Bandai Namco Holdings announced that the Gundam franchise made 131 billion JPY in its 2023 fiscal year. This is a a record-breaking amount of profits for the series. Masaru Kawaguchi, the president of Bandai Namco Holdings, specifically cited The Witch From Mercury for revitalizing interest in the series. [Thanks, ANN!]
For reference, 131 billion JPY would equate to around $944 million. Much of these profits came from Gunpla sales, which fits the trend that started in FY2020. Of these Gunpla, the Aerial is one of the most popular models. This fits with the high interest in The Witch From Mercury. In the previous fiscal year, Bandai Namco Holdings made 101.7 billion JPY. So there is a difference of about 30 billion JPY.
The Witch From Mercury attracted many new fans to the Gundam franchise, according to a March 2023 newsletter from Bandai Namco. Most of these new fans are young people and women. Their interest in The Witch From Mercury compared to other Gundam series could be due to the two main leads being female characters. Many fans have noticed the similarities between The Witch From Mercury and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Coincidentally or not, The Witch From Mercury‘s writer penned the light novels for Revolutionary Girl Utena as well.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury is available on streaming services such as Crunchyroll. Other IPs that have generated substantial profits for Bandai Namco include Dragon Ball, One Piece, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.
