Tragedy in Kyoto Japan, set fire to the Kyoto Animation studio
Founded in 1981, the company is behind the series 'Violet Evergarden' and the movie 'The Voice of Silence'
On Thursday, July 18, an incendiary attack destroyed a property of Kyoto Animation, an animation studio located in Kyoto, west of Japan. The fire started around 10:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. GMT) and which has so far left 33 dead and 35 injured. Known by many anime fans like KyoAni, the studio was born in 1981 and has a good reputation thanks to the decent working conditions they offer their employees and the hiring of more directors and writers, characteristics that are not common in the industry of Japanese animation
Created by Hideaki and Yoko Hatta, president and vice president, respectively, KyoAni's specialty is to adapt the so-called light novels and dramas. In addition, the studio has participated in the production of animations for other companies, such as Akira (1988) and the first movie of the Pokémon franchise, with the movie: Pokémon: The Movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998). The company also has an original manga publishing front.
One of the best-known productions of Kyoto Animation is the Violet Evergarden series, released in 2016 and bought by Netflix in 2018. The story follows a young woman who had a difficult childhood until she was adopted by a naval officer. She joins the army in her country, but a tragic event causes her to abandon the fight and work as a ghost writer in a courier company. This is where she comes to better understand human feelings.
The manga on which the series is based won first prize in the 2014 edition of Kyoto Animation Awards, an award created in 2009 by the studio. Many of the winners have been transformed into animations by the company since then.
Another success of Kyoto Animation is "The Voice of Silence," a 2016 film that portrays a deaf girl who is bullied in high school. Years later, the most annoying colleague tries to redeem himself. For addressing important social issues in Japan, the film was praised by critics and won the Best Animation Award at the Japan Movie Critics Awards.
Other famous animations of the studio include the movie Munto and the K-On! Series, Full Metal Panic! and Clannad.
