Loved by the Villains

Maybe he found it distasteful or didn't like it as much as he thought (may be even planning worse! OOO!), maybe it was the publication, maybe it was the editor. Doesn't matter who, when, what or why. Fact of the matter is that he was clearly course corrected here.

Also, unrelated note, note that Japanese backlash is worse than western backlash. Japan is a place where people and companies live and die by their reputation. Celebrities, companies and even manga authors have been completely ruined over their reputations. They're not twitter. They will actively come after you. Physically and online. Not saying that it happened to him, genuinely don't think this would be enough to push people that far, but I feel like people underplay how backlash is different there and that backlash isn't just people shouting online.