On July 18th, the
Kyoto Animation Studio 1 building was set ablaze by an arsonist disgruntled over claims that the studio had stolen his novel idea. This act resulted in a three floor blaze that originally resulted in the collected injuries of 38 people; later to be revealed that, as of today, had resulted in the deaths of 34 people. This tragedy has hit the country hard due ti the losses and the suddenness of it. As a studio, the losses haven't even begun to be fully calculated while the losses of staff has hit even harder than anything. Studio president,
Hideaki Hatta, has stated that as they try to rebuild, an idea for the future was to demolish the building and place a public park in its place, with a memorial. Part of the reasoning, he stated in an interview was that, "
when I consider the staff and the people in this neighborhood, there are people who don't want to see such a gruesome sight."
According to
NHK news, DNA testing for the victims will be starting soon and will be taking up to a week. While it is still hard to fathom this sudden tragedy, The studio greatly appreciates the continued support and prayers from around the world, as
Hatta states, it is "
becoming our emotional support". Make sure to keep sending your condolences in the comments.