Multiple reports claim man deliberately set fire that raced through studio behind 'A Silent Voice' and numerous other popular anime films and series, trapping scores in the ensuing inferno.
Multiple news agencies including the BBC have reported that a fire reportedly set deliberately Thursday morning at the Kyoto Animation Studio in Kyoto, Japan, has claimed at least 26 lives. According to the report, the suspected arsonist, a 41-year-old man who has been detained, yelled “Drop dead” before spraying petrol and setting the three-story building ablaze. Of the 70 people supposedly in the building at the time of the fire, 36 are in area hospitals, and fears are mounting that the number of fatalities will increase, as many people trapped on the upper floors are unaccounted for.
Founded in 1981 and also known as KyoAni, the well-respected studio is noted for films such as A Silent Voice (2016) and Liz and the Blue Bird (2018), as well as the series Violet Evergarden, which was recently licensed by Netflix.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
