The tragic and also horrendous Kyoto Animation Fire Massacre occurred at Kyoto Animation’s Studio 1 building in the Fushimi ward of Kyoto, Japan, on the morning of 18th July 2019. It killed 36 people and injured an additional 33 more people including the suspect, and destroyed most of the materials and computers in Studio 1. It is one of the deadliest massacres that happened in Japan since the end of World War II, the deadliest building fire in Japan since the year of 2001 Myojo 56 building fire, the first massacre ever occurred at a studio of an entertainment company.
Kyoto Animation, known as KyoAni, produces films and graphic novels and is well regarded by fans for the quality of its productions. The police stated that the 41-year-old suspect broke into the Kyoto Animation studio on Thursday morning and sprayed petrol before igniting it. The suspect has been detained and was taken to hospital with injuries.
The suspect, who did not work for the studio, entered the front door carrying about 40 liters of gasoline and doused the area and several employees before igniting it. After setting himself on fire while lighting the fuel, the suspect attempted to flee but was apprehended by police about 100 meters from the building. Witnesses stated they heard him accusing the studio of plagiarism. After awaiting his recovery from life-threatening burns for more than ten months, the police arrested 42-year-old Shinji Aoba on suspicion of murder and other offenses on 27 May 2020.
On the 16th of December 2020, then he was formally indicted. In addition to condolences and messages of support from the world and also national leaders, fans and businesses raised over ¥3.3 billion (over RM95.4 million) internationally to help the studio and also its employees recover. As a result of the awful incident, some works and collaborations by the studio were delayed, and several events were suspended or even canceled. Such a waste.
Eyewitnesses described a loud explosion followed by an inferno that rapidly engulfed the building. Violence is rare in Japan, although the country occasionally experiences horrific attacks. The scale of the death toll shocked the nation and provoked an outpouring of sorrow for the loss of the animators mostly women which is a rarity in the industry.
Sources: YouTube Coffeehouse Crime.
