Kyoto Animation Fire: A Sad Day for Anime Fans

It was a sad day for Anime fans worldwide as news of the Kyoto Animation Fire claimed 33 employees dead and many others injured. The incident was declared as arson and started at around 10AM Japan time.

According to a BBC repost, "A man in his 40s, allegedly seen pouring a flammable liquid at the site and setting it on fire, has been taken into police custody."

American animation company Sentai Filmworks has launched an emergency crowdfunding campaign to support Kyoto Animation, which has already raised nearly $200,000. The targeted amount is $500,000.

Who burned Kyoto Animation Studio? Read it here.

Effects of the Kyoto Animation Fire on its Anime

The only effect as of now is the cancellation of the supposed new teaser and announcement for the Free! movie which is set to be released in 2020. Other than that, there is no definite effect yet.

The fire happened at the main animation studio of Kyoto Animation located in Kyoto’s Fushimi ward. It's head office, however, is in Uji City, Kyoto, which is about 20 minutes away by car.

We should expect some delay in their animation as the investigation goes on and as the extent of the damage is still being determined.

Update 7/20/2019

We have read reports that Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta already released a statement to the media that all of the past animation materials and computers housed in Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building were destroyed in Thursday's fire in the building.

"The [monetary] amount of the damage? Extreme. I don't know the full details. I am deeply heartbroken. I can't bear it. I never even in my dreams would have thought such a large disaster would happen. This is a serious blow to our company and our industry. Every one of them was an excellent and wonderful colleague." – Hideaki Hatta, Kyoto Animation president

What Anime Does Kyoto Animation Make?

Among the famous anime made by Kyoto Animation includes The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, K-On! and more recently, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and Free!.

It has also been famous for a very socially relevant anime film, "A Silent Voice" which discusses the topic about bullying. It has won "Best Animation Feature Film" at the Japanese Movie Critics Awards in 2016. In 2017, it was given "Excellent Animation of the Year" by the Japanese Academy Awards. At the Tokyo Anime Award Festival it was dubbed as the "Anime of the Year (Movie)."

Makoto Shinkai, director of Your Name, called the film a "fantastic piece of work" and a "polished and grand production" which even he is unable to replicate. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 32 reviews, and an average rating of 7.61/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As beautifully crafted as it is powerfully written, A Silent Voice looks at teen bullying from a soberingly hard-hitting perspective that's uncommon for the animated medium."

We are deeply saddened by this news and hope everything will be alright. We also send our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the family of those who died and we are hoping for the fast recovery for those who are injured.

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