reactionary weebs that scared the studio enough to retroactively claim that the finale of the Witch From Mercury was about "exchanging friendship rings."

Nah I'm pretty sure the studio didn't give a fuck and it was the boomer execs at Bandai Namco who issued the statement. Iirc a few of the artists at the studio got together and sold a tasteful fanbook celebrating the love between Suletta and Minorine, so I doubt anyone at the studio was under the illusion that they were anything but bi.