Kyoto Animation fire: 12 feared dead after suspected arson attack on studio in Japan

[JHB]

8. Update: Asahi Shimbun reports toll up to 33 dead and 17 hospitalized

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907180088.html

KYOTO--Thirty-three people were killed and 17 others remain hospitalized after a suspected arsonist set fire to a three-story animation studio here on July 18, police and fire department officials said. Some of the 36 people injured in the fire were unconscious, according to Kyoto prefectural police.

The studio, operated by Kyoto Animation Co., is located in a residential area in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward about 100 meters north of Rokujizo Station on Keihan Electric Railway Co.’s Uji Line. There were about 70 people in the studio at the time.
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As [a witness] waited for an ambulance, a number of police officers surrounded the [suspected arsonist] and peppered him with questions about how he entered the studio and why he set it on fire, she said. The woman said she could not catch much of what the man said, but she did clearly hear him shout, “They ripped me off.”
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Kyoto Animation has produced a number of popular TV anime series, such as “K-On!,” “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” and “Sound! Euphonium.” Although many major animation companies are located in the Tokyo area, Kyoto Animation has kept its base of operations in the ancient capital since its founding in 1981 because the city has accumulated a long cultural history, company officials said.

For those unfamiliar with their work, it's the sort of stuff that in the US is called "young adult fiction": high school clubs, bands, sports teams, etc., sometimes having a goal, sometimes just goofing around with friends, occasionally with supernatural or sci-fi stuff mixed in.