30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 7 – Favorite Animation Studio

It should surprise no-one that today’s challenge stirs up a lot of different emotions in me due to the recent attack that happened at this studio, Kyoto Animation. They were my gateway studio; they created works filled with beautiful art, wonderful characters, and touching music that gave me a sense of what anime was truly capable of. So when I read the news that an arsonist attacked one of their studios and killed over 30 people, it felt like the floor dropped out from underneath me.

I haven’t seen every show that KyoAni has produced, and I can’t claim that everything they create is an instant classic. What I can say is that they have ability to take the source material and breathe unbelievable life into the world. You can feel the passion and love of the animators coming through again and again.

It’s not even that KyoAni is a one trick pony when it comes to style and interpretation. The variety of art styles, music and themes would almost make you think they’re completely different studios. But you can always feel their touch of polish. It’s not surprising given their one of the highest praised anime studios for bucking trends and employing full time artists to ensure high quality and consistency.

The love that anime fans around the world have poured out in support of KyoAni during this entire tragedy has been amazing to see. Everything from fundraisers to artistic tributes to collected words of love have been sent it from around the world. It’s a real testament to the impact their works have had on the anime community.

It was a tragedy that so much talent was taken from the world. At the time of writing, the full motivations of the attacker still aren’t known and I wouldn’t be so disrespectful as to speculate. I only hope that KyoAni is able to recover and move forward, not just as a studio, but also as individuals (both workers and family/friends of victims).

What’s your favorite animation studio?