A man who deliberately set fire to a three-story animation studio in the Japanese city of Kyoto in 2019, killing 36 people, has been sentenced to death for mass murder.
The guilty man, Shinji Aoba, is reported to have held a grudge against Kyoto Animation, which is also known as KyoAni, in the belief it had stolen ideas from novels he submitted to a competition run by the company.
The court found no evidence backing up Aoba’s claims that KyoAni had plagiarized his work.
The 35-year-old studio, created by husband and wife team Yoko and Hideaki Hatta, was known for works such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and Violet Evergarden.
On July 18, 2019, Aoba entered the studio and started throwing gasoline around the premises, while screaming at the employees.
He then ignited the fire with a lighter and flames quickly engulfed the building.
A total of 36 people died,...
The guilty man, Shinji Aoba, is reported to have held a grudge against Kyoto Animation, which is also known as KyoAni, in the belief it had stolen ideas from novels he submitted to a competition run by the company.
The court found no evidence backing up Aoba’s claims that KyoAni had plagiarized his work.
The 35-year-old studio, created by husband and wife team Yoko and Hideaki Hatta, was known for works such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and Violet Evergarden.
On July 18, 2019, Aoba entered the studio and started throwing gasoline around the premises, while screaming at the employees.
He then ignited the fire with a lighter and flames quickly engulfed the building.
A total of 36 people died,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Shinji Aoba, the arsonist behind the Kyoto Animation fire which took place in July 2019, was given the death penalty by presiding judge Keisuke Matsuda on Jan 25, 2023.
The ruling noted that Aoba was neither insane nor was of diminished capacity when he committed the crime, which made him liable for his actions.
Judge Matsuda pointed out that Aoba had hesitated to commit the crime right before it happened. The judge also acknowledged that Aoba had suffered from delusions based on the psychiatric evaluations carried out post indictment.
However, he stated that Aoba had committed the arson on Kyoto Animation on his own will and that the delusions had no impact on it, labeling the act atrocious and inhumane.
“The horror and pain of the victims who died in Studio 1, which turned into a hell in an instant, or who died afterward, is beyond description,” judge Matsuda said.
Following the verdict,...
The ruling noted that Aoba was neither insane nor was of diminished capacity when he committed the crime, which made him liable for his actions.
Judge Matsuda pointed out that Aoba had hesitated to commit the crime right before it happened. The judge also acknowledged that Aoba had suffered from delusions based on the psychiatric evaluations carried out post indictment.
However, he stated that Aoba had committed the arson on Kyoto Animation on his own will and that the delusions had no impact on it, labeling the act atrocious and inhumane.
“The horror and pain of the victims who died in Studio 1, which turned into a hell in an instant, or who died afterward, is beyond description,” judge Matsuda said.
Following the verdict,...
- 1/25/2024
- by A.R. Madillo
- AnimeHunch
Another victim of the arson attack on Kyoto Animation died overnight Friday in the hospital, bringing the death toll to 34, with another 34 still hospitalized. Among the dead, 26 victims were in their 20s and 30s, public broadcaster Nhk reported Saturday.
Hideaki Hatta, president of the company, said many of the dead were young women, including some who had joined in April, the standard time to begin a new job in Japan. Hatta told Reuters he had this month paid the newcomers their first small bonuses and believed they had bright futures ahead, adding, "I just don't have ...
Hideaki Hatta, president of the company, said many of the dead were young women, including some who had joined in April, the standard time to begin a new job in Japan. Hatta told Reuters he had this month paid the newcomers their first small bonuses and believed they had bright futures ahead, adding, "I just don't have ...
- 7/20/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Another victim of the arson attack on Kyoto Animation died overnight Friday in the hospital, bringing the death toll to 34, with another 34 still hospitalized. Among the dead, 26 victims were in their 20s and 30s, public broadcaster Nhk reported Saturday.
Hideaki Hatta, president of the company, said many of the dead were young women, including some who had joined in April, the standard time to begin a new job in Japan. Hatta told Reuters he had this month paid the newcomers their first small bonuses and believed they had bright futures ahead, adding, "I just don't have ...
Hideaki Hatta, president of the company, said many of the dead were young women, including some who had joined in April, the standard time to begin a new job in Japan. Hatta told Reuters he had this month paid the newcomers their first small bonuses and believed they had bright futures ahead, adding, "I just don't have ...
- 7/20/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Updated: Revenge for allegedly stolen ideas is emerging as a possible motive for the devastating arson attack on Kyoto Animation in Japan, which killed 33 people.
On Friday afternoon the police named the suspected attacker as Shinji Aoba, of no known occupation, who is in custody. Earlier, public broadcaster Nhk, citing unnamed sources, described the man, 41, as having had mental health issues and a recent criminal record, including a convenience-store robbery in 2012, for which he received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Investigative sources quoted by Japan’s Jiji Press said Friday that the suspected arsonist held a grudge against the studio. “Since [the studio] stole my novel, I poured out the liquid and set it ablaze,” the man is reported to have said.
Police have not yet formally begun questioning Aoba, who was arrested barely 100 yards from the studio and who was burned in the fire. The injuries to his limbs and chest are too severe,...
On Friday afternoon the police named the suspected attacker as Shinji Aoba, of no known occupation, who is in custody. Earlier, public broadcaster Nhk, citing unnamed sources, described the man, 41, as having had mental health issues and a recent criminal record, including a convenience-store robbery in 2012, for which he received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Investigative sources quoted by Japan’s Jiji Press said Friday that the suspected arsonist held a grudge against the studio. “Since [the studio] stole my novel, I poured out the liquid and set it ablaze,” the man is reported to have said.
Police have not yet formally begun questioning Aoba, who was arrested barely 100 yards from the studio and who was burned in the fire. The injuries to his limbs and chest are too severe,...
- 7/19/2019
- by Patrick Frater and Brett Bull
- Variety Film + TV
Updated: At least 33 people are believed to have died Thursday in an arson attack on the Kyoto Animation company in Japan, shocking a nation in which extreme violence is very rare.
Citing fire officials, Japanese public broadcaster Nhk said Thursday night that 20 women and 12 men were killed in the blaze, as well as another person whose body was burned beyond identification. Although a suspect has been arrested and has reportedly admitted to setting the fire, a motive for the attack has not been disclosed. Japanese media said the man is not known to have any connection with the company.
Emergency services in Kyoto City received a call about 10:35 a.m. local time Thursday reporting an explosion on the first floor of the studio. The blaze quickly spread across the whole of the three-story building.
Local media reports said a man was seen inside the building spraying a flammable liquid,...
Citing fire officials, Japanese public broadcaster Nhk said Thursday night that 20 women and 12 men were killed in the blaze, as well as another person whose body was burned beyond identification. Although a suspect has been arrested and has reportedly admitted to setting the fire, a motive for the attack has not been disclosed. Japanese media said the man is not known to have any connection with the company.
Emergency services in Kyoto City received a call about 10:35 a.m. local time Thursday reporting an explosion on the first floor of the studio. The blaze quickly spread across the whole of the three-story building.
Local media reports said a man was seen inside the building spraying a flammable liquid,...
- 7/18/2019
- by Patrick Frater and Brett Bull
- Variety Film + TV
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