Authorities Release Identities of 10 Victims Who Died in the Kyoto Animation Fire

Kyoto Animation’s 1st Studio building was the victim of a tragic arson in July, and support has been flooding in from fans and those in the anime industry alike for the prolific studio. But the unfortunate matter is, there has been a devastating loss of life during the fire with over 30 casualties as of the time of this writing. The Kyoto Shinbum newspaper in Japan reports that the Kyoto Prefectural Police have released the names of 10 of the victims who lost their lives in the fire.

Stating that they are releasing these names now that funeral services for the 10 victims are over (via Anime News Network) and their families have given their consent, the Kyoto Prefectural Police have named the following ten individuals:

• Jun’ichi Uda
• Yuki Omura
• Yuka Kasama
• Yoshiji Kigami
• Ami Kuriki
• Yasuhiro Takemoto
• Sachie Tsuda
• Futoshi Nishiya
• Keisuke Yokota
• Mikiko Watanabe

Adding that they will not yet release the names of the other 25 victims due to DNA testing, at the request of the victim’s families, or other circumstances, the Kyoto Prefectural Police are working closely with the victim’s families in order to properly consider their feelings when revealing names in the future. The ten victims include those who had worked with Kyoto Animation on anime such as Violet Evergarden, K-ON!, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya among many others.

Kyoto Animation is one of the most influential and respected anime studios in the entire industry, and ComicBook.com’s thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. The victim’s contributions to anime and the lives around them will forever be held in high regard, and as CEO Hideaki Hatta wrote in a message to fans, Kyoto Animation will not be going quietly into the night.

On July 18th at around 10:30 AM JST, Kyoto Animation’s 1st Studio was struck by a tragic fire. Reports have indicated that the fire has resulted in over 30 casualties, and over 30 injured as of this writing. With 30 fire engines responding to the fire, firefighters were able to completely extinguish the fire five hours after in began. The fire is reportedly being investigated as an arson, and the suspect responsible has reportedly been identified and their potential motive has been revealed. Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta is also considering erecting a memorial park in the place of the tragedy. ComicBook.com will continue to share updates as new reports arrive.

via ANN