The incident in which 36 employees died when the Kyoto Animation studio was set on fire on the 18th marks four years since the incident occurred.
The trial of Shinji Aoba, who was charged with murder, arson and other crimes, is scheduled to begin in September, and one of the bereaved family members said, "I hope the trial will appeal to the preciousness of life."
Four years ago, on July 4, the first studio of Kyoto Animation in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City, was set on fire, killing 7 employees and seriously injuring 18 others.
The jury trial of Shinji Aoba, 1, who was charged with murder, arson and other crimes in this case, will be held for the first time on September 36 and will be sentenced on January 32 next year.
At the trial, the defendant's ability to be criminally responsible is expected to be contested, and the defendant's motive for initiating the incident will also be questioned.
The family of the animator who died in the incident said, "Even four years have passed since the incident, and the regret and sadness of the incident continues to deepen, and we do not want criminals and victims to ever be killed in a similar incident again. To that end, I hope that the trial will appeal to the preciousness of life."
A bereaved family member who lost another animator's son said, "After many years, my son never comes back, his wounds are never healed, and I think the defendant's mind has changed over the course of four years. I want you to talk about why you did that, why you think you did something wrong, and how you feel now."
On the 45th, a memorial ceremony will be held at the site of the former studio at the site, attended by the bereaved families and company officials at around 9:5 a.m. when the incident occurred.
Kyoto Animation is urging the public not to visit the area to avoid confusion in the surrounding area, and instead will distribute a memorial video on the official Kyoto Animation channel on YouTube from 1:25 a.m.
Picture book drawn by Masuharu Kigami Movement of anime adaptation
A picture book drawn by one of the deceased animators, Mr. Masuharu Kigami, during his lifetime, has been adapted into an anime by former colleagues, and production is underway with the aim of completing it this year.
Mr. Kigami died at the age of 61 at the time when he was involved in numerous masterpieces such as "AKIRA" and "Grave of the Fireflies" and was active in Kyoto Animation as a key producer with his high drawing ability.
When Kigami was in his twenties, he drew a picture book called "Little Jam and Goblin Opp," in which a child wizard grows up facing his own mental weakness.
Four years after the incident, an anime adaptation of this picture book has begun to move.
On the 17th, former Kikami's colleagues and animators who sympathized with his work gathered at an anime production company in Tokyo and held a meeting to decide who would be in charge of drawing based on the storyboards, which will serve as blueprints for anime.
He plans to complete a work that is about 15 minutes long this year.
The anime adaptation was made possible because the proposal was selected in a cultural and artistic competition recruited by a Chinese IT company, and the release is scheduled on the company's website, and the production team hopes to hold screenings in Japan in the future.
Toshiyuki Honda, a former colleague of Kikami's and the director of the film, said, "This picture book depicts a heart that cares for others and an attitude of trying to get close to and get along with people who are different from us rather than excluding them.