Danica Davidson
January 28, 2025 
Shinji Aoba, who murdered people at Kyoto Animation in an arson attack, was given the death penalty in 2024, and he and his lawyers appealed the ruling. Aoba admitted that he had committed the crime, but his defense had tried to get him a lesser sentence by contending he was mentally unfit and delusional. However, the Osaka High Court just said that Aoba dropped his appeal to save his life. In other words, there’s not going to be another trial about his sentence, and he will now definitely receive the death penalty.
It’s not clear why Aoba chose to do this. An attorney spokesperson for Kyoto Animation only remarked that the studio won’t give an official comment until the “situation has been settled.”
Aoba said that he committed the arson because he believed that Kyoto Animation had stolen from his novel. 70 people were inside the studio’s building when he approached on July 18, 2019, carrying gasoline. By the time everything was over, he had murdered 36 studio employees and injured another 32. It’s considered one of the worst mass murders in Japan’s history.
Both because of the nature of the crime and Kyoto Animation’s successful titles like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and K-On!, the case has gotten international attention.
Many — but not all — of the families of the victims were supportive of Aoba receiving the death penalty. Aoba has mostly been aloof about the people he killed, though he expressed that he felt sorry at one point near the end of the trial.
One family member of a victim questioned, “Is it [Aoba’s dropping of his appeal] his way of showing an apology?”
Another family member who lost his 21-year-old granddaughter in the arson commented, “I was uncertain about the future and worried about how long this was going to last. It still doesn’t feel satisfying, but there’s some sense of relief.”
Source: Kyodo News
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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