Kyoto Animation has officially announced that they will be erecting two memorials as a symbol to honour the arson attack victims.

According to the studio’s representative lawyer, Kyoto animation and the family of those affected by the arson have at last decided to go forward with the construction of the memorial. The first memorial will be erected near the studio’s headquarters in Ujin City, and not where the incident occured.

As for the the site of the arson attack, the studio will be utilizing it for the company’s business purposes, whilst at the same time considering the possibility of building a memorial there in the future.

The studio is planning to install the first memorial in an open space such as parks, so as it make it available to the public. The design will be done by the studio’s employees to express their feelings and thoughts towards their colleagues.

The memorial is set to be unveiled on July 18, 2024, in order to mark the 5th anniversary of the incident.

A devastating fire had broken out at KyoAni’s Studio 1 building on July 18, 2019. At the time, there were 70 people inside the building. The fire claimed the lives of 36 people and injured 33 more. Aside from the victims inside the building, the smoke also injured a man in his forties who was on his way to work.

Kyoto Animation’s productions were initially paused after the attack, and the onset of the pandemic further delayed its projects.

As a fresh comeback from the two-year aftershock of the tragedy, the studio resumed its production activities with the release of the second season of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.

Source: NHK