The Kyoto Animation fire in Japan claimed the lives of more than 33 people. The arsonist reportedly was a spurned light novel creator who felt he had been plagiarized by Kyoto, with reports indicating that he yelled out “Die!” while setting fire to the building with more than 70 people inside. According to the CEO, not only did they lose nearly half their workforce, but all their paper and digital backups were lost in the fire, too.

Sankaku Complex picked up the news from Sponichi Annex, where Kyoto Animation studio president, Hideaki Hatta, commented that he was unsure of what the total cost of damages were, but they lost the computers, the drawings, and the animation materials at the studio.

The BBC originally quoted a Reddit user in an article published on July 18th, 2019 who stated that “thousands” of drawings and animations both on paper and computer were destroyed but couldn’t confirm if that was true. Well, Hatta has confirmed that it is true, with ComicBook.com paraphrasing Hatta, writing…

“In an interview with the Japanese mass media, Hatta confirmed that all of the past animation materials and computers in Kyoto Animation’s 1st Studio building were destroyed in the fire,”

The future of the studio is now completely up in the air after all their material and production work have been destroyed in the fire. Worse yet is that they lost more than half their staff either to the fire or due to injuries.

Recovery will be a long and arduous process, no doubt. Sentai Filmworks started a GoFundMe that has garnered more than $1.6 million to help with the recovery.

Kyoto Animation was known for making various anime over the years, including Full Metal Panic and K-On!. Their most recent anime was Violet Evergarden. It doesn’t look like they will be making any new anime anytime soon.

(Thanks for the news tip VenturousGamer)