Kyoto Animation Arsonist Reveals the Scene They Felt Was Stolen From Them

Kyoto Animation is still recovering from a tragic attack in 2019 that took the anime fandom by surprise. That Summer, the beloved animation studio was targeted by an arsonist in an attack that took the lives of over 30 people. The attack's prime suspect as been in custody since the event, and Shinji Aoba was officially charged with crimes relating to the attack late last year. Now, new details about the arson have come to light, and the info reveals the Kyoto Animation title which spurred Aoba into action.

According to a report by Sora News 24, new details have come to light from the arson's investigation. It was there officials learned the suspect was triggered by the TV anime Tsurune. After being arrested in July 2019, Aoba told police he targeted the studio as he felt the company stole material from a script he submitted to Kyoto Animation for a contest. And as the suspect told officials, he felt Tsurune took a scene from his entry.

However, the scene in question could not be more ordinary. Kyoto Shimbum reports Aoba telling officials, "The thing Kyoto Animation copied from me was the scene in Tsurune where the main characters buy discounted meat." This scene in question happened in episode 5 and aired back in November 2018, eight months to the day before the arson was committed. Tsurune's scene sees two of its male leads go grocery shopping, and the teens agree to buy some discount meat for the archery club. The boys talk about how clever their plan is, and the scene in its entirety lasts less than three minutes.

This sort of scene has been shown in other anime series such as Ouran High School Host Club to start. It is not unusual for this trope to be used as a character device, so Aoba will have a hard time proving Tsurune lifted this scene from his script. And even if the bit was somehow related, well - it goes without saying no reasoning can ever justify Kyoto Animation's deadly attack.

What do you make of this new report? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.