Kyoto Animation Victim's Mother Shares Support for Controversial Memorial Park

The anime world is still rocked by the tragic arson that lead to the deaths of over 30 individuals in Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building, and in the months since that July tragedy, plans have been made to demolish the remains of the 1st Studio building and potentially erect a memorial for the victims in its place. But unfortunately, this process has hit a major snag as those who continue to live in the neighborhood of the 1st Studio building have opposed the idea. Noting that it would draw too many out-of-area visitors and would disrupt everyday life.

But a new report compiled by Sora News 24 revealed that the mother of one of the victims, Naomi Ishida, voiced her desire for a memorial to be erected at the site of the demolished studio once work on it is complete. Stating the following, "I want them to build a monument. Not in some other place, but in the same place where the studio was. If there is no monument, decades from now people will forget that it was a place where so many people worked so hard creating animation, and loving what they made."

The idea of a memorial in place of Kyoto Animation's former 1st Studio building was raised by Kyoto Animation CEO Hideaki Hatta, and the report from Sora News 24 indicates that supporters, family members, and well wishers have been visiting the site ever since. But Kinya Adachi, president of the Inaba Higashi neighborhood association, notes that these sudden visits from those not from the area are disrupting the neighborhood.

As Adachi stated, "When we open our front doors, there are people standing there. When we need to pull our cars out of our driveways, we have to ask people to move out of the way." Elaborating further, "Recently, kids can't even play outside…If they erect a monument here, there'll be a limitless number of people coming to the area...I don't want the site to be turned into a place that threatens residents' lifestyles," Adachi stated.

The plans for the memorial are currently being discussed as of this writing as it's going to take a fine balance between paying tribute to those who lost their lives in a respectful and noteworthy way while also respecting the wishes of those whose livelihood would be impacted by such a sudden and drastic change. ComicBook.com will be here to update you on any major changes.

via Sora News 24