The first novel won a Special Judge Award in the Kyoto Animation Award competition in 2016, and was published by the studio in December of that year.
Based on a Japanese light novel series written by Kotoko Ayano, with illustrations by Chinatsu Morimoto.
On July 18, 2019, a man named Shinji Aoba walked into the Kyoto Animation Studio 1 and doused gasoline on some employees and in the lobby. He then proceeded to yell "die" before setting the gasoline on fire, causing an explosion and engulfing the entire three story building in flames. As a result, 34 employees died on scene, while two more succumbed to their injuries at the hospital and 34 more were injured but survived. When Shinji Aoba watched episode 5 of Tsurune, he came to believe that Kyoto Animation had plagiarized some of his material from a novel he submitted to a contest that Kyoto Animation had hosted and promoted. The scene in question is when two of the main characters are buying meat at a supermarket, at a discount. On January 25, 2024 Shinji Aoba was officially sentenced to death for his crimes, however his sentencing was delayed due to him filing an appeal to overturn his death sentence. However, Shinji Aoba decided to withdraw his appeal and on January 28, 2025 his death sentence was finalized.