KYODO NEWS - Jul 31, 2019 - 11:55 | Arts, All, Japan

Arson-hit Kyoto Animation Co. has decided to release its new film in September as scheduled, with many fans welcoming the move and voicing support for the company, which lost dozens of its production staff in the attack earlier this month.

"Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jido Shuki Ningyo," a spin-off of the Violet Evergarden anime, will be screened at 73 theaters nationwide from Sept. 6 to 26, the film's official Twitter account said in a post Saturday. The film's title translates as "Violet Evergarden Side Story: Eternity and the Auto Memories Doll."

The post, which noted the screening period has been extended to three weeks from the initially planned two weeks, had been retweeted about 80,000 times by Wednesday morning, with more than 1,000 users commenting on it.

"Honestly, I thought the side story release would be postponed. Thank you so much!" read one comment, while another said, "I will go see it for sure."

The company's studio in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward, the center of its anime production, was set ablaze on July 18 after Shinji Aoba, 41, allegedly splashed and ignited gasoline inside the three-story building, killing 35 people and injuring dozens of others.

With its computers and documents for ongoing projects lost in the fire, the releases of "Violet Evergarden: The Movie" in January and "Free!" next summer have been feared to be postponed.

Violet Evergarden stories center around a girl, a former solider, who learns love and acquires emotions by writing letters for others.

They are based on a novel written by Kana Akatsuki under the same title, which won the company's Kyoto Animation Award in 2014. A TV animation series was aired in 2018.

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