As of this video, there have been multiple deaths as a result of the Kyoto Animation
Studio fire, with 13 feared dead and countless others injured or in critical condition.
In terms of the perp’s side of the story, all reports say he ran into the building,
poured gasoline everywhere, and shouted “DIE, DIE!”And when I first heard about this,
my first thought was ‘disgruntled employee,’ but that didn’t make any sense, for a couple
reasons, both of which add to the horrifying nature of this.
First is KyoAni’s work culture which has been the gold standard for Japanese animation
studios.
Despite the Japanese animation industry breaking records year after year in terms of profit,
especially as the demand for anime continues to balloon in countries like the US and China,
the elephant in the room has been the self-destructive business practices of many studios.
The animators themselves, the heart soul and backbone of the medium, are treated as subhuman
by the majority of these studios.
Nearly all of them live below the poverty line.
The studio heads pocket all the profit, while the people responsible for their success get
nothing.
This is the norm for most Japanese business in general, but a glaring stain on the anime
industry, given the amount of money generated.
But Kyoto Animation Studio was the anti-status quo studio.
While other studios are paying their employees roughly 500 bucks a month and placing them
on freelancer contracts to avoid having to offer any kind of benefits, which ultimately
leads to an mind-blowing 90% of animators quitting within 3 years…
KyoAni staffs their animators, places them on salary and doesn’t impose unreleastic
deadlines just for the sake of making a quicker buck.
Not only that, they nurture their talent with programs that allow them to further master
their craft and fully realize their potential as animators working on their life’s passion.
This is especially important because most people who graduated college don't actually
enter their field of study.
In fact College graduates do not expect to enter their field of study so it's very important
that those who actually get to pursue the things that they love and have studied, feel
fulfilled in doing so.
And that's why Kyoto animation studio is so important
The result of this is masterpieces like A Silent Voice.
So some months ago I made a video about bullying in Japanese culture and how it's depicted
in anime and I used A Silent Voice as an example.
A lot of anime have depicted bullying in the past but usually it's in passing.
But a silent voice made bullying the focal point of the story which I felt was very much-needed,
given the rising suicide rate among Japanese youth, with bullying as a contributing factor.
While the anime film Your Name was heralded at the time of its release A Silent Voice,
which release around the same time, outshined it in many ways, being celebrated not only
for its amazing quality, but also the harsh cultural issues it addressed.
So not only has Kyoto Animation Studio contributed positively to Japanese work culture, but they’ve
contributed positively to society as a whole.
Of course, we probably best know KyoAni for giving us Haruhi Suzumiya, one of my personal
top 5 anime series and movie of all time.
I won’t go into a full character analysis, but when you think about overpowered anime
characters, Haruhi is typically left out of the conversation.
But she’s not only a god, she’s god-god.
Her power is her will and she’s unaware of it.
She can collapse multiverses…accidentally.
You can make a strong solid argument that Haruhi Suzumiya is the most powerful anime
character ever, and the fact that Kyoto Animation Studio brought us that in the form of a WOMAN
is huge, especially in the context of gender roles in Japan.
If you think misogyny is rampant in America, you’ll be horrified by Japan’s treatment
of women.
That’s why when I go to Japanese anime conventions or events where there is cosplay, I’m pleasantly
surprised by the amount of girls dressed as Haruhi.
Sure the cute dance probably has something to do with it, but that doesn’t negate the
fact that her simultaneous strength and fragility offer something for young women in this society
to draw inspiration from.
And that’s thanks to Kyoto Animation Studio.
And that’s what makes this tragedy so much harder to swallow.
I really want all fans of anime to not only reflect on KyoAni’s body of work, but what
that work has meant to the greater good.
They are one of the good ones.
They do right by their employees, they do right by their country, and they do right
by their fans.
So this is what I want you to do in the comments below.
Talk about YOUR favorite anime from Kyoto Animation Studio, and what it meant to you
on a personal level.
Lets try our best to turn this tragedy into a positive.
Thanks for listening, I’ll catch you guys later.