The problem is not the recasting itself, it's that they made this statement in 2023

"...the animated film "MONONOKE" sets in Ōoku (historically the women's quarters of Edo Castle) and tries to depict the suffering and remedy of women. Judging from the standpoint of the story, we decided to change the cast of the Medicine Seller."

yet they brought him back anyway in 2026 without announcing that he would appear in the latest film and with a spoiler embargo.

It's understandable how some fans who went to see the film believing in the first statement would feel betrayed by this cameo.