Several dead after suspected arson attack on Kyoto Animation in Japan
Several people have died and dozens have been injured in a suspected arson attack at a renowned animation production company in Japan.
Police in Kyoto said the fire broke out on Thursday morning at a three-storey building belonging to Kyoto Animation after a man burst in and spread unidentified liquid that set off the blaze.
The 41-year-old suspect was among the injured and has been taken to a hospital, Kyodo news agency reported.
Kyoto Animation ("KyoAni").
Also at The Hollywood Reporter and The Japan Times.
Kyoto Animation Fire: At Least 26 Dead after Suspected Arson Attack:
At least 26 people are dead and dozens injured after a suspected arson attack at an animation studio in Kyoto, Japan, local emergency officials have said.
Local media quoted police as saying a man broke into the Kyoto Animation Co studio on Thursday morning. Police say the suspect, a 41-year-old, sprayed petrol before igniting it. [...] NHK said the man had been heard saying "drop dead" as he set fire to the building.
[...] Kyoto Animation, known as KyoAni, was founded in 1981 and has produced popular animation shows including "K-On" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya".
According to Japanese news sites he allegedly shouted "パクりやがって", which could mean that he accused them of stealing or of feeling "ripped off".
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @03:35PM (7 children)
There are other sources saying the man was not an employee or former employee.
(Score: 3, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Thursday July 18 2019, @03:52PM (6 children)
Ripped off by an animation house, and you didn't even work there - what are the odds?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @04:46PM (2 children)
KyoAni is generally considered one of the best studios to work for. I would guess "crazed fan", but we won't know until the reports are out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @08:19PM (1 child)
Nothing on the list of series they worked on jumps out on me. Where is the spark? Dragon Maid has some dub issues [reddit.com] over here, but that's not relevant to a Japanese attacker. There might be a clue in here [sakugabooru.com].
Another angle is that they do in-house light novel publishing and it could expose them to crazies [change.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 19 2019, @07:28PM
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/19/kyoto-animation-studio-fire-suspect-named-police-shinji-aoba [theguardian.com]
It is looking increasingly likely that an anime studio was attacked over a light novel. Wow.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @04:56PM
For some reason, anime fans in Japan buy lots of disks and merchandise for extremely high prices. They have a lot to feel ripped off about. I have no idea why they don't just prayed pirate everything tho.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Thursday July 18 2019, @04:57PM
Someone could be disgruntled at not being hired to work there?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 19 2019, @02:43AM
The price of physical copies of content is really getting to people these days?