In an act of stunning cruelty and evil, a suspicious individual was seen pouring chemicals on the KyoAni building and setting it alight, screaming "die" as he lit the flame. He wasn't trying to be sneaky, people easily saw this. As reported by NHK, at least 33 peoeple died, and 36 people are injured. It is not know if Yasuhiro Takemoto, the director of Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, is alive or not. According to police, the suspect was arrested. Shouldn't have been difficult, he's the psycho pouring stuff on the studio building while screaming "die" in Japanese. 

The fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday at the studio of Kyoto Animation. It took firefighters nearly five hours to extinguish the blaze. Officials say about 70 people were in the building at the time of the fire. 

The circumstances leading up to the alleged arson are still unclear. But the head of the studio said that he had recently received some threatening emails. President of Kyoto Animation Hideaki Hatta confirmed "They were addressed to our office and sales department and told us to "die"."

Kyoto Animation was founded in 1981 and is hailed as the first successful studio outside Tokyo. It has created many well-received titles such as K-On! and Haruhu Suzumiya and has left its mark on the anime industry. A Professor of Meiji University, Ryusuke Hikawa said, "The name of Kyoto Animation is a strong brand with its sophisticated directorial and production techniques."

In response to this tragedy, Sentai Filmworks has done its part to help by starting a GoFundMe called 'Help KyoAni Heal'. As of this writing, it has reached a total of $920k against a goal of $750k. You can find that HERE. Their tweets regarding the KyoAni fire and their funding efforts can be found HERE.

This is still an ongoing situation, and we here at Doujins mourn the loss of so many lives and hope that those still left can rebuild from the ashes of this malicious attack.