Arson attack on Japanese animation studio kills at least 33

'Appal ling' arson attack on Japanese animation studio kills at least 33

TOKYO (Reuters) - A man shouted “die” as he doused an animation studio with fuel and set it ablaze in Japan on Thursday, public broadcaster NHK said, killing at least 33 people in the nation’s worst mass murder in nearly two decades.

Police detained a 41-year-old man who shouted “die” as he poured what appeared to be petrol around the three-storey Kyoto Animation building shortly after 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), public broadcaster NHK reported.

Some further information from a Reddit thread on the same subject:

Reddit

According to witnesses the arsonist not only poured gasoline in the building but also on the employees.

Arsonist's words before lighting the fire were "Die." 男は火をつけながら「死ね」と話す アニメ会社で火事

Police report that around 70 people were working as the arson occured. More than 10 are considered to be dead and several others have yet to be contacted/found.

Sankei News: Suspect claimed he was plagiarized. When asked why he did it, he replied with "I was ripped off." Side note: Seems like it's along the lines of him claiming his idea/design being stolen. Witness that was interviewed and shown on ミヤネ屋 also said a similar thing about the arsonist's supposed motive.

This is so shocking for a populace that seems so polite and respectful to each other. Where their cities are described as being spotless and crime free. I wonder if the downward spiral of society is starting to impact everywhere, even in the homologous population of Japan. From rumors so far this seems like he poured gasoline around the base of the building and also on the people coming out of the building, all for the belief someone stole his ideas/creation.

Some video is now surfacing from the scene:

For a bit of context, this is the animation studio that worked on series like Violet Evergarden:



These were cutting edge animators and artists.

May they rest well.

Kyoto has tons of history but in the west it is mostly known for the Kyoto Protocol.

The goal of the Kyoto Protocol was to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. ... manage transportation to slow or reduce emissions from automobiles. make better use of renewable energysources—such as solar power, wind power, and biodiesel—in place of fossil fuels.

The arsonist used fossil fuel for his attack - a message? Hey, this is ATS , don't judge me just because you forgot to put on your tinfoil hat.

a reply to: ClovenSky

According to the culprit they "ripped him off":

"He seemed to be in pain, irritated and suffering, but also angry as if he was resentful. I heard him saying something like 'you copied it'," a neighbour said.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper quoted a 61-year-old neighbour as saying she clearly heard the man shout: "You ripped me off."

There is some great anime shows out there, can't say I'm familiar with this studio though, additionally, I imagine plagiarism must also happen quite frequently

Why? Just.... why?

Even if they stole his material or ideas, how does that justify killing your fellow man?

I'm on the effing precipice of this world. Every day seems to bring sad news.

For anyone out there struggling, go outside on a clear night. Marvel in the beauty of the stars, our galaxy, universe. We are all connected.

I send my love to each and every one of you.

33 how interesting..

originally posted by: TheGreatWork
33 how interesting..

That's what I thought when I seen this on a news article this morning. There was another News Article with the same amount of people as well.

It was about the protest in Hawaii for the telescope or something. 33 people arrested. lol

a reply to: Zcustosmorum

I do enjoy some of the anime out there. You can really get a sense for the traditional values of their society interwoven throughout much of their creations. Japan is also very interesting in studying their work habits and the newest generations throwing tradition to the wayside and creating a new way of living that isn't centered around work so much.

But this is so shocking for the sheer violence of the act. It appears to have boiled down to simple greed or maybe even worse, personal recognition if there is any truth to the assailant's claims.

originally posted by: IrateCanadian

originally posted by: TheGreatWork
33 how interesting..

That's what I thought when I seen this on a news article this morning. There was another News Article with the same amount of people as well.

It was about the protest in Hawaii for the telescope or something. 33 people arrested. lol

There is this numerology in most all these events. The dark ones are doing their dark rituals.

Will the politicians now be calling for tighter restrictions on the sale and possession of gasoline?

a reply to: projectvxn
My heart felt sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones.
NOW, a request to these Japanese animators " you have 2 major fails that seriously need to be remedied before you can call yourselves cutting edge animators. 1. please stop making the eyes so absurdly large. But 2. at least have a go at drawing noses, as just a tick mark on a face just don't cut it". Thank you.

First, my sincerest condolences to the families of those lost, may their loved ones rest in peace.

Unfortunately, I feel compelled to point out how, here again, we have an example of the actions of a person using a tool to commit an atrocity. Every time that tool is a firearm the left in the US don't waste a single second before calling for banning firearms from every rooftop, on every forum, on every news channel. No different here on ATS either. And we hear it over and over again, every single time. So I very much expect these same people to show up in equal numbers calling for the ban of the tool, regardless of what that tool is, when it is used to commit an atrocity as in this instance! Be it a can of gasoline, a truck, a knife or whatever. Because it's all about the tool, not the person, right? Can't anyone see how senseless that argument is?

Anyway, may those lost rest in peace.

originally posted by: seaswine
Why? Just.... why?

Even if they stole his material or ideas, how does that justify killing your fellow man?

I'm on the effing precipice of this world. Every day seems to bring sad news.

For anyone out there struggling, go outside on a clear night. Marvel in the beauty of the stars, our galaxy, universe. We are all connected.

I send my love to each and every one of you.

Artists are not the rational bunch (ever her the one about van goth and his mate in a pub, his mate asked him if he wanted a pint and he said no I've got one ear), if he was right in his claim he would be far from the first person to have an idea stolen, he probably sent them a copy of his art or story only for them to then turn him down but go ahead and use his material anyway, either way he has effectively ended his own life as well.
But he could just be a nut job as well.

A tragedy for the victim's of this crime - even if the studio did steal his idea and that is if they did as they may not have the artists whom died were most probably completely innocent of any crime and there talent's are now lost.


ProjectVXN, my niece got a now tv box in and I was bored and there was nothing at all on TV so out of curiosity as I had not watched a Japanese anime since ghost in the shell I had a look at that very cartoon, watched it up to the point were this female character was murdering a bunch of English soldiers, the Japanese seem to like to rewrite history a bit with names like Jaeger - German for hunter used by there hero's and no seeming awareness of either there own crime's or the crime's of there wartime allies it seems, to be frank I found that cartoon insulting trash - no offence to you.

a reply to: MindBodySpiritComplex

Hard to burn solar power and electric as accelerants, so I doubt it has much to do with anything green or not green.

I think the guy seriously most likely snapped over what he saw as stolen work.

a reply to: LABTECH767

I just thought it was a good story.

I don't judge them for the content they create or any artistic license they take.

This is a sad day for anime fans all around

Lots of talent lost and the dirty side of the business exposed

originally posted by: ClovenSky
a reply to: Zcustosmorum

I do enjoy some of the anime out there. You can really get a sense for the traditional values of their society interwoven throughout much of their creations. Japan is also very interesting in studying their work habits and the newest generations throwing tradition to the wayside and creating a new way of living that isn't centered around work so much.

But this is so shocking for the sheer violence of the act. It appears to have boiled down to simple greed or maybe even worse, personal recognition if there is any truth to the assailant's claims.

Japanese are pretty messed up about sex though, aren't they? With all that repression.

a reply to: KansasGirl

Yep.

One word - hentai. There's worse than that too.

a reply to: KansasGirl

The extent of anime is not all trashy, sexually repressed, garbage.

Anime like Violet Evergarden, Ghost in the Shell, Paprika, and others are true storytelling masterpieces.

Most of the trashy anime out there exists because anime artists and animators don't get paid much despite global demand. Porn sells better than good stories.