# Kyoto Animation fire: Arson attack at Japan anime studio... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254 "2019-07-18T14:06:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/1 "2019-07-18T14:06:56Z")
[Kyoto Animation fire: Arson attack at Japan anime studio kills 33](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49027178) A sad day for Kyoto, for Japan, and for anime fans worldwide. The _alleged_ arsonist has been caught. Right now, in the fog of (war), he appears to have no direct links to the studio. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/2 "2019-07-18T14:08:37Z")
I saw this last night before I went to bed and they had the toll at 13 people. 6 hours later it’s 33. Ugh. What a senseless tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/3 "2019-07-18T15:37:04Z")
I was confused in reading the article. Why the hell would you head for the roof during a fire? Why wouldn’t you run for the other exits? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/4 "2019-07-18T15:40:48Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I was confused in reading the article. Why the hell would you head for the roof during a fire? Why wouldn’t you run for the other exits? Perhaps the nutjob started fires at the exits. This doesn’t appear to be a fire started in a single place. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/5 "2019-07-18T15:45:53Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I was confused in reading the article. Why the hell would you head for the roof during a fire? Why wouldn’t you run for the other exits? If the proper emergency exits are unaccessible (for example if the arsonist purposefully set fires by the exits), some may go to the roof to escape the smoke and for a ladder rescue. It’s only a 3 story building. Plus, people are panicky is crisis situations. What might seem obvious when one is sitting safely at home/work is nowhere near as obvious when the shit is hitting the fan. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/6 "2019-07-18T15:46:49Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I was confused in reading the article. Why the hell would you head for the roof during a fire? Why wouldn’t you run for the other exits? > [@](#): > > Japanese media reported the fire might have been set near the front door, forcing people to find other ways out. > **[Man shouting 'You die!' kills 33 in Japan anime studio fire](https://apnews.com/article/b10907eaf37945889d9ee4339df92aaa)** > > TOKYO (AP) — A man screaming "You die!" burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing 33 people in an attack that shocked the country and brought an outpouring of grief from anime... An earlier account I read said that he had spread accelerant of some kind on the first floor, started the fire, then went to the 2nd floor and spread more accelerant before he fled the building. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/7 "2019-07-18T17:03:28Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I was confused in reading the article. Why the hell would you head for the roof during a fire? Why wouldn’t you run for the other exits? You’re assuming the ground-level exits were an option. In many fires, this isn’t the case. I’ve seen a few house fires in the news recently where the occupants were on the second floor, handing children out the window to rescuers - because they couldn’t reach the exits. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/8 "2019-07-18T19:40:20Z")
[All sides of the building](https://imgur.com/a/cJ0tgJw). ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/9 "2019-07-19T11:49:37Z")
[A GoFundMe was started to help the company and victims recover.](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kyoani-heal) In a day’s time, they’ve raised about $1.4M. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/10 "2019-07-19T16:11:29Z")
> [@](#): > > "Shinji Aoba is suspected of starting the fire that killed 33 people and injured dozens more at Kyoto Animation aka KyoAni in Japan on July 18. There were around 70 people inside of the building at the time of the fire. The Kyoto offices are located in a residential area in the city of Kyoto, which is 30 miles north of Osaka. > > Aoba was initially apprehended by a Kyoto employee and later taken into custody by police who had arrived on the scene. The suspect suffered burns to his face, chest and legs. Reports from Japan says that Aoba has yet to be questioned by investigators as he is under sedation at a hospital. NHK in Japan reports that Aoba admitted to starting to fire when he was first taken into custody… > \*\* > Witnesses told BBC News that Aoba could be heard complaining that Kyoto had stolen and plagiarized his novel prior to allegedly setting the fire.\*\* Officials in Japan have not definitively stated what they believe Aoba’s motive was. In the weeks leading up to the fire, the company’s president said that threatening letters had been received at their offices." > **[Shinji Aoba: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know](https://heavy.com/news/2019/07/shinji-aoba/)** > > Shinji Aoba is suspected of starting the fire that killed 33 people and injured dozens more at Kyoto Animation in Japan on July 18. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/11 "2019-07-19T17:42:35Z")
> **[Suspect in Japan anime studio arson reportedly had grudge](https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-tokyo-international-news-japan-arson-8a893462b76e41139048b5a50f34ff5d)** > > TOKYO (AP) — The man suspected of setting ablaze a beloved Japanese animation studio, killing 34 people, was raging about theft and witnesses and media reported he had a grudge against the company, as questions arose why such mass killings keep... > [@](#): > > Witness accounts and reports suggested the man had a grudge against Kyoto Animation, but police only have said the suspect Shinji Aoba, 41, who is hospitalized with severe burns and unable to talk, is from near Tokyo and did not work for the studio. > [@](#): > > The man told police that he set the fire because he thought ”(Kyoto Animation) stole novels,” according to Japanese media. It was unclear if he had contacted the studio earlier. > [@](#): > > “They are always stealing. It’s their fault,” he told policemen bending over and asking him why he set the fire, according to a witness who described the scene outside her house. The man complained bitterly that something had been stolen from him, the witness told NHK and other networks. So sad; so senseless. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/12 "2019-07-19T18:42:06Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > [A GoFundMe was started to help the company and victims recover.](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kyoani-heal) In a day’s time, they’ve raised about $1.4M. So vastly less money (and vastly less news coverage) than an old church where nobody was hurt. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/13 "2019-07-19T19:54:39Z")
We’re Americans. We don’t need no ferrin’ news. CNN sends me notifications whenever Taylor Swift does something (really, how can I turn off celebrity notifications?). BBC sends me real news notifications, like this. Home-grown, non-muslim nutjob in Kyoto kills over 30 at an anime studio…only anime fans will care in the US. No major US news outlet caters to that segment. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/14 "2019-07-19T22:20:41Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > We’re Americans. We don’t need no ferrin’ news. CNN sends me notifications whenever Taylor Swift does something (really, how can I turn off celebrity notifications?). BBC sends me real news notifications, like this. Home-grown, non-muslim nutjob in Kyoto kills over 30 at an anime studio…only anime fans will care in the US. No major US news outlet caters to that segment. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/15 "2019-07-19T22:57:10Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > We’re Americans. We don’t need no ferrin’ news. CNN sends me notifications whenever Taylor Swift does something (really, how can I turn off celebrity notifications?). BBC sends me real news notifications, like this. Home-grown, non-muslim nutjob in Kyoto kills over 30 at an anime studio…only anime fans will care in the US. No major US news outlet caters to that segment. I’m not an anime fan, but this saddens me. A nutjob sets a fire that kills over 30 people. You don’t have to like anime to care. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/16 "2019-07-20T00:16:14Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’m not an anime fan, but this saddens me. A nutjob sets a fire that kills over 30 people. You don’t have to like anime to care. NBC news (the channel I watched that night) gave the story around a minute or less, maybe 20 minutes into the broadcast. I’m usually the one doing eye-rolls at calling news coverage racist, but that sure as hell stood out to me–why did a mass murder get such perfunctory attention? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/17 "2019-07-20T00:17:39Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’m not an anime fan, but this saddens me. A nutjob sets a fire that kills over 30 people. You don’t have to like anime to care. No, you have to have empathy and humanity to care. But as noted, no US news coverage. It’s still on BBC’s front page, and not on CNN. The US (in general) expects the world to care and know about what happens here, but not vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/18 "2019-07-20T01:45:08Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > No, you have to have empathy and humanity to care. But as noted, no US news coverage. It’s still on BBC’s front page, and not on CNN. The US (in general) expects the world to care and know about what happens here, but not vice versa. I saw this covered on _CBS This Morning_. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/19 "2019-07-20T01:47:46Z")
Another victim has died, raising the toll to 34. I haven’t been able to find a list of the dead, though one article said that 20 of the victims were female, and most died of carbon monoxide poisoning in stairwells. I saw one of their feature films in the theater a few months ago. It was an unusual and beautiful movie called A Silent Voice. This is what I tweeted about it. > [@](#): > > 1. A Silent Voice @ Rosemont. Japan. Directed by Naoko Yamada (female!). From IMDB: “A young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.” Very unusual, very good. I’ve been fearing that Naoko Yamada is a victim. I hope not. It’s so sad and senseless. [https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-07-19/34th-victim-of-kyoto-animation-fire-passes-away/.149151](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-07-19/34th-victim-of-kyoto-animation-fire-passes-away/.149151) ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254/20 "2019-07-20T01:49:41Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > NBC news (the channel I watched that night) gave the story around a minute or less, maybe 20 minutes into the broadcast. I’m usually the one doing eye-rolls at calling news coverage racist, but that sure as hell stood out to me–why did a mass murder get such perfunctory attention? Because this particular mass murderer didn’t use a gun to commit his crime. He callously refused to fit the mainstream media/liberal playbook that guns are inherently evil and are only used for evil purposes. They can’t get any mileage out of a crime like this – their narrative is that everybody would be jolly and wonderful and live happily ever after if only we had more gun control than we already do. Even most of the nuttiest anti-gun nuts realize that the public would mock them if they called for “fire control.” So they simply ignore the crime as much as they can. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kyoto-animation-fire-arson-attack-at-japan-anime-studio/837254.md?page=2)