Kyoto Animation will livestream a special memorial service in memory of the people who died in arson attack on the anime studio in 2019.

July 18 will mark the second anniversary of arson attack that killed 36 people, injured 33 more and completely destroyed Kyoto Animation's Studio 1. The attack is one of the deadliest mass murders to occur in Japan since the end of World War 2, and spurred changes in Japanese fire safety laws and how the police handle threats made against entertainment companies and their employees. Kyoto Animation will hold a special 10 minute livestream on the company's official YouTube channel, which will begin on July 18 at 10:30 a.m. JST, to memorialize the victims. The company says it considered holding an in-person memorial, but decided against it due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The studio has asked that fans refrain from visiting the studio or the site of the attack on that day, and states that it will graciously decline any flowers or gifts sent to it.

Anime directors Yoshiji Kigami, Yasuhiro Takemoto and Futoshi Nishiya, were among those killed in the attack. Kigami was a key animator on Studio Ghibli's beloved 1988 classic Grave of the Fireflies, and more recently worked as an episode director on shows such as Hyouka and Violet Evergarden. Takemoto worked as an animator on the Tenchi Muyo franchise and was the director of Amagi Brilliant Park and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. Nishiya was an animator on shows such as Inuyasha and Full Metal Panic!, served as the character designer for Hyouka and A Silent Voice, and was the animation director on Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. He was 37 years old.

The perpetrator of the attack, Shinji Aoba, claimed he committed the arson as an act of revenge on Kyoto Animation for allegedly stealing one of his stories. An investigation later concluded that Aoba's allegations were false; while Aoba did submit a story to the anime studio, it was rejected and no similarities could be found between Aoba's story and any of Kyoto Animation's productions. Aoba, who has a past record of violent crime, was indicted for murder in December 2020, and faces the possibility of either life imprisonment or the death penalty.

In the wake of the attack, Kyoto Animation raised over 3.3 billion yen in donations to help the victims and their families. Sentai Filmworks, an American licensing company that distributed Kyoto Animation's K-On! in North America, started a GoFundMe campaign to collect further aid for the studio, which raised an addition $2.3 million USD.

The attack caused a delay in the release of Violet Evergarden: The Movie, which was eventually released in Japan in September 2020. The studio's next film, Free! The Final Stroke, will premiere in Japan in September 2021. Kyoto Animation's latest TV series, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S, is scheduled to debut in July. Sound Euphonium 2's Tatsumi Ishihara has assumed directorial duties for the new season of the series, but the studio will pay respect to the late Yasuhiro Takemoto by crediting him as one of the directors of the show.

Source: Kyoto Animation