Kyoto Animation fire: One dead after suspected arson attack

[TorchWood]

From BBC News:

Kyoto Animation fire: One dead after suspected arson attack

At least one person has been killed and more than 30 injured in a suspected arson attack at an animation studio in Kyoto, Japan.

Local media quoted police as saying a man broke into the Kyoto Animation Co studio on Thursday and threw an unidentified liquid, starting a fire.

Kyoto Animation, known as KyoAni, produces popular animation shows including "K-On" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya".

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[takenoko]

Just read the updated report. 33 people died in this fire? How was that possible? Were there bars on the window?

[Kurokage X]

I'm more concerned on what drove this guy to commit arson there in the first place. Something about you copied it seems to give some hint but what

[Catastrophe]

Just read the updated report. 33 people died in this fire? How was that possible? Were there bars on the window?

It sounds like that the fire was started in the entranceway of the building, and the design of the building with a spiral staircase caused it and the smoke to climb quickly. They also mentioned that potentially the fire spread rapidly due to stuff like paper and other animation stuff burning quickly.

[Go-On Macaroni]

Just read the updated report. 33 people died in this fire? How was that possible? Were there bars on the window?

Here's a post I've seen secondhand that described why it was difficult for people to leave:

Arsonist was confronted on the first floor when he started spreading fuel, ran and ignited it on the way out but got burned escaping
>First floor staff hit the alarms and evacuated through the narrow spiral staircase quickly but it caught fire as they were doing so, minor burns/smoke inhalation for most but a few died
>Spiral stairs acted as a chimney, fire rose up them across all floors rapidly once ignited
>Fire exit on ground floor was burning so staff on higher floors couldn't make use of it
>Roof access door opened inwards but the mass of the crowd pressing against it to get out stopped it from being opened, so staff who tried to go up there were trapped above the fire and suffocated on the smoke
>Some managed to open the windows and jumped but the walls on the second and third floor had flammable objects like shoji screens around the sides of the room which caught fire and barred access to them for others
>People were pretty much trapped at that point

I'm more concerned on what drove this guy to commit arson there in the first place. Something about you copied it seems to give some hint but what

The bottom quote is speculation I've seen secondhand as to the reason. Hibike Euphonium was an anime made by the company focusing on a brass band made up of high school students. Having not seen it myself, I'm not sure whether the below-mentioned scene was in the show itself or the recent movie but considering the same guy supposedly robbed a convenience store with a knife in 2012, I wouldn't put it past the former.

lrt is about how a song played in hibike euphonium might have sparked the attack. Train otaku on 5ch were offended and say its a rip off of "Lets Take the A Train" (A列車で行こう)
Still speculation.

"Speculation on the motive has arisen due to the record of a post found from an anon yesterday on 14.00 JST; a train otaku who's harbored a huge hatred for Eupho for a scene with a bari-sax solo that allegedly 'ripped off' a song called "Let's Take the A Train""

[takenoko]

Wow that really sucks. Thanks for the info

[Lunagel]

Not that there's ever a reason for arson, but as reasons for arson go, that's absolutely horrific.

[NightdyneMesa]

I hope there'd be an English translation for the NHK tweet, the culprit has been named though.
https://twitter.com/mombot/status/1152137432361394176

[Lunagel]

All the tweet really says is his name but the linked article is more specific. It says that he had been arrested once before for robbery by knife and served 3.5 years, but after being released had been verbally abusive to neighbors and had the cops called on him a few times.

[Catastrophe]

It's more of a domestic terror attack at this point. Sure, he set a fire rather than bombing/shooting, but the effect was the same.

[Lunagel]

Since it was a single company that apparently he had a grudge against rather than a political aim, it doesn't quite fit the definition of terrorism, I think.

[TorchWood]

From New York Times:

Japan Fire Killed Mostly Women, at a Studio Known for Hiring Them

As of Friday, none of the names of the 33 people killed in the fire had been released. What was known was that almost two-thirds of them — 20 — were women.

That appears to reflect a trend in Japan’s animation industry, as well as the hiring practices at Kyoto Animation. There are about twice as many women as men among working animators in their 20s, according to Daisuke Okeda, a lawyer and adviser to the Japanese Animation Creators Association.

Male animators still lead the industry, and they outnumber women among animators over 35, Mr. Okeda said. But Kyoto Animation — known as KyoAni to its fans — is known for employing more women, particularly younger women.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[takenoko]

Man, every time I look at this story it's just the worst getting worse.

[ViRGE]

Right? I'm half-expecting that they'll next announce that there was also an animal shelter adjacent to the studio.

[Kurokage X]

so this guy commited arson because they "stole a novel" from him. Good god. And this guy was arrested before for commiting robbery and has an unspecified mental illness. This gets worse more the more information comes out