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On June 27, 2023, aespa’s Karina sent a message on the Bubble app addressing the controversy regarding her previously made recommendation for the hit anime, My Hero Academia. The Japanese series, although quite popular across the globe, is banned in China due to its controversial naming of the character of a scientist. The name alludes to the devastating army operation called Unit 731 during Japan’s rule over China.
After recommending the anime on June 23, the aespa member received multiple harsh messages from Chinese netizens. The comment section on her Instagram account was filled with messages asking her to apologize.
aespa’s Karina later took to Bubble to clarify her stance. She said that she was unaware of the controversy and had no ill intention when she shared her recommendation. She added that she will be more careful in the future. As per translation via Koreaboo:
“I found out that there was an issue with the anime I recommended. I think because the character’s name is different so I didn’t know that there was issues with it before. I did not recommend it with any intentions, so I hope there’s no misunderstandings. In the future, I’ll become a more careful Karina such that I can share more good information with MYs.”
What was aespa’s Karina’s anime recommendation controversy? Reason why My Hero Academia is banned in China explained
Recently, aespa’s Karina got embroiled in a controversy after she recommended a famous Japanese anime to her fans via the Bubble app. The anime in question was My Hero Academia, one of the most popular anime and manga currently. The 23-year-old’s Instagram account was found to be bombarded with comments from Chinese fans who demanded that she apologize for recommending a contentious anime.
The criticism for the recommendation from aespa’s Karina specifically arose from Chinese fans because My Hero Academia is banned in the country due to a chapter released in 2020 that revealed the real name of a seemingly mad scientist, Dr. Ujiko, as Maruta Shiga.
The term ‘maruta’ was considered offensive as it was used as a codename by Japanese soldiers during World War II where they exploited Chinese soldiers by conducting inhumane experiments on them. The operation was also called Unit 731 and these experiments on war prisoners were held throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
The manga was then re-released with a name change. However, many fans on Twitter argued that Maruta Shiga name does not appear in the anime but only in the manga. My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi had said that he “had no such intentions” of the name’s association with the horrific chapter in history.
Fans react to aespa Karina’s My Hero Academia recommendation controversy
Ever since aespa’s Karina’s Instagram account was bombarded with harsh comments, the majority of fans took it upon themselves to defend her. They put up several points of argument, such as that no other K-pop idol received a fraction of the hate that the Spicy singer got and that the name does not appear in the anime (the televised animation) but only in the manga (the comic).
Meanwhile, aespa recently gave fans a thrilling performance at the 2023 Waterbomb Festival with many of their moments at the event going viral on the internet.
