Despite the deaths of 35 of their veterans and bright up and comers during that horrific arson fire, Kyoto Animation is moving forward with the theatrical release of Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memories Doll. This move is a show of defiance on the studio’s part, showing the arsonist that his actions will not keep them down. And with the release of the side story film, they’re also paying tribute to the victims as well.

The anime film premieres in Japan on 6th September. And with that, they’re also planning to release all the names of those who passed away in last July’s arson fire, as well as those who were injured. They are doing so in the anime film’s end credits, which would be a fitting tribute as many of them have been working on the film prior to the attack.

It is unclear, however, if the families of some of the victims approve of having the names of the deceased announced in the film. The Kyoto Police previously faced backlash when they announced the names of the 25 remaining victims whose names were not revealed to the public. 20 of the 25 families opposed the decision of the police.

Source: Kyodo via Sora News 24