It has been confirmed that director Yasuhiro Takemoto was killed in the Kyoto Animation fire. He was reported dead by fans on Twitter after he went missing but police declined to verify the reports at the time.

Due to the condition of several of the bodies found in the aftermath of the Kyoto Animation fire DNA testing needed to be done to confirm the identity of the bodies that were found. Eventually they managed to get Takemoto’s DNA sample to test against the bodies that were found. After a week the DNA results came back and the police were finally able to confirm that Takemoto was indeed among the dead.

Yauhiro Takemoto will be remembered for his direction on Amagi Brilliant Park, Full Metal Panic!, Hyoka, Lucky Star, The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya, and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. It is quite possible that if he hadnot died in the Kyoto Animation fire he would have been tapped to direct Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Season 2.

Takemoto was also a storyboard writer and episode director for Violet Evergarden. The studio released a statement, as reported by Monsters and Critics,  as to how the death of Takemoto would affect the upcoming Violet Evergarden OVA.

While there are some who may disagree with the value of Takemoto’s work, no one should disagree with the value of his life. This tragedy should not be used to push gender politics, as CNN has tried to do. It shouldn’t be ignored because it doesn’t help demonize guns. Nor should anyone use the tragedy to push false narratives.

With that said I would like to note that Kyoto Animation was found to be in compliance of Japanese fire codes, as reported by SoraNews24. This was a tragedy and we should treat it as such. Anyone who would revel in this tragedy should take a long look at themselves and figure out how they became such a broken human being.