Jul 19 (Japan Today) - It may not be as famous as Japanese anime legend Studio Ghibli, but Kyoto Animation has many core fans and is known as a team of skilled animators that provides top-quality work for others and can produce its own hits, such as "Lucky Star," ''K-On!" and the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series.
The company hit by a deadly fire on Thursday, which left 33 people dead, also has a unique founding history.
The company was started in 1981 by a former animator who recruited housewives from her neighborhood in Uji city south of Kyoto, where she married and moved from Tokyo, the center of the animation industry.
Yoko Hatta previously had worked at Mushi Production, a studio for the works of anime legend Osamu Tezuka, who created Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion.
The company better known as KyoAni doesn't have a major presence in Japan but has won gradual recognition while providing secondary animation work for major productions. Their work included a 1998 "Pokemon" feature that appeared in U.S. theaters and a "Winnie the Pooh" video.
While providing work for top artists, the company has been able to make and feature its own stories in Japanese TV anime and comic series. Some of its mega-hits include "Lucky Star" in 2008, "K-On!" in 2011 and "Haruhi Suzumiya" in 2009. The company was preparing for a planned release of a new feature animation film "Violet Evergarden," a story of a woman who professionally writes letters for clients.
Places featured in the hit animation stories have become pilgrimage destinations for anime fans.
Among them is Washinoniya Jinja, a shrine in Saitama prefecture just north of Tokyo, a scene in the TV animation series "Lucky Star," or "Raki Suta," based on comics by Kagami Yoshimizu.
Years after the TV animation ended, the area still attracts fans of Raki Suta girls, with goods featuring the characters sold at its neighborhood stores, and a portable shrine decorated with the anime characters appearing at an annual festival in September.
