More sadness coming out of Kyoto as the prefectural police there have released the list of 25 remaining victims after the horrific Kyoto Animation attack via arson by Shinji Aoba, aged 41. The attack claimed 35 of the animators, digital artists, animators and directors who made some of the best-loved animated works to ever come out of Japan, and injured dozens more.
The list of 25 names included talented Kyoani employees aged 21 to 49, and included such top creators as Shoko Ikeda, age 44, who had handled character design and art direction for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On!, and Hibike! Euphonium as well as dozens of other works over her career.
Another sad victim was Yuka Kasama, age 22, who had just achieved her dream of becoming an animator at Japan’s legendary animation studio the previous April. Her university professor was interviewed, saying she was a “bright and charismatic person” who was overjoyed to see her first artwork as finalized cuts of animation.
The unexpected attack caused an outpouring of love and support by KyoAni’s many fans around the world, and had netted an incredible $2.4 million in donations by fans through the GoFundMe, which will be transferred to the company soon to allow them to help to rebuild and recover. The money will be disbursed to the families of the lost co-workers as well as those still recovering. The Japanese government has announced that all such donations will be tax-free.
While Kyoani’s main office was taken out of commission by the attack, the company does have another studio in Kyoto that is still operating. One 52-year-old artist who escaped the fire by jumping from a second-floor balcony has returned to work, saying that continuing to work was the “ultimate counterattack” against the arsonist after the Kyoto Animation attack.
This kind of indomitable spirit doesn’t surprise me at all. The horrific earthquakes and tsunami of March 11, 2011 happened on a Friday afternoon, as we were all finishing up work for the week. Incredibly, the post office showed up bright and early to pick up packages the following Monday, so that J-List didn’t even miss a single day of shipping products, which totally flabbergasted us.
As huge fans of all the works of Kyoto Animation, we’ll be waiting and praying for the company’s return.
