Relatives and former colleagues of the people who died in the 2019 arson attack on the Kyoto Animation Co. studio are still haunted by profound feelings of grief and loss.
Shinji Aoba, 43, has been indicted on murder and four other charges in connection with the attack, which killed 36 people and injured 32.
"Rather than feeling hatred for him, now I want to know why he did this," said Kyozo Takahashi, 78. Takahashi's son, Hiroyuki, was 48 when he died in the fire. Hiroyuki was in charge of drawing machines and other elements at Kyoto Animation.
Hiroyuki was working on the third floor at the time of the attack, and was found lying on a staircase leading to the roof. Takahashi said he can't get certain thoughts out of his head when he closes his eyes at night: "I think, if only the door to the rooftop had been open, he might have survived, or if only someone had noticed the man, things might have been ..."
Tatsuo Kamiuto of Osaka used to work at Kyoto Animation. "Not a day goes by that I don't think of my colleagues. Time doesn't solve anything," said Kamiuto, 57. He said he could not watch the movie the company made after the incident, thinking about how the victims might have wanted to be part of its production.
About 40% of Kyoto Animation's 176 employees were involved in the incident, but the number of the employees has since grown to about 180. The company is striving to rebuild itself, and the production of new films is underway.
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