Movie
Description
Makinami Mari Illustrious is a fictional character introduced in the 2009 film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, the second installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion film series. She is an Eva pilot and a third-party operative with no counterpart in the original Neon Genesis Evangelion television series. Of British and Japanese heritage, Mari is a teenage girl with long brunette hair typically worn in twin tails and distinctive red glasses due to poor eyesight. Her plugsuit colors change across the film: she first wears a green-and-white suit custom for Evangelion Unit-05, and later a pink suit with white trim when piloting Unit-02.
Mari’s background is deliberately left unclear within the film. She originally serves the European branch of NERV, piloting the provisional Evangelion Unit-05 from Bethany Base. Her first appearance shows her sortieing to intercept the rogue Third Angel, which is attempting to escape the base. After a fierce battle, she forces Unit-05 into a semi-berserk state to crush the Angel’s core, then ejects just before the Eva self-destructs. She later parachutes into Japan covertly, landing on Shinji Ikari on the school roof, and identifies him as a pilot by sniffing for the smell of LCL. She tells him not to mention their encounter and leaves. At the film’s climax, she commandeers Evangelion Unit-02 with outside assistance to fight the powerful Angel Zeruel, activating Unit-02’s Beast Mode in a desperate, aggressive assault.
Personality-wise, Mari stands apart from the other pilots. She is consistently shown as energetic, cheerful, and carefree, often humming or singing to herself during battle. Unlike Shinji, Rei, or Asuka, she openly admits that she enjoys piloting an Eva, and she seems to have a peculiar fondness for the smell of LCL. Her behavior can be uninhibited and playful, yet this masks a thoughtful and clever mind. She demonstrates a keen awareness of the Evangelions’ sentient nature, addressing them with compassion and even whispering goodbye to Unit-05 after its destruction. In combat, she is extremely aggressive and bold, favoring head-on charges over cautious tactics. Despite her relative inexperience, she pilots with a skill level comparable to Asuka’s, and she shows intimate knowledge of the Eva systems, as seen when she triggers Beast Mode.
Mari’s motivations in Evangelion: 2.0 remain largely enigmatic. She appears to operate for an unknown third party rather than strictly for NERV, and she is acquainted with Ryoji Kaji, suggesting she has her own agenda. Her actions serve as a wild card that disrupts the established pilot dynamics, providing essential backup when Asuka is incapacitated.
Her key relationships within this film are limited but significant. She has a brief, memorable encounter with Shinji Ikari, whom she playfully calls “Nerv’s Puppy” due to his LCL scent. She interacts off-screen with Kaji, who seems to facilitate her deployment. She does not directly engage with Asuka or Rei in this installment, though later films develop a teasing rivalry with Asuka.
Mari’s role in the story is both practical and symbolic. Practically, she eliminates the Third Angel, sets the stage for the later escalation by introducing new piloting capabilities, and provides the force needed to stall Zeruel while Shinji resolves his personal crisis. Symbolically, she injects a sense of joy and spontaneity into a narrative dominated by trauma and hesitation, representing an alternative, more liberated approach to being an Eva pilot.
Notable abilities include expert piloting, especially in high-risk situations; the capacity to force synchronize with an Eva’s cybernetic limbs; the activation of Beast Mode, which induces a controlled berserk state that greatly increases power at the cost of control; and a tactical mind that adapts quickly when standard tactics fail. She also displays a surprising emotional resilience, bidding farewell to her Eva as though it were a living companion.
Development within Evangelion: 2.0 is minimal but foundational. She begins as a mysterious operative, demonstrates her competence and distinct personality, and leaves the film as a pivotal catalyst for the climax. Her true origins, allegiances, and deeper motivations remain unexplored in this entry, setting up revelations in later installments of the Rebuild series.
Mari’s background is deliberately left unclear within the film. She originally serves the European branch of NERV, piloting the provisional Evangelion Unit-05 from Bethany Base. Her first appearance shows her sortieing to intercept the rogue Third Angel, which is attempting to escape the base. After a fierce battle, she forces Unit-05 into a semi-berserk state to crush the Angel’s core, then ejects just before the Eva self-destructs. She later parachutes into Japan covertly, landing on Shinji Ikari on the school roof, and identifies him as a pilot by sniffing for the smell of LCL. She tells him not to mention their encounter and leaves. At the film’s climax, she commandeers Evangelion Unit-02 with outside assistance to fight the powerful Angel Zeruel, activating Unit-02’s Beast Mode in a desperate, aggressive assault.
Personality-wise, Mari stands apart from the other pilots. She is consistently shown as energetic, cheerful, and carefree, often humming or singing to herself during battle. Unlike Shinji, Rei, or Asuka, she openly admits that she enjoys piloting an Eva, and she seems to have a peculiar fondness for the smell of LCL. Her behavior can be uninhibited and playful, yet this masks a thoughtful and clever mind. She demonstrates a keen awareness of the Evangelions’ sentient nature, addressing them with compassion and even whispering goodbye to Unit-05 after its destruction. In combat, she is extremely aggressive and bold, favoring head-on charges over cautious tactics. Despite her relative inexperience, she pilots with a skill level comparable to Asuka’s, and she shows intimate knowledge of the Eva systems, as seen when she triggers Beast Mode.
Mari’s motivations in Evangelion: 2.0 remain largely enigmatic. She appears to operate for an unknown third party rather than strictly for NERV, and she is acquainted with Ryoji Kaji, suggesting she has her own agenda. Her actions serve as a wild card that disrupts the established pilot dynamics, providing essential backup when Asuka is incapacitated.
Her key relationships within this film are limited but significant. She has a brief, memorable encounter with Shinji Ikari, whom she playfully calls “Nerv’s Puppy” due to his LCL scent. She interacts off-screen with Kaji, who seems to facilitate her deployment. She does not directly engage with Asuka or Rei in this installment, though later films develop a teasing rivalry with Asuka.
Mari’s role in the story is both practical and symbolic. Practically, she eliminates the Third Angel, sets the stage for the later escalation by introducing new piloting capabilities, and provides the force needed to stall Zeruel while Shinji resolves his personal crisis. Symbolically, she injects a sense of joy and spontaneity into a narrative dominated by trauma and hesitation, representing an alternative, more liberated approach to being an Eva pilot.
Notable abilities include expert piloting, especially in high-risk situations; the capacity to force synchronize with an Eva’s cybernetic limbs; the activation of Beast Mode, which induces a controlled berserk state that greatly increases power at the cost of control; and a tactical mind that adapts quickly when standard tactics fail. She also displays a surprising emotional resilience, bidding farewell to her Eva as though it were a living companion.
Development within Evangelion: 2.0 is minimal but foundational. She begins as a mysterious operative, demonstrates her competence and distinct personality, and leaves the film as a pivotal catalyst for the climax. Her true origins, allegiances, and deeper motivations remain unexplored in this entry, setting up revelations in later installments of the Rebuild series.