Bandai Namco Apology for Gundam Drama Backfires

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury has made its mark on old fans and newcomers to the long-running saga. Lately, though, the anime has set online discourse alight for entirely different reasons. Amid vocal Gundam drama, Bandai Namco released an apology on the show’s official website on July 30, 2023, which was reiterated by Gundam Ace publisher Kadokawa. Rather than reassuring audiences, however, this has stirred more confusion, particularly over Suletta and Miorine’s relationship.

月刊ガンダムエース2023年9月号掲載『機動戦士ガンダム 水星の魔女』インタビュー記事についてのお詫び pic.twitter.com/NuwlWjmWl8

— ガンダムエース (@gundam_ace1) July 30, 2023

What Happened?

Namco Bandai’s public apology came out in the wake of controversial editorial differences between the digital and printed version of Gundam Ace‘s September 2023 issue, which notably omitted any mention of a marriage between leads Suletta Mercury and Miorine Rembran from an interview with Japanese seiyuu Kana Ichinose, who confirmed that the heroines are a couple in the anime’s epilogue. Something that fans had already strongly suspected from the various hints in the show itself. As explained in the post:

In the article in question, there was a sentence based on speculation by the Gundam Ace editor. The revision was not reflected in the piece, despite our request for correction during proofreading, and it was not completed, resulting in its release on July 26.

What happened next, however, sparked confusion, if not outrage, online the moment it was translated. As stated immediately afterward:

We would like to leave the story to the interpretation of everyone who has viewed it and would like you to enjoy the work. After consulting with the Gundam Ace editorial staff, the descriptions in the electronic version that could be corrected were corrected as initially requested and are now being distributed. (emphasis added)

The Ensuing Drama

While the hashtag “#スレミオ結婚” (“Sulemio Marriage”) had already been trending among Japanese fans, both in support of the confirmation and criticizing the Gundam Ace censorship, social media went into an uproar almost from the moment Bandai Namco’s apology went live. Many proceeded to mock the framing of Suletta and Miorine’s relationship as “up to interpretation,” seemingly reflecting out-of-touch corporate executives oblivious to what the animators at Sunrise had put in.

Others, primarily fans and commentators from the West, went further. It wasn’t long before outlets like Gizmodo presented the apology in a worse light, as though Namco Bandai had de-canonized the relationship. The Gamer, in particular, went so far as to accuse this move of harmfully erasing queer representation and enabling “homophobic viewers to depict these characters as straight or in a heteronormative relationship with other characters free from criticism.” Accusations of homophobia on the part of the studio, executives, and even Japan itself soon came to light from vocal activists, as were the inevitable backlashes from their ideological foes. At least within Western online circles, the culture wars were back in the open.

Even with a charitable reading of the apology, it’s not difficult to see this as noncommittal backpedaling from Namco Bandai’s higher-ups. That said, as botched as those remarks were, you can’t help but notice how those vocal reactions may not have only blown these up disproportionately. Whether out of resentment, clickbait, or outrage, this risks tarnishing what until recently had been an almost stellar success.

That isn’t to say that cooler heads aren’t prevailing, even if it’s not immediately clear as of this post. Whatever happens next, let’s hope that the anime’s legacy and the fans it helped bring into the Gundam saga hold firm. In the meantime, feel free to check out the upcoming LookUp figurines for both Suletta and Miorine, courtesy of J-List.