This July 18 will mark the fifth anniversary of the arson attack on Kyoto Animation. In a post on Kyoto Animation’s website, the studio stated it has confidence that the previously announced memorial statue will be finished on or before July 18, 2024, though the official public opening date for the monument has not been confirmed and will be revealed as soon as preparations are complete. NHK showed the concept art of the statue back in March, which was designed by the studio and approved by the families of those who were lost.Additionally, the studio once again asked fans to not visit the former Studio 1 site on the date of the incident, instead redirecting people to a newly built memorial at a public park inside Uji City.
Image via NHK
The public monument, which Kyoto Animation says will “serve as a symbol to remember the incident and the prayers and support we received from all over the world, as well as our gratitude and prayers for everyone who perished in the incident,” will be installed in Historical Park of Tea and Uji Town in Uji city just outside Uji Station. This location was chosen as Uji is the home city of Kyoto Animation.In light of the opening of the statue, Kyoto Animation has decided to not hold an online memorial this year as they have in previous years, instead asking fans to “kindly watch over the monument warmly and quietly.”As previously reported, a second memorial site will also be installed in the space where Studio 1 once stood. It will be a private memorial within a new building that will be used for business purposes by Kyoto Animation and not be open to the public. No other details have been shared about the private memorial.The attack, which occurred on July 18, 2019, took the lives of 36 employees, including The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya director Yasuhiro Takemoto, animator Yoshiji Kigami, chief animation director on the Free! franchise Futoshi Nishiya, Sound! Euphonium character designer Shouko Ikeda, and many more. 35 more people who were inside the building at the time were also injured.
Source: Kyoto Animation
