Kyoto Animation has announced the permanent closure of its Kyoani&DoShop! physical merchandise store. The shop had been temporarily closed since late 2019, following the arson attack that occurred in July that year.

“It was a tough decision for us to close the space where many fans and friends had given us sincere, warm thoughts and sympathy,” a KyoAni post says. “We now have more staffs joined, shared with the same vision. Therefore, we determined to reconstruct the store space into a workplace to provide more sufficient work and meet the fans’ requests. We truly appreciate your kind understanding.”

Kyoani Shop! Online will continue to operate, althought KyoAni notes that the International Kyoani Shop! online store “is still suspended due to the COVID-19 measures.”

The arson attack on KyoAni saw 36 dead and 32 injured. The suspect was indicted in December 2020 and was allowed a second round of psychiatric evaluations in October 2021 to determine his criminal liability.

Source: Kyoto Animation website