I watched Pacific Rim last night and oh man was it all sorts of AWESOME! I don’t know if it’s just me and my fascination for stuff like that–robots, monsters and apocalyptic settings–but I can say without a doubt that it was the best movie I’ve seen in a long while.
Guillermo Del Toro, the supremely brilliant director of the film, said that it was a homage to monster films he watched in his youth like Godzilla. But I think it drew inspiration from many other titles, including Neon Genesis Evangelion–the iconic mecha anime series notable for its cool robots and serious contemplations of human existence. There’s just no way Pacific Rim’s Mako Mori isn’t an homage to Evangelion’s Rei Ayanami. They’re both Japanese pilots of giant robots and their hair looks the same. Mako’s hair even has blue highlights, which, to me, is Del Toro’s obvious hat tip to Rei’s character design.
Well, I’ve always loved Rei Ayanami’s design. I used to draw her all the time back when I was still into drawing anime and manga. Watching Pacific Rim launched me into a Mako Mori drawing frenzy because she looks so much like Rei. The drawing above was quickly drawn on my iPad using the Tayasui Sketches app while the sketch below took a much longer time to draw on my sketchbook.
Hope you guys like both! And watch Pacific Rim–you’ll have a great time! 🙂
FRUSTRASHOW 
Wow, these are fantastic!
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Thanks, Chris! 🙂
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Just watched Pacific Rim – amazing! And yes, Mako is undoubtedly a reference to Rei’s character. Not only are there many similarities in appearance, but their personalities are also very similar, and both share a traumatic past (although the source of that trauma is different). I was thinking this exact same thing and had to run a google search to see if anyone else had picked up on it too!
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Yeah their personalities are kind of the same but Rei’s much more silent and she rarely smiles! They both have a magnetic aura, though. Pacific Rim can even do a spin-off about Mako Mori and I’ll still gladly watch it. Thanks for commenting! 🙂
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Mako is way better looking than Rei. Rei almost looked like a boy in comparison. No, this woman is that sharp-edged Asian beauty I think most directors would want to see more often:P She reminds me a bit of Akima from Titan A.E. Sketchy but effective. Nice work.
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Thank you! Del Toro should really do a sequel. Mako Mori is so awesome I even read a feminist blog that loves the character. =))
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I did not see the movie because I thought it was obviously anime-driven by series like Godannar (which was what sprung to mind when I saw the commercials). I heard it did well with that audience but no one else. It did better overseas where such stories are commonly made AS anime. Which is why they ARE bound to make a sequel as they did with “Kick-Ass”. It seems Americans are now making movies for foreign audiences to compete with the anime flooding American youth shores.
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I don’t understand why it didn’t make big money in the US because it was a great action/sci-fi movie with enough plot and charm to entertain til the end. I thought it was better than many of the superhero flicks Hollywood churns out in bunches. I do hope they make a sequel if only so I could see Mako again.
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You’d think with all of the anime fans taking over the cartoon market that once was dominated by local artists like Hanna-Barbara, Sunbow and Rankin-Bass that the movie would have done better. But, I think it’s because of the excess of these stories from overseas…starting with Godzilla before there ever were giant robots with people inside to fight monsters…that it didn’t succeed.
Granted, I am interested in seeing animation transfer over to live action. However, certain CG aspects of the recent GIJoe films did not impress me. Instead, they turned me off. It would help if movie makers could remain loyal to the original material.
I think part of the movie’s failure might come from advertising. A poor movie can sell plenty of tickets with a great commercial. I’ve been duped a few times. But, a trailer or commercial that sullies or exposes too much too soon can spoil its chances.
Yes, I liked how the giant robots initially looked and, of course, smiled at the sight of this Mako. But, there wasn’t enough to interest me further. I yawned at the battle armor and gym training with bo staffs. And, the cheesy dialogue between those two guys out on the balcony didn’t help.
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Bonus on the japanese dub – Mako Mori is voiced BY Rei Ayanami [Megumi Hayashibara]!
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Really? Wow that’s awesome!
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