News from 2019.07.18
Archived on 2019.07.22
On July 18th 2019 in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan, an arson broke into the first office of Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) and set fire after spilling gasoline. It was in the middle of workhours and the office had 74 employees preparing for an interview by NHK. The gasoline caused explosion and massive fire, injuring the workers and resulted in killing at least 34 of them. This was the worst arson ever happened since Heisei era (1989-2019).
KyoAni is famous for its high-quality animation works as a result of the company's system of hiring salaried employees rather than freelance workers, unlike many other animation sudios. KyoAni's works are popular all over the world, and not only fans and creators who worked on its anime but also officials from oversea governments showed their grief and support towards KyoAni.
The members of Sonic franchise were no exception.
Junichi Kanemaru-san is shocked by the news dropped into his smartphone. He grieves deeply about it.
Hirokazu Yasuhara-san lost his words upon hearing the news and turned his icon black.
Aoi Yuki-san is determined not to talk about the incident. She states she doesn't want to end it just by sharing her sorrow with others, but think, anger, grief and pray about it by herself. Instead, she would intentionally share fun things on Twitter, because who knows how others would interpret her comments in unintended ways. She still feels confused and needs time to sort her feelings before commenting about it officially.
Tomoya Ohtani-san is feeling anger towards the news, which was a little relieved by watching 'Tenki no Ko (Weathering with You)' - but he still can't forgive the culprit for what he has done.
Three days from the incident, Kyoto Animation released its official statement about the incident:
The company shows deep sorrow over the loss of their employees, especially those who were young and had bright future. They will be focusing on the support of the survivors and the families left behind, and leave all managements of media interview requests etc. to a lawyer.
If you would like to show your support to KyoAni, there are few options.
- Buy digital KyoAni products from online website.
https://kyoani.shop-pro.jp/
- Make donation at gofundme page set up by Sentai Filmworks.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kyoani-heal
- If you are in Japan, make donation at Animate stores' donation boxes at their counter.
- Some places which KyoAni animes are based on also started placing donation boxes.
- Watch KyoAni animes on legal video streaming sites.
Do what you can do now. That's good enough.
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