A Japanese man, Shinji Aoba has been sentenced to death for setting a Kyoto animation studio on fire in 2019 which killed 36 people and injured dozens more.

The incident, which was one of Japan’s deadliest in recent decades, killed mostly young artists and shocked the anime community.

The forty-five years old pleaded guilty to the attack but his lawyers had sought a lighter sentence on grounds of “mental incompetence” to which the Judges rejected, ruling that Aoba knew what he was doing.

“I have determined that the defendant was not mentally insane or weak at the time of the crime,” Chief Judge Masuda said on Thursday at Kyoto District Court.

“The death of 36 people is extremely serious and tragic. The fear and pain of the deceased victims was indescribable,” Japanese broadcaster NHK reported him saying.

Many of the animation staff and young artists died after being trapped on the upper floors of the studio as the fire spread.

Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Aoba, saying he was motivated to attack the studio after believing his work had been stolen.

In July 2019, he burst into the studio during a work day, splashing petrol on the ground floor and setting it on fire while repeatedly shouting “Drop dead”.

He later said during his guilty plea in September 2023 that he did not think so many people would die.

“I felt I had no other option but to do what I did. I feel tremendously sorry and the feeling includes a sense of guilt.”

Aoba also suffered burns to over 90% of his body in the fire, and was only arrested after he had recovered from operations.”The delusion that KyoAni Studio had plagiarised his work influenced his motivation,” prosecutors had told the court.

But they said he was not controlled by such delusions and had full capacity and understanding of his actions.

The KyoAni studio in Kyoto is known for producing films and graphic novels that are well-regarded by fans as well as critics.

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