It’s hard to believe that we’re only a few days away from the first anniversary of the Kyoto Animation arson attack that killed over 30 employees of the beloved studio.
In an announcement posted to the official website, Kyoto Animation revealed that they will hold a memorial service on their official YouTube channel on Saturday, July 18th at 10:30 am (Japan Time, which is Friday, 9:30 pm Eastern US Time). The memorial service was originally going to be an in-person event but, due to the ongoing crisis, they moved it online. The memorial service will only be in Japanese and will feature a moment of silence for those who passed starting at 10:35 am.
In the announcement, it was also noted that the studio is asking fans to not gather at the location of the former studio on the day and also to not send any sort of gift (including flowers) to the studio as they will be refused.
In the year since the arson, the attacker, a man named Shinji Aoba, has been arrested after spending months in the hospital because of the severe burns that he suffered. We reported in early June that he will also undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if he can be held criminally competent to stand trial for his crimes.
At that time, Kyoto Animation released a statement which read:
In regards to the accused, we have no additional comment. All that matters is his actions and their results. Regardless of how he may try to excuse his actions, or what remorse he may speak of after the fact, our friends whose lives were taken will not come back, nor will it help the wounds of our injured friends heal. Bereaved families and friends now have to face a permanently changed reality, as must we [at Kyoto Animation].
As a company, we obviously agree with prosecutors pursuing the maximum culpability that the law will allow.
Source: Crunchyroll News
