Petition to Revive the Sexy Wolf Man Character Gains Over 300,000 Supporters

Inside the Love and Deepspace fandom, there’s a fierce debate brewing: one side wants the recently announced (and quickly canceled) furry wolfman, Valko, to stay gone, while the other has rallied over 300,000 signatures in a passionate push to bring him back.

Valko, a tech CEO werewolf—yes, the actual kind, not just a metaphor—was introduced for the popular gacha romance game Love and Deepspace at the end of last month. If you’re not in the loop, this game is a massive hit, boasting over 80 million unique downloads, making it one of the most successful mobile games out there.

Originally, Valko was set to be the sixth charming character added to the roster, but those plans were scrapped by the developers after a mixed reception online. Some fans were frustrated that the spotlight was shifting away from the five existing heartthrobs, while others simply didn’t vibe with Valko and accused the developers of pandering to Western tastes. There were even reports of someone sending cow dung to the devs’ headquarters.

At Anime Expo, the absence of the wolf boy was definitely felt.

However, an unexpected twist occurred after the announcement of Valko’s cancellation: he began to gain a following. As of now, the two main petitions advocating for his return have gathered over 310,000 signatures, with the Change.org petition alone surpassing 91,000. For context, the largest petition against Sony’s plan to go fully digital by 2028 has only garnered 75,000 votes.

From an outsider’s viewpoint, it seems that Valko’s removal has ironically fueled his popularity. Posts on the r/LoveAndDeepspace subreddit suggest that the drama surrounding his cancellation has drawn more fans to him.

That said, with Papergames pulling “Valko’s Interactive Sessions” from the Anime Expo event this weekend, it appears the developers are firm in their decision. Still, over 300,000 signatures in just four days is a significant number to overlook. The iPetitions Valko petition is among the most-signed in the site’s history, and if you sort petitions by recent signature volume, Valko holds all four top spots. If only PlayStation discs were as appealing as sexy wolf men, we might have a chance at swaying Sony to reconsider its all-digital future.