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.
スマートフォンに飛びこんできた京都アニメーションスタジオ火災のニュース。とてもショックです。なんてひどい…— 金丸淳一VoiceActor&Vocalist Kanemaru Jun-ichi (@junichisonic) July 18, 2019
京都アニメーションの皆さん。— 金丸淳一VoiceActor&Vocalist Kanemaru Jun-ichi (@junichisonic) July 18, 2019
今は底知れぬ深い悲しみの中で皆さんと共にいるだけです。
それで精一杯です。
In Love & Light pic.twitter.com/xka8SUV59k— 金丸淳一VoiceActor&Vocalist Kanemaru Jun-ichi (@junichisonic) July 19, 2019
Hirokazu Yasuhara-san lost his words upon hearing the news and turned his icon black.
no words.. for what we lost today... so sad ... pray for the victims #PrayForKyoani— Hirokazu Yasuhara (@Yasuharah) July 18, 2019
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.
触れません。正直思う事沢山あります。でも誰かと共感して「悲しかったね」って終わりたくないんです。私の中で考えて、怒って、悲しんで、祈るべきことです。ここはそういう事を共有するべき場ではない。どんな人がどんな関係性で見ているか、わからないから。バカみたいに、楽しい事だけ、あえて。— 悠木碧【公式】 (@staff_aoi) July 18, 2019
なおこれは、今呟いていらっしゃる方を否定する内容ではありません。私自身がわたしの中で気持ちの整理もつかないまま、公の場でコメントできないなって思ったんです。— 悠木碧【公式】 (@staff_aoi) July 18, 2019
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.
昨日、悲しいニュースがあってどうしようもない怒りが込み上げてきたけど、「天気の子」を観てきてちょっとだけ救われた気持ちなった。。だからといって許せるはずもないんだけど— 大谷 智哉 Tomoya Ohtani (@Ohtanitter) July 19, 2019
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.7月18日に発生した事件についてhttps://t.co/P76mTHc2cx pic.twitter.com/gMZ1ddIqmA— 京都アニメーション (@kyoani) July 21, 2019
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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