Anguish is mounting among the relatives of Kyoto Animation Co. staff members yet to be accounted for after a fire at one of the company's buildings in Kyoto on Thursday. The Kyoto prefectural police are yet to confirm details of all the victims.
Director Yasuhiro Takemoto, 47, who worked on popular films produced by the studio, is one of those yet to be accounted for.
Takemoto directed anime drama "Lucky Star" (2007) and movie "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" (2010).
"I've cried and cried. I'm exhausted from crying," Takemoto's father told The Yomiuri Shimbun at his house in Ako, Hyogo Prefecture, on Monday.
Ako-native Takemoto graduated from an anime school in Osaka Prefecture before joining Kyoto Animation. In a past magazine interview, he said that he decided to pursue a career in the anime industry after watching Hayao Miyazaki's "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" (1986).
Takemoto's father learned about the fire in news reports on the day of the incident, in which 34 people have been confirmed dead and 34 injured. He immediately called his son's cell phone but could not reach him. Later, the police asked Takemoto's father to cooperate with a DNA test to help identify the victims.
His father said his director son would send him a pair of tickets whenever one of his movies was released. "It's a case of a kite breeding a hawk. I can't believe he's my son. I want to turn back time," his father said.
Takemoto's works "Lucky Star" and "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" triggered a boom of "anime pilgrimages," with fans visiting locations linked to anime works.
Many fans have posted messages on Twitter praying for his safety. "When I got his autograph, I said to him '[Your work] made my life happy.' He then replied, 'I'll continue working hard to keep making your life happy.' I only hope that he's safe," read one such Tweet.
"I feel pain in my chest as [his anime shows] saved me" and "I feel helpless. Director Takemoto, please be safe," were among other messages, some of which were posted in English and French, among other foreign languages.
Voice of Haruhi posts message
Voice actor Aya Hirano, 31, who featured in "Lucky Star" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" updated her blog on Monday for the first time since the incident.
"I've bottled up my feelings. I'm devastated but we can't let the tragedy keep us down," she said.
Hirano played the part of the protagonist in "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya." "I wouldn't be the person I am now if I hadn't encountered [the studio's] work."
Hirano recalled the family atmosphere among staff members of Kyoto Animation.
"Anime is a representative aspect of Japanese culture. It's essential that we don't allow such a shockingly malicious act to destroy this culture and art."
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