aespa’s Karina Clarifies Anime Recommendation Controversy: “Unaware of the Issue, Hope There’s No Misunderstanding”

On June 27th, Karina addressed the controversy surrounding her recommended anime.

Through the paid messaging app Bubble, Karina said, “I found out late that there was an issue with the anime I recommended. I didn’t know about any previous issues because the character’s name was different.”

Karina added, “There was absolutely no intention behind my recommendation, and I hope there is no misunderstanding.“

Previously, through a Bubble conversation with fans, Karina recommended numerous anime such as “My Hero Academia,” “The Promised Neverland,” “Assassination Classroom,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime,” “Haikyuu!!,” “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.,” “Kakegurui,” “Demon Slayer,” “Spy x Family,” “Attack on Titan,” and more.

However, the anime Karina mentioned first, “My Hero Academia,” had a character named Maruta, the root of the controversy. 

The character’s name originated from a euphemism used by the villainous Dr. Daruma Ujiko, which referred to the human subjects of Unit 731’s human experimentation, causing significant controversy. 

As the situation escalated, the anime production side eventually issued an apology and made modifications to the controversial content. 

In order to rectify the situation before misunderstandings escalated, Karina clarified, “I will become a more cautious Karina in the future, so that I can share good information with MYs (aespa’s fandom).”

aespa, currently on a world tour, will hold concerts at Thunder Dome in Bangkok, Thailand on July 29-30 for two days. Recently, they also gained global attention by participating in “The Governors Ball Music Festival 2023.”

Source: Nate