Much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, this is news that needs to be reported on...

33 people are dead and just as many unaccounted for after yesterday, when a single crazed man set fire to Kyoto Animation's studio 1. It was claimed that the arsonist specifically set fires in the stairwells and spread the fire to the upper areas of the building, and as it was an older building with no emergency exits the results were devastating.

As well as the loss of life which is rumoured to be roughly a quarter of KyoAni's workforce several major series directors have also died, and several upcoming anime have been completely lost unless they have been stored on cloud.

The exact tolls of who has died and who hasn't has not yet been published but it's a tragedy regardless.

Supposedly the arson attack originally happened due to- of all the pathetic things- a disagreement over a song that would be in the upcoming sequel to Hibike Euphonium.

EDIT: supposedly because KyoAni plagiarised a novel he was going to write.

Sentai Filmworks has set up a GoFundMe to collect money for KyoAni but people who wish to send money have also been suggested to buy merchandise directly from KyoAni's website themselves.

The perpetrator has been taken into custody.

Let's try to avoid speculating beyond what's reported. I certainly understand the temptation, it's a very human habit; I flirted with it myself last night, and as a former journalist, I ought to have known better. It doesn't help, though, and at this stage it's sort of beside the point.

As noted above, Sentai Filmworks has set up a fundraising campaign if you'd like to help.

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.