“Full Metal Panic!” Creator Shoji Gatoh Apologizes Over “Disrespectful” Tweet Towards Greta Thunberg

A tweet last Sunday by Full Metal Panic! creator Shoji Gatoh on environmental activist Greta Thunberg caused quite a stir in the Japanese Twitterverse. His original tweet, which has since been deleted, was a retweet of an NHK article detailing the activities of the 16 year-old environmental activist. Gatoh added the following comments to his retweet:

“I dislike this girl. If I ruled the world from the shadows, I would take everything from her and sneer at her when she hits rock bottom. Then I’d make her eat a delicious, piping hot steak and watch the tears of frustration on her face. I really want to see it.”

His comments received backlash from the public as well as from people he has worked with in Full Metal Panic!. Full Metal Panic! 0 ‐ ZERO ‐ manga artist Tetsuro Kasahara tweeted on Monday that he will no longer be drawing a sequel to the manga.

Last Tuesday, Gatoh posted an apology on Twitter and has already deleted the offending tweet. His apology translates as thus:

“Yeah, it was a horrible thing to say about an underage girl. I’ve reflected on what I’ve done, and I’ll delete the tweet. In the meantime, I’ll take a break from Twitter. I apologize for causing discomfort to so many people with my disrespectful conduct.”

After his apology, Kasahara retracted his statement that he will not work on the Full Metal Panic! 0 ‐ ZERO ‐ sequel.

Besides Full Metal Panic!, Shoji Gatoh is also known as the author of Amagi Brilliant Park and Cop Craft, all of which have been adapted into anime by Gonzo Digimation, Kyoto Animation and Millepensee, respectively. The original Full Metal Panic! light novel series debuted in 1998 and was adapted into an anime series in 2002.

Source: Anime News Network