It has been four years since the horrific arson incident at Kyoto Animation which saw thirty-six employees lose their lives. While the studio has seen anime fans, and creators in the anime industry, rally in support, the production house has also honored the fallen since the incident. Now, Kyoto Animation has announced that next summer will see the creation of a new memorial for those lost in the arson incident and another memorial that will be created further in the future to help the living remember the lives that were lost.
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The 2019 incident was presumably caused by suspect Shinji Aoba, with the arsonist setting fire to the building that housed “Studio 1 Team”. As a result of this attack, not only did thirty-six employees lose their lives, but thirty-four additional people were injured as a result. The trial for Aoba is set to begin later this fall, with the Japanese court stating that they are hoping for a verdict to arrive on January 25th of next year. The pre-trial hearing has already begun under the presiding judge Keisuke Masuda, with the court stating that there will most likely be around thirty-two hearings before the case is brought to a close.
Kyoto’s Memorials
The first memorial site is planned to open on July 18th, 2024, opening near the headquarters of the animation studio in Uji City. At present, the organization is asking the current staff of Kyoto to submit their design plans for what the memorial might look like. Following the creation of this site, an additional memorial site will be created in the location where Studio 1 once was. This second memorial won’t be open to the public, though the first one will be.
Kyoto Animation was first established in 1985 and has been in operation for around thirty-seven years at this point. Responsible for such heavy hitters as Violet Evergarden, A Silent Voice, and Free! to name a few, the production house has once again continued work on their various projects following the incident. The world of anime lost some major talent in the incident and they will always be remembered in the anime community. Down the line, Kyoto has projects such as Sound! Euphonium 3, 20 Seiki Denki Mokuroku, and more which are currently in the works.
Our thoughts are with those affected by this terrible incident.
