Regarding the official *The Witch from Mercury* Twitter account’s comment restrictions: this time, it really isn’t that the fans are being too sensitive.

No surprise. This was not a sudden loss of control, but the result of long-standing resentment. On April 3, 2026, the official account for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury closed its comment section due to ongoing attacks and inappropriate remarks. As early as March 26, the official account had already issued a warning, but a week later, shutting down comments was still the only way it could end.

On the surface, the trigger was the treatment of characters in the new project, the “Mecha Kuromi Manga.” Mio Miorine, the second female lead, was completely absent from three illustrations, while Guel Jeturk was absent from only two pages. Even more inflammatory was the belief that scenes developing the relationship between the two female leads had been removed, while parts involving Suletta and Guel were kept, directly igniting the emotions of fans in China, the U.S., Japan, and Europe.

What makes this ugly is not that the official Twitter account got attacked, but that the official explanations and actions simply do not line up. When the series began airing in October 2022, the relationship between the two female leads was clearly one of its promotional selling points. Now that the official side keeps weakening that aspect of the portrayal, fans will naturally see it as a betrayal of the early marketing rather than a mere creative adjustment.

The controversy also did not begin just this week. Based on currently available information, after the first three episodes became a hit, Bandai was accused of valuing the commercial potential and demanding that the “yuri-oriented” content be toned down while Guel’s position be elevated. By the time the second season was more than halfway through, the official side was even publicly implying that Guel was the true central figure, calling him “the guide of WFM.” That was no longer an ordinary operational mistake, but more like a continued release of misleading signals.

Why have fans become harsher and harsher in their criticism? The answer is simple. What they see is not just a problem with manga storyboards, but also imbalances in the outfits archived on the official website, the absence of important outfits for the two female leads, and the cold treatment of related spin-off content. Even after new content like SD Gundam: The Dragon God’s Priestess, which followed the marriage ending of the two female leads, was completed, the official account did not repost any updates. This kind of selective silence hurts more than a single explanation.

That said, there is no justification for attacking the official Twitter account or making inappropriate remarks. Chaotic official operations do not make any kind of attack reasonable. The problem is that the official side exhausted trust first, then cut off the feedback channel by closing comments. That may stop the bleeding, but it cannot cure the disease, and the relationship with the community will only continue to worsen.

For Bandai, this incident is a very direct reminder for the industry. Today’s anime and manga audience does not only look at setting art and mecha sales; they also track whether promotional promises, character positioning, and spin-off content remain consistent. You can change direction, but you cannot profit from a theme while pretending its core audience does not exist.

My judgment is simple. This time, the comment shutdown for The Witch from Mercury was not because a PR problem exploded first, but because trust in the content collapsed first. The comment section can be closed, but old grievances cannot. For viewers still following this IP, my advice is just as straightforward: first see whether the official follow-up content truly respects the established ending and character relationships, and then decide whether to keep investing your enthusiasm.