In many cases, when a company does something wrong, it issues a statement apologizing to its fans for the mistake made. However, today’s case is one of the strangest and most different apologies I’ve ever seen: Aniplex apologized for celebrating Kyoko Sakura’s birthday.
Kyoko’s Birthday is Canceled by Aniplex
Kyoko Sakura is one of the 5 main characters in the 2011 anime, Madoka Mágica, which will have a new film released next year, it seems. As one of the protagonists, Aniplex celebrated her birthday on its official Twitter account, but soon afterwards published an apology to her fans!
In the statement, they say:
“On May 9, Aniplex of America accidentally wished “happy birthday” to Kyoko Sakura from the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica when she doesn’t have an official birthday. We sincerely apologize for all the confusion this has caused. Thank you for your support and love for Kyoko Sakura and the Madoka Magica series.”
Some fans of the Madoka Magica series reacted to Kyoko’s birthday being canceled by Aniplex in several ways:
“Kyoko deserves a birthday”
“I hope Kyoko has an amazing birthday whenever it is.”
“Give her a birthday”
“Happy non-birthday Kyoko”
“It takes a great man to forgive and today I am a great man”
“We will not forgive you”
Celebrating the birthdays of beloved characters allows fans to celebrate the milestones with fanart, cosplay and merchandise on social media. Furthermore, the companies themselves take the opportunity to capitalize on their characters’ birthdays. Take, for example, Re:Zero, which holds two annual events, one in February celebrating the Rem and Ram’s birthdayand another event in September celebrating the Emilia’s birthday.
However, among the girls in Madoka Magica, only Madoka had her official birthday confirmed, taking place on October 3rd. The other 4 girls do not have official birthdays, but fans have set dates for them.
As chosen by fans, Mami’s birthday is on June 5th, Sayaka on September 20th, Homura on July 3rd and Kyoko on May 9th. However, these dates were determined by fans and are not official.
What do you think of this case?
