Kyoto Animation Arson, One of the Largest Mass Murder in Japan’s History

The tragic loss of the studio that produced K-On! and Violet Evergarden

“Shi-Ne!” He allegedly shouted “Die!” in Japanese as he doused 11 gallons of gasoline of the studio’s entrance and lit it up, trapping around 70 workers in the building.

Around 10:30 AM on July 18th, 2019, a 41-year-old Japanese man with a handcart of 11 gallons of gasoline walked right into the unlocked entrance of Kyoto Animation and set it on fire. It exploded, and fire spread like wild flames.

KyoAni had 3 floors, but back in those days, it was not mandatory to have any sprinklers for buildings of that size. Without sprinklers, nothing was slowing the fire down. In fact, easily flammable materials such as paper drawings in the studio animation only helped the spread of fire.

Many of the staff tried running up to the rooftop, but they couldn’t get the door open. Some sources stated that the door was locked while an employee said that the door was a unique kind with two levers and was difficult to open. Experts believed it only took 20 to 30 seconds for the smoke to engulf the 2nd and 3rd floor because the spiral staircase through all 3 floors acted as a funnel, effectively spreading fire across all 3 floors within minutes.

Many lost their lives at the top of the spiral staircase, next to the door to the rooftop.

The fire was blazing so strong that many of the eyewitnesses could only watch helplessly. By the time the fire department got control over the fire, at least 33 lives were lost, and another 36 in hospital.

Including the arsonist, Shinji Aoba.

When he doused the entrance, the fire got to him too. He was apprehended not far from the building and even confessed his crimes immediately to the police on the scene.

Kyoto Animation

Kyoto Animation or often known as KyoAni produced many popular novels, manga, and animes including K-On!, A Silent Voice, and later, Violet Evergarden. KyoAni was one of the few studios that pay their staff a fixed salary that allowed them to have more time and the ability to produce better quality animation.

For context, the animation industry in Japan is one of the worst industries in terms of staff welfare. Most of them work as a freelancer with tight deadlines, long hours, low wages and with little benefits. Even till today.

Shinji Aoba

The arsonist, Shinji Aoba was a 41-year-old man with a previous offense. He was caught stealing from a convenience store in Tokyo with a knife and for that, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison before being released in 2016. Once, a neighbor came over to ask him to stop his constant banging on the wall, and in response, Shinji grabbed him by his hair and shirt and threatened to kill him. It was believed he was unemployed at the time of the arson and was living off government support.

From the fire he started, he too suffered 3rd-degree burns to the point he lost the ability to speak. He was the first person to undergo surgery with only artificial grafts and his own skin as donor skin was first prioritized to the victims of the fire. Despite his 1% odd of survival, he survived.

The Reason for the Fire

Plagiarism. Or, at least, that was what Shinji believed.

Annually, KyoAni would host a writing competition open to the public where the winner would walk away with 1 million yen prize money and the possibility of their work being adapted. Violet Evergarden was actually a grand prize winner from that competition. Shinji was one of many aspiring writers who joined the competition.

Shinji Aoba said,

“The thing Kyoto Animation copied from me was the scene in Tsurune where the main characters buy discounted meat.”

It was believed the scene that Shinji pointed out is in Episode 5 of Tsurune that lasted less than 3 minutes. It was flat out denied by KyoAni as Shinji’s work did not even make it through the first round of judges’ evaluation. That scene was a generic scene and commonly used in that anime genre, a statement supported by other animation outlets.

Justice

Despite that this arson is one of the biggest mass murders in Japan, it is quite possible that Shinji Aoba will not get the death penalty after factoring in the possibility of Shinji having a mental illness. For over 10 months, Shinji Aoba’s arrest warrant was unable to be carried out as they had to wait for Shinji’s extensive injuries to heal and declared physically fit. Finally, in May 2020, Shinji Aoba was finally arrested for detention in Osaka Detention Center.

Aftermath

Regulations

Starting from February 2020, it is now compulsory for petrol stations to keep the sales records of gasoline purchased in refillable containers. Buyers must provide their identity card and their purpose of purchase.

Animation studios including Key and Animate also stepped up their security by taking death threats seriously. They moved quickly to identify the source and arrested them to prevent such tragedy from ever repeating.

Financial Aid

To provide some relief to the victims, KyoAni set up a bank account to channel donations back to the victims. Many came together for KyoAni. Public figures such as musician Yoshiki, companies of the industry such as Walt Disney Japan, foreign dignitaries such as Justin Trudeau, several GoFundMe appeals, and private individuals have donated to the cause. The government allowed a tax exemption for donations to the studio to encourage more to help.

After 5 months from the attack, they have collected approximately 3.2 billion yen (USD $29.6 million). KyoAni did not take a single cent from the fund for business recovery, and all of it only went to the victim’s family. The money distribution was not be divided equally but, the amount factored in the number of dependents in the victim’s family, if the victim is the sole breadwinner and many more.

The Return

Out of 70 employees in the studio that day, a total of 36 lives were lost. Only 1 came out without injuries. Out of the 33 surviving victims, 27 returned to work, and another 3 temporarily returned to work but ultimately, deciding they needed more time. One of the victims who escaped through the window said,

“I want to keep doing my best, so that people won’t feel like the quality of Kyoto Animation’s anime has dropped at all. Continuing to create anime, in the same way we always have, is the greatest counterattack to what the arsonist did.”

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