destroyed Kyoto Animation Studio 1. The attack is one of the deadliest mass killings in Japan since the end of World War II and prompted changes in Japanese fire safety laws and how the police handle threats against entertainment companies and their employees. Kyoto Animation will hold a special 10-minute live broadcast on the company’s official YouTube channel, beginning on July 18 at 10:30 a.m. JST, to commemorate the victims. The company says it considered holding a memorial in person, but decided against doing so due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The studio has asked fans to refrain from visiting the studio or the site of the attack that day, and states that it will politely decline any flowers or gifts sent to it.

Anime directors Yoshiji Kigami, Yasuhiro Takemoto, and Futoshi Nishiya, were among those killed in the attack. Kigami was a key animator on the beloved 1988 Studio Ghibli classic. Tomb of the fireflies, and most recently worked as an episode director on shows like Hyouka Y Violet evergarden. Takemoto worked as an animator at the Tenchi Muyo franchise and was director of Brilliant Park Amagi Y Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. Nishiya was an entertainer on shows like Inuyasha Y Full metal panic!, served as character designer for Hyouka Y A silent voice, and was the animation director at Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. He was 37 years old.

The perpetrator of the attack, Shinji Aoba, claimed that he committed the arson as an act of revenge against Kyoto Animation for allegedly stealing one of its stories. An investigation later concluded that Aoba’s allegations were false; While Aoba submitted a story to the anime studio, it was rejected and no similarities could be found between Aoba’s story and any of the Kyoto Animation productions. Aoba, who has a history of violent crime, was charged with murder in December 2020 and faces the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty.

Following the attack, Kyoto Animation raised more than 3.3 billion yen in donations to help the victims and their families. Sentai Filmworks, an American licensing company that distributed Kyoto Animation K-On! In North America, it started a GoFundMe campaign to raise more aid for the study, which raised an additional $ 2.3 million.

The attack caused a delay in the release of Violet Evergarden: The Movie, which finally premiered in Japan in September 2020. The studio’s next film, Free! The final blow, will premiere in Japan in September 2021. Kyoto Animation’s latest television series, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, is scheduled to debut in July. Sound Euphonium 2Tatsumi Ishihara has taken over as director for the new season of the series, but the studio will pay tribute to the late Yasuhiro Takemoto by crediting him as one of the directors of the show.

Fountain: Kyoto Animation

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