Interest

Full Metal Panic! Creator Shoji Gatoh Apologizes For Tweet Disparaging Environmental Activist Greta Thunberg

Full Metal Panic! light novel author Shoji Gatoh apologized on Tuesday for an inflammatory tweet he wrote on Sunday about environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Gatoh's original tweet was a quote-retweet of an NHK article regarding the activities of 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg. He wrote: "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."

Gatoh has since deleted the tweet and wrote an apology: "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."

Gatoh's original tweet inspired backlash, including from those who have worked with him. Full Metal Panic! 0 ‐ZERO‐ manga artist Tetsuro Kasahara tweeted on Monday that he would not be drawing any sequel to the manga, although he has since retracted that statement following Gatoh's apology.

Full Metal Panic! illustrator Shikidouji also commented on the original tweet, initially remarking, "I feel like I just witnessed the birth of a villain who's actually a good person." On Tuesday, they followed up by tweeting, "Oh? [Thunberg] is a vegetarian? I didn't know that. Sorry for my ignorance."

Shoji Gatoh is best known as the author of Full Metal Panic!, Amagi Brilliant Park, and Cop Craft, all of which have been adapted into anime. The original Full Metal Panic! light novel series debuted in 1998, and have more than 11 million copies in print. Gatoh launched the Cop Craft novels with illustrations by Range Murata (Last Exile, Blue Submarine No. 6) in 2009. He launched the Amagi Brilliant Park series with illustrations by Yuka Nakajima (Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!/Papa Kiki!) in 2013.

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist. In September 2019, she addressed the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, calling for immediate action from world leaders to address climate change.

Source: Shoji Gatoh's Twitter account via Hachima Kikō