Directors Yasuhiro Takemoto and Futoshi Nishiya were among the people killed in last month’s criminal fire at the Kyoto animation studio in the Japanese city, Variety quoted police as saying.
Agents revealed the names of 10 of the 35 victims following the fire that destroyed the three floors of Kyodo Animation. Police said veteran animation director Yoshiji Kigami was killed.
Takemoto was the top director of the studio, known as KyoAni, whose signature can be found in the movie “Lucky Star”.
Nishiya was the director of the TV series “Free!”
Kigami worked as the lead animator for the “Free!” Series, as well as for last year’s “Violet Evergarden” series.
All 35 people killed were identified following DNA analysis, but police announced their names after consulting with family members who are currently preparing for burial.
Another 33 people were injured in the attack.
The studio had about 160 employees.
Police announced the identity of the suspect in this case – Shinji Aoba. Aoba would have committed the attack because he considered a novel written by him to be plagiarized by the studio.
Shinji Aoba, the firefighter, is in the hospital with serious injuries. He will be detained after he returns.
photo source: variety.com
