Sad to hear about Kyoto animation

[Trevor]

I wasn't trying to take blame off of him, rather this was much worse than it could have been due to poor engineering. If they are to rebuild themselves (literally) they should probably keep this in mind if it were to ever happen again. A fire escape could have easily saved those 20 people from that arsonist.

This is one of those things where multiple people are to blame at the end of the day. I mean if the arsonist didn't set the building on fire, I'm sure something else like an electrical fire would have at one point and this same problem would have occurred

If a building with fire escape routes could save 20 out of the 33 people who were killed in the fire, that's pretty hard to say that it was only the arsonist's fault

It gets worse too, I found an image of the inside of the building posted by a redditor:

No fire doors. No fire walls. Wooden floors and walls. No sprinkler system. A wooden spiral fireplace that ran throughout the building in the center of it. A stairwell that wasn't pressurized, allowing smoke to go in immediately. And I'm hearing on discord the windows were designed not to open to prevent suicide attempts.

That spiral staircase? Per the NHK, It acted as a bonfire / chimney. The worst fire was in the stairwell, followed by the spiral staircase.

This building was pretty much designed to be burned down. It may as well have had a lighting rod sticking high up with a sign saying "I'm feeling lucky" on it.

[mariusthered]

well hopefully the only good from this event could be the people in japan ask for updated fire regulations, but i don't know enough about the country to know if that is even possible. Considering this is the same country that made a whole island out of recycled materials you would think they would have better fire regulations. but like i said theses are matters for the Japanese , it's not the place for the rest of the world to make demands of them, why would they listen to outsiders.

[mariusthered]

If a building with fire escape routes could save 20 out of the 33 people who were killed in the fire, that's pretty hard to say that it was only the arsonist's fault

No it's not, he set the fire it's his fault. sorry but you sound like one of them B's defence lawyers that always gets people set free to just do the crimes again. I will not be surprised if he gets off with this on the old "he's crazy" plea. it sickens me.

if the company are held accountable for the lack of fire doors and such that is a different matter and not be used to free this guy of the fact he murdered 33 people because he had a tantrum.

[Trevor]

dont force words down my throat, I said this is a matter where multiple people are at fault including that arsonist

[mariusthered]

i apologise if my way of things offends, i can get a little passionate about these things.

[Buurd]

While I get where you're coming from with your analysis of the building - I just think it's a little too early for some people to be hearing these things or seeing these photos. This thread seems aimed more towards condolences and expressing love for the studios works - not about factors that may be to blame for this tragic loss.

[jensrichard77]

This thread seems aimed more towards condolences and expressing love for the studios works

As a Real-life security officer I do agree with @Trevor at a sudden point of view. But you are right. This is for another time to debate.

[LordVincent]

Yeah the lack of fire escapes came to mind when I saw the pictures too but it's like...
1. The fire is still 100% the arson's fault. Had he not set fire to the building, it would not have burned.
2. This is a company that is known to treat their employees extremely well compared to what is "standard" in the japanese animation industry. Saying they are to blame for the incident in any way can be very harmful to them and by extension might do harm to potential improvements in the industry at large since they become less of a competitor/standard to strive for in the business.
3. Putting blame on a company that these people were so intensely involved in and were probably very passionate about (seeing as it was an expression platform for their passion in life) is very insensitive to the suffering victims and the families of those who died in this horrible incident.

The fire escape issue is very real, but there is a different way to approach it. Instead of saying "the fire is partially their fault", you can put it as "ensuring fire safety for their employees should be a high priority in the future". Because it should. Fire safety should be a basic standard in any workplace.

That being said, there is a time and place for everything. Maybe focusing on the victims and assessing the damages before considering preventative measures for the future would be a good idea. I for one am definitely considering buying something off their digital goods to contribute to the companys funds so they can recover.

[chickknightgreenleaf]

that was just according to the arsonist, as of now it just one sided information. from what I know the phase he said in Japanese have many meaning, the "they stole from me", "they ripped me off" were one of many, we shouldn't jump to conclusion yet, let be patience and wait for the police to do some digging

[fifthpaw]

I don't trust the Japanese police. Japan has a 99.7% convection rate. Unless the justice system are near perfect and the police always get the right person (which is impossible), getting 99.7% only mean there's corruption. Human rights organizations say the police torture people into "confessing." A common tacit by criminals is to accuse someone else and then let the police do their dirty work.

However, in this case it seems they have the right person, but that doesn't change the fact this case will be extremely one sided. If the studio did plagiarized his stuff, the courts will say there's no evidence of that and the police won't be digging dipper for the truth. I'm not saying the arson is justified, I'm saying I don't don't trust the police. It's a dystopia a far as the justice system is concerned over there. Other places might be guilty until proven innocent, But in Japan, you're just guilty.

[mariusthered]

with the greatest respect we are getting off topic here. people (me included) have started discussing the case and situation, and as pointed out this should be a thread dedicated to remembrance and respect for the wonderful talent that has been lost. after all we could well have a relation of one of the fallen read this thread and we should show the correct respect. maybe when the time is right we can make another thread to discuss the other matters.

[jensrichard77]

2019 Kyoto Animation Arson - A tribute art by Bach Do/Dishwasher1910

[leechkiss]

The president of KyoAni just issued a statement saying that they lost EVERYTHING in the fire. Equipment, materials (paper and digital)... it’s so heartbreaking to read.

Even if they did rip the arsonist off, I don’t think it’s worth such a huge loss. All those lives and art, gone in a matter of moments. I really hope they’ll be able to recover from such a huge blow.

[mariusthered]

i guess the only comfort is that there are copies of the older works out in the world, so its not like everything has been totally wiped out.
today I found issue one of K-on on you tube but watching made me feel quite sad knowing what has happened. when i first saw that show years ago i had to watch it a number of time just to analyse the artwork. it was that show that got me interested in Japanese art and culture and led me on to watching the movies from other studios. i truly hope they manage to rebuild in some way.

[Dreams-of-Gaia]

I was also devastated by this event...
I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan or Kyoani, only watched two series from them (Munto and Nichiyou), but still, to think so many creative people lost their lives in such a way... I can't imagine the amount of effort they had to do to even get a job there, the nights and days drawing to accomplish their dreams... I just can't believe this happened...

My condolences to the family, friends and fans as well.
Hope they can come through this...

[monotone_ink]

It's been a day, but this whole arson still has me messed up.

KyoAni was and is a massive influence on the anime industry. They made Haruhi Suzumiya--the show that literally got me into anime--continued making uplifting shows, and to top it all off, they were the only studio that treated their employees like human beings.

Yet of all things, they get an arson and 35 dead people. This shit's unfair bros, I've had enough.

[azzy-m]

Now I feel like I have to watch Violet Evergarden and Beyond the Boundary, two shows that I was planning on watching in 2016/17/18

[baasinsimple]

Wow, that fucking sucks bro,

[ar-ninetysix]

In case y'all didn't hear about it, apparently the studio set up a bank account for direct donations, including international transfers! There's should be instructions in Japanese as well as English~

京都アニメーションホームページ

[mariusthered]

if anybody is from japan it would be great if you could keep us updated on what the studio is going to do and such. i doubt the rest of the world will be told news now the fire has been and gone, news stories only seem to show the bad stuff and never the after effects of a situation.