Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury is the most recent mainline release in the Mobile Suit Gundam anime franchise and it is quite a popular one. The Witch From Mercury is filled with the spectacle of the “realistic-robot” genre and boasts record-breaking sales of Gundam’s iconic plastic models. But this new installment is different from others in one key way: it contains the series’ first lead female protagonists. What’s more, these two are a married couple, Suletta Mercury (left) and Miorine Rembran (right). Mobile Suit Gundam has been running for over 40 years and it has always been filled with plenty of gay subtext. But now, for some reason, Bandai Namco Filmworks is repealing their statements regarding their new canonically gay couple. So what is actually going on?

A monthly issue of Gundam Ace, a magazine regarding the latest Gundam news, included an interview with the voice actors of the animated couple. In the September print issue of the magazine, the voice actor for Suletta, Kana Ichinose, was discussing her character’s relationship with Miorine. In this interview, she spoke of the characters’ relationship as a “married couple”. But when the magazine was made available for purchase as an online render, fans noticed changes within her conversation. Ichinose’s mention of marriage had suddenly disappeared. Immediately bombarded with social media backlash, Bandai quickly released a public statement. (Translated from Japanese using Google Translate, exact wording may be incorrect)

Rather than embracing the two’s explicit relationship, Bandai explains that a Gundam Ace editor had altered Ichinose’s words, which did not truly represent what she had said. Doubling down, they say that it was merely the “speculation” or interpretation of the editor. Unfortunately, we do not have Ichinose’s confirmation on this topic but past interviews show her as very supportive of the openly gay relationship between Miorine and Suletta.

So, is it correct to say that Suletta and Miorine’s relationship was meant to be ‘up to interpretation’? Absolutely not. Within the first episode, Suletta and Miorine are engaged. Due to laws within the anime, they are not immediately allowed to marry. Suletta must then fend her title as a groom from others who may try and take it through plot-related escapades. Eventually, the two go on to be married in the series finale. While the wedding is not shown, both are wearing rings in the ending sequence. Suletta’s sister has even called Miorine her step-sister, further cementing the fact they are related by law. Disregarding almost all of their chemistry within the show, these moments alone should prove that they are romantically involved. 

According to Bandai’s financial report for 2023, Mobile Suit Gundam brought in 101.7 billion yen. (roughly equivalent to 700 million U.S. dollars). The success of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury is no doubt the reason for the IP’s largest profits it has ever seen in its 40+ year run. And yet, even after such a success for the franchise, Bandai believes it is appropriate to discredit the protagonist's relationship. With profits so high, you’d expect the company to fully embrace all aspects of the show. Unfortunately, due to a variety of external pressures, they’re still unable to accept the couple that they greenlit for the screen. 

LGBT+ representation in media has become more prevalent than ever with new minor TV shows coming out left and right featuring worthwhile non-straight relationships. For such a longstanding IP like Mobile Suit Gundam to greenlight a queer couple is a very large step forward in normalizing and accepting queer relationships. But with Bandai’s most recent statement, it seems as if the company is not quite ready to take such a leap. Fortunately for the fans though, even if  Bandai tries to take away the show’s queer representation, their efforts will never be able to undermine the show’s intention. The writers of the show themselves know the true development of Suletta’s and Miorine’s relationship, and to them, it is quite obvious to the real audience as well.

Sources:

https://twitter.com/G_Witch_M/status/1685628114125340672

https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/ir/financialstatements/pdf/en_20230510_Complement2.pdf