On Thursday morning, a fire broke out at the No.1 Studio for Kyoto Animation, an anime production company in Kyoto, Japan, killing over thirty-three people and injuring dozens more. According to the Kyoto police, the fire is being investigated as an arson attack, which would define it as Japan’s largest mass killing since 2001.
See also: Kyoto Animation Fire Claims 33 Lives And Leaves A Nation In Shock
Following the horrific news, anime fans around the world are reeling in the aftermath of this tragedy. KyoAni, as fans call the studio for short, is a fixture of the Japanese anime industry, producing dozens of influential and highly-regarded works. Here are some highlights about the studio that help to explain its international impact on the entertainment industry.
1) A progressive work environment
Kyoto Animation was founded in 1981 by Yoko Hatta with the help of her husband, Hideaki. With Yoko serving as vice president and Hideaki as president, the pair still oversee the studio today. According to Kevin Cirugeda of Sakuga Blog, Yoko, a former artist for Mushi Production, moved to Kyoto after she got married and enlisted neighborhood housewives to join her at a new anime venture that would eventually become Kyoto Animation.
Since those humble beginnings, Kyoto Animation has earned a reputation for hiring more women—and promoting them to more prestigious roles—than other anime studios. In addition to this gender parity, KyoAni is famous for its progressive, worker-friendly environment in an industry where animators are frequently overworked and underpaid. While Japanese animators generally make a pittance, even at famous places like Studio Ghibli, Kyoto Animation pays their workers on salary. In an industry where most animators are contractors with few benefits, KyoAni is one of the few that offers perks like maternity leave. The studio’s worker treatment is a beacon in an industry that often burns out animators, showing that fair employment practices and commercial success aren’t at odds after all.
2) High-quality production
The output of Kyoto Animation suggests that when animators are paid on salary, and not by how many frames they can produce as quickly as possible, the animation quality improves. Fans regard KyoAni as a unique gem in an industry full of animation shortcuts, thanks to its proclivity for fluid action sequences, painterly backdrops, and beautiful character designs.
Hallmarks of the studio’s quality can be found in the details of its work. The shimmering, individual strands of Violet’s hair in Violet Evergarden. The unique sound effect for each archer’s bowstring in Tsurune. The surprisingly soulful portrayal of a girls’ light music club in K-On!.
Part of the reason Kyoto Animation is able to provide a consistently high level of quality is that it trains animators in house, rather than leaving them to fend for themselves. Staff members teach at the Kyoto Animation School in order to cultivate new talent at the studio. While KyoAni animators have varying styles, they all follow the same fundamental basics.
3) A unique style and voice
KyoAni released its first TV anime, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu!, in 2003. Since then, the company has slowly refined its art and animation style to portray an airy, light-filled style that elevates even its most casual, every-day stories. Viewers can look to KyoAni anime to show, not tell us about characters’ emotional states in subtle ways—a set jaw, a clenched fist, a character nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.
It’s this storytelling that defines the studio’s trademark style and makes KyoAni’s body of work so special. As Nick Creamer writes of KyoAni classic K-On! for Anime News Network, “Characters aren’t characterized through big speeches or dramatic ‘lessons learned’ – they’re made real by small details of consistent body language.” Everything from a key shift in the soundtrack to a camera close-up on a character’s changing facial expression adds to the story in a way pure dialogue wouldn’t deliver.
4) An internationally successful feature film
It is no coincidence that a studio whose animation style focuses on characters’ nonverbal communication is behind an international hit centered around hearing impairment. A Silent Voice tells the story of Shoya, a teenager who tries to make amends to former classmate Shoko, who he bullied mercilessly in elementary school simply because she is deaf. Directed by KyoAni star Naoko Yamada, the film skillfully tackles serious social issues like disability, bullying, and suicide to humanize its characters and drive a visceral, emotional reaction.
The impact of A Silent Voice was immediate. In 2016, the film opened at #2 at the Japanese box office, eventually earning $20 million in Japan and $33 million internationally. Gorgeous visuals, consistently fluid animation, and a powerhouse soundtrack worked together to make this film an instant anime classic. Continuing up to today, fans make pilgrimages to the cities of Ogaki and Yoro to see A Silent Voice’s real-life settings, in particular, the bridge that serves as the backdrop to some of the film’s most pivotal scenes.
5) An enduring body of work
A Silent Voice is only one of the modern masterpieces that make Kyoto Animation so beloved by its fans. For 16 years, KyoAni staff has been pouring their energy into a steadily growing output of beloved TV shows and films.
To commemorate the studio and see why fans are so devoted to its creations, here is an incomplete list of streaming services where you can watch some of the KyoAni classics today:
- Netflix: Violet Evergarden, A Silent Voice.
- Prime Video: Nichijou – My Ordinary Life, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
- Crunchyroll: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Free!, Tsurune.
- Funimation: Lucky Star, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu.
- Hulu: K-On!, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions.
For a more thorough list, check IndieWire’s KyoAni roundup.
Even in the most outlandish scenarios, these shows have stories that shine brightest in the moments they portray the commonplace, the relatable everyday moments that make characters come alive. It’s this lasting impact that will ensure that KyoAni’s legacy is strong enough to rise about any tragedy to continue bringing moments of joy to anime viewers.
