Disaster Kyoto Animation studio set on fire - 35 Dead, Many Injured

  • 🏰 The Fediverse is up. If you know, you know.
  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account

Article said:
A man started a fire at a Kyoto animation studio after spraying a liquid there Thursday morning, leaving nearly 40 people injured, several of them unconscious, and one person feared dead, local police and rescuers said.

The fire started around 10:30 a.m. at a three-story studio of Kyoto Animation Co., a company known for producing popular TV animation series "K-On!!" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu).

The man believed to have set the fire, apparently in his 40s, was among the injured and has been taken to a hospital.
846747

846748

This appears to still be ongoing and details are pretty sparse between any article covering it in english at least. This seems like a very unique case though, in that I don't think there is any precedent for this kind of thing at all.

10+ dead at this point.
View attachment 846932
According to Kyoto Police and fire department, one person died on first floor.
12 more cardiac arrest (dead).
36 more injured, 10 severe, 6 moderate, 20 meh.

View attachment 847467
Locations and Bodycounts based on areas of the building. The 19 on the staircase on the third floor are pretty much stacked on eachother as they tried to make a rush to the roof, but appearantly the door only opens from the outside (suicide prevention) or was a pull door.

How can I support?
There is no clear indication of where the funds are headed as of yet, other than that they will be on hold until they can coordinate a distribution method.
This is a direct link to the KyoAni shop. A Twitter user has provided a guide for creating an account and making purchases.

Who?: 青葉真司 AOBA, Shinji. 41, unemployed. He was not an employee at any point. He had a prior arrest in 2012 for robbing a convenience of 20,000 yen and was in jail for 3.5 years. In 2016 he was released and lived in a rehabilitation facility before moving to a single apartment somewhere in Saitama. In March and August of 2018 police went to his apartment over Noise Complaints. July 14 days prior to the incident he had grabbed and threatened to kill a neighbor after they complained about noise, police were called again. He was spotted the day before the incident within the area of the studio laying on park benches.

How?:He brought 40 liters of Gasoline between 2 tanks, a BBQ lighter, and a bag with knives and a hammer. He used a pushcart to transport everything to a nearby area. Poured the gasoline at the entrance by the spiral staircase, which funneled the fire and smoke upwards at a rapid rate. He himself was caught in the fire. Due to an event being held that day, the security system which used ID cards had been disabled that day for a guest event, allowing him entrance.

Why?: Currently the theories are taken from statements that have been connected to him prior on 2ch/annel, and something he said while arrested.
1; Music/A song he may have claimed ownership too was used in Sound! Euphonium
2; He was a Railfan that had snapped over wrappings on a train "dirtying" it (This is being disputed by news stations)

3; Possibly another undetermined claim of them "ripping him off". Now claimed to be over a novel he had written, which was "plagiarized" by KyoAni. This is the prevailing theory as of yet due to his statements to the police
4; His waifu he shipped with another girl was confirmed to not be gay, got a boyfriend or was interested in one, and is not "pure" anymore

How many people were injured or killed?: 35 Confirmed Dead, 33 others injured, with 8 of them in critical condition. 6 Escaped unharmed.
Police say 74 people were in the building at the time of the attack. Some of which were guests from an outside studio attending an event.

Who died? (this may partly be speculation, its built off of people not being accounted for):
-Takemoto Yasuhiro
-Kawanami Eisaku
-Nishiya Futoshi
-Ishida Naomi
-Tsuda Yukie
-Ono Megumi

Here's a newer article with a more detailed explanation of the situation
Asahi Times Article said:
KYOTO--Thirty-three people were killed and 17 others remain hospitalized after a suspected arsonist set fire to a three-story animation studio here on July 18, police and fire department officials said.

Some of the 36 people injured in the fire were unconscious, according to Kyoto prefectural police.

The studio, operated by Kyoto Animation Co., is located in a residential area in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward about 100 meters north of Rokujizo Station on Keihan Electric Railway Co.’s Uji Line. There were about 70 people in the studio at the time.

Several neighbors called the fire department around 10:35 a.m. after they heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from the building. Thirty-five firetrucks were dispatched to the scene.

Police detained a 41-year-old man who is believed to have spread a flammable liquid in the area. Witnesses said he ran into the building screaming, “Die.”

He was injured in the incident and remains unconcious at a hospital.

A 61-year-old woman in the neighborhood said she initially mistook the suspect for a victim of the blaze.

She said she opened the front entrance to her home after the interphone sounded and found a large man kneeling on the ground. Both of his arms had burns and his right leg was on fire. His hair appeared singed.

The woman asked the weakened man if he was all right, but he did not respond. She used a hose to pour water on the man.

As she waited for an ambulance, a number of police officers surrounded the man and peppered him with questions about how he entered the studio and why he set it on fire, she said.

The woman said she could not catch much of what the man said, but she did clearly hear him shout, “They ripped me off.”

A woman in her 20s who works nearby said she went outside after hearing the explosion around 10:30 a.m. When she approached the burning building, she saw a man apparently in his 20s trying to escape along a support on the outer wall on the second story.

The woman and a co-worker brought a ladder to the building to help the man reach the ground.

The head of a local taxi company’s branch near the site said two men ran into the office around 10:40 a.m. and asked that the fire department be called.

One of the men was assisting the other, whose clothes were badly burned. The branch chief tried to support the two while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

A 22-year-old man said he heard two or three explosions and saw black smoke emerging from a first-floor window. He said flames could be seen in many of the building’s windows.

Kyoto Animation has produced a number of popular TV anime series, such as “K-On!,” “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” and “Sound! Euphonium.”

Although many major animation companies are located in the Tokyo area, Kyoto Animation has kept its base of operations in the ancient capital since its founding in 1981 because the city has accumulated a long cultural history, company officials said.

Much of the work on the company’s TV programs and movies is done in Kyoto.

Sources-
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907190042.html
http://archive.fo/WZ1Ed
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190719/p2a/00m/0na/003000c
http://archive.fo/zr1gf
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...-repeatedly-caused-trouble-for-neighbors.html
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190719_32/
http://archive.fo/qNZ6l

Edit: Cleaned formatting, additional information, trying to identify what is speculated, spelling/grammar.
Edit: Added information, added sources, archived sources.
 
Last edited:
Not sure if I'm late or not
848559

But, according to /a/ users, this is the arsonist.
Japanese media outlets report that he said that his "novel was robbed"
meaning that he's some failed writer with mental issues that decided to take this out on a random anime studio who he deluded himself into thinking ripped him off when in reality no one there knew who he is
33 people died for this. 33.

edit: (clearer screenshot)
848561

(pic of him being apprehended after the arson)
More info: he was previously arrested for armed robbery of a convenience store in 2014.
 
Last edited:
Sorry dude. Yeah, he's probably just going on some scene being plagiarized because he had a daydream of a similar situation or something. Why can't the schizos just cower in their tinfoil manors and leave us normies in peace.

Like I said, they value virginity highly to an autistic level. Also some think one day their dreams will come true and the girl of their dreams will come to whisk them into some dumb isekai scenario.

Honestly, Japanese fans seems like a bit of a hindrance for Japanese media, ironically enough.

Cowboy Bebop for example, possibly the best anime TV series ever made, is far more popular in the west than it is in Japan itself for example.

Then there's the fact that Japanese gamers almost killed their console game industry by preferring to play games on cellphones/handhelds.

And otakus have weird obsessions, like virginity as you mentioned, like, who cares? As much I love anime/manga I feel like I wouldn't have much in common with your extreme otakus like that, I don't understand never wanting to leave your own bedroom like the hikikomoris for example.

So while I have a lot of respect for the content creators in Japan, I have less respect for the rabble that consumes it and this incident is a perfect example why, a lot of them seem to be genuinely disturbed people beyond just your average nerd.
 
Not sure if I'm late or not
View attachment 848549
But, according to /a/ users, this is the arsonist.
Japanese media outlets report that he said that his "novel was robbed"
meaning that he's some failed writer with mental issues that decided to take this out on a random anime studio who he thinks ripped him off
33 people died for this. 33.
I've seen that picture around and I'm not too sure since its been sourced to 2016 in some online blogs. Some people are claiming that he had been arrested or some sort of legal action was taken against him prior due to him assaulting/harassing/attempting to rob a store or gas station and this is a picture from that occasion. The body type looks similar to what little we've seen of him on the ground at the very least though.
 
Japanese media outlets report that he said that his "novel was robbed"
meaning that he's some failed writer with mental issues that decided to take this out on a random anime studio who he deluded himself into thinking ripped him off when in reality no one there knew who he is
33 people died for this. 33.

This kind of ruins it for me. I was hoping they got firebombed because their product was shit. Its no fun if it was totally random.
 
I know it has been said before in this thread but please, if there is anything that can be learned from this, be aware of your surroundings. Your brain will not act rationally in a life or death situation. You need to have a plan if things go wrong. You will not think of it on the spot.
 
This is the earliest blog I can find that has a reference to it, from what I can gather he went to a Convenience Store and when he got to the clerk he threatened them with a pair of scissors. Another article from a chinese outlet also has a bit more information but I read it through google translate so its a little dubious.
 
Last edited:
Fire bad.
Arsonist bad.
Animu maybe bad, but it doesn't justify the arsonist.
Thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.

With that out of the way:
Not sure if I'm late or not
View attachment 848559
But, according to /a/ users, this is the arsonist.
Japanese media outlets report that he said that his "novel was robbed"
meaning that he's some failed writer with mental issues that decided to take this out on a random anime studio who he deluded himself into thinking ripped him off when in reality no one there knew who he is
33 people died for this. 33.

edit: (clearer screenshot)
View attachment 848561
(pic of him being apprehended after the arson)
More info: he was previously arrested for armed robbery of a convenience store in 2014.
Looks a bit younger than what I imagined him to be.
 
Last edited:
Taken this from /a/, but apparently the Violet Evergarden Movie+OVA, and Free! movie aren't down the drain due to the fire.
Article said:
In response to the studio KyoAni fire, Japanese movie distributor Shochiku Inc. has issued a statement about the upcoming Violet Evergarden movie and OVA episode, as well as the Free! 2020 movie. According to a Yahoo Japan report, the release dates for all three projects produced by Kyoto Animation Studio are “not expected to be affected at this time”.
 
The more I read about this the more I thought about the "clown world" meme, which people wonder if "the world is getting more insane". But I think this kind of tragedy is not really a product of something recent, but systemic societal issues that have been around for at least two decades.

The building was made 5 years ago for KyoAni.

It had no sprinklers.

No fire doors or fire walls.

A goddamned wooden spiral staircase in the center of the building.

Non-pressurized stairwells, which didn't stop the smoke.

A locked fire exit where 20 people died screaming, trying to get it open.

And supposedly anti-suicide windows that 11 people died in front of trying to open.

Oh, and according to the report today, there were NO FIRE CODE PROBLEMS with the building.


848597
 
Whenever a heinous crime like this happens it's natural for internet users to call for violent retribution. But it really is against a civil society and humanity itself to do such things. The State or any private individuals should never be allowed to do what basically amounts to torture and war crimes. I think the death penalty is enough. Calling for torture or the like does nothing for society or the victims and has little deterrent effect against the mentally ill.
The problem is that the Japanese law enforcement goes super easy on "taboo" criminals. For example, we used to never get info on foreigners who commited crimes. Then there was that incident earlier this year when some ex-doctor mowed down more than ten people ihis car with two dead. He still isn't arrested, because the police say "he won't run away". But it's probably because the bastard has an honorary medal bestowed to him by the royal family.
I'm not saying we should go back to the Middle Ages in terms of punishing methods, but people who commit crimes should be punished equally under the law. Mentally unstable getting maybe 20 years max in prison then set free "because he wasn't in control"? How can anyone justify that?
The "plagiarism" theory seems to be closer to the truth, as the Barisaku theory has been debunked. He's been active on Twitter the entire time.
Well at least it wasn't the foamers this time.
 
Does anyone have the theory that the perpetrator was a Western Animation fan, to the levels of theoretical "Cartoons Master Race", akin to PC Master Race?

And has anyone from the Western Animation industry made any exceptional statements regarding this incident yet?
My money was on angry and bitter dumbasses who like a certain era of anime but don't know the history or reasons why it didn't last. Considering how the perp is a creator of slice of life and moe though, that pony already made it in first.

Honestly, Japanese fans seems like a bit of a hindrance for Japanese media, ironically enough.

Cowboy Bebop for example, possibly the best anime TV series ever made, is far more popular in the west than it is in Japan itself for example.

Then there's the fact that Japanese gamers almost killed their console game industry by preferring to play games on cellphones/handhelds.

And otakus have weird obsessions, like virginity as you mentioned, like, who cares? As much I love anime/manga I feel like I wouldn't have much in common with your extreme otakus like that, I don't understand never wanting to leave your own bedroom like the hikikomoris for example.

So while I have a lot of respect for the content creators in Japan, I have less respect for the rabble that consumes it and this incident is a perfect example why, a lot of them seem to be genuinely disturbed people beyond just your average nerd.
On one hand, the reason why Hideaki Anno began to really not like otaku back around 1993-1994. I give him more credit than Miyazaki because Anno was in the damn fan crowd and knew what it was like; ie he had street cred. Granted, it's not all fans and there is nothing wrong with being a consumer, but when you had something as lofty to imagine about like Otaku No Video and had a good viewpoint and standing of fellow fandom crash hard into reality that most are nothing but autists, whiners, and consumers outside of you when you need to put the mettle behind the pedal and the metal, it's hard not to feel both isolated and betrayed at how such sense of community unity turns into an enormous, loathsome and unwieldy weight that no one else is going to help push and pull with you.

To help put this in context, Anno's depression was kicking in at the start of the Lost Decade, where Japan began to deflate after the Bubble Economy of the 1980s. That along with otaku still hardwired to obsession with old shows and not doing a damn thing with their fascination and Anno feeling like a complete tool after having no creative control on a show he was director of at the time really will have you feel the weight of the world coming down on you. The whole glut of mecha and future/cyberpunk was winding down because that rode on the inspiration that Japan having the economic power to do whatever eventually got them to create Blade Runner supercities and megaopolises with the Bubble economy in tow into the 2000s, but post reality 1991, that didn't seem popular to do because of the financial climate. As a person, Anno felt he needed to change with the times, and despite everyone's divisiveness at Evangelion, I'm glad he took those first steps away from a crowd that was not willing to change with him.

On the other hand, with my spergouts and constant crusades at Weeb Wars, and personal experiences with ANN, Colony Drop, and other elitist weeaboos translated into pure vehement hatred and bitterness shows that on the other side of the world, shit anime fandom is definitely not just a Japan thing. I like anime, but I'm not going to lie that it attracts some really fucked up people, and I don't just mean autists.

As a whole, thankfully it's not every fan. Unfortunately, Weeb Wars has shown us that in the West, bottomfeeding faggots are trying to do something underhanded to the anime industry just because they don't like it. And again I bring up this lovely sentiment from me, but I'm very sure the likes of Anime News Network and Colony Drop and their likeminded followers are rejoicing at how "moe anime is dealt a heavy blow" and how "the Japanese patriarchy and all of moe need to be torched to make anime great again" in some private IRC somewhere. I don't mind again if you don't like moe or anime, just at least don't do dumb shit like try to make anime like a fucking talentless corporate overlord out of a cyberpunk/urban dystopia story out of your own whiny barking or desecrate victims' corpses and their existence. As said before by someone of my better, Monica Rial and her fiends would torch KyoAni again just to prove their point. That's how bottomfeeding and loathsome western weebs are just on the elitist end, don't get fooled @Dom Cruise .

Also, @Locomotive Derangement , I thought you were cool, but seriously man, you're on your own with this topic. I can't defend you with that.
 
My money was on angry and bitter dumbasses who like a certain era of anime but don't know the history or reasons why it didn't last. Considering how the perp is a creator of slice of life and moe though, that pony already made it in first.

Imagine being into something as concentrated twee as slice of life/moe and being a mass murderer.
 
One of the worst parts about this is that I, and many other people (including those in here) have grown fully numb and desensitized to these types of tragedies.

This is a horrible event, but it is only going to get topped in the future as we descend further into clown world madness.
 
Back
Top Bottom