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Evangelion and other inspirations for Pacific Rim.


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Arkthelad



Joined: 06 Jan 2013
Posts: 108
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:11 pm Reply with quote
Hi there.

I only saw the trailer for Pacific Rim this week and beforehand didn't know much about it. I noticed that almost every video I watched about it had comments with people debating whether it's inspired by Evangelion. Now I've seen a video with Del Torror where a person actually asks him whether it was an inspiration.

People are arguing against the Evangelion link by pointing to the numerous other potential inspirations from anime.

My question is, are there any other anime that actually have the scenario of piloted Mecha fighting giant monsters (not robots or other mecha) that are attacking from the sea.

I ask, because the other potential inspirations that people were giving didn't seem to fit the scenario exactly. Incidently, I don't think PR is a rip off, I just want to know if there's anything else that bares a close resemblence.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:41 pm Reply with quote
From the beginning Guillermo Del Toro has made it clear his main inspiration was Kaiju movies (Godzilla and the like). The monsters in the movie are even called kaiju.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:39 pm Reply with quote
Even then, pretty sure he would have grown up on Go Nagai super robots two decades before Evangelion was even written, just like Anno himself was influenced by those 1970s series. I'd say you mix that, the Godzilla flicks, and some Lovecraft, and you'd wind up with this new film. The question will be whether or not he wrote any subtext into the script, or if it winds up like Bayformers with absolutely no characterization or depth to speak of. Maybe it won't be that bad, but we'll instead get something akin to Independence Day; Elba's little speech in the trailer definitely reminded me of Pullman's.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:04 pm Reply with quote
It's got giant robots fighting giant monsters. That's all I need.
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Arkthelad



Joined: 06 Jan 2013
Posts: 108
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:57 am Reply with quote
But are there actually any other anime or live action films that have the scenario I outlined? As far as I can tell the Go Nagai series are mostly Mecha vs Mecha/Robots.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:50 am Reply with quote
Well, not really. The enemies in Go Nagai's stuff are usually monster/mecha hybrids. Getter Robo, for instance, fights mechanically enhanced dinosaurs.

While most super robot shows deal with monsters, you might want to check out Dai Guard. It's premise is nearly identical to Pacific Rim, with monsters from another dimension showing up.
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Arkthelad



Joined: 06 Jan 2013
Posts: 108
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 4:56 pm Reply with quote
Dai Guard looks more lighthearted, humerous and er corny. Eva has some humour but overall it's very harsh and threatening. Part of my point is that the scenario itself sounds kind of ridiculous to begin with. I'm just wondering if there's a series other than Eva that's managed to pull it off in a serious way.
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Ambimunch



Joined: 30 Aug 2012
Posts: 2012
PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 10:32 pm Reply with quote
I went and checked out the trailer just now. Umm I doubt its related to evangelion, its nowhere near as epic as eva lol. I

think these speculations came to fruition during that ship scene---cause it resembles the episodes with the underwater angel that asuka fights with unit 02 from NGE
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Echo_City



Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 1236
PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:32 pm Reply with quote
Now that the movie is out, I figured I'd add to this thread as I saw the movie and didn't see a single blatant anime reference.

Besides the Glados voice being used for the "hero mech's" computer system there weren't really any "nerd homages" outside of the premise (giant robots 'n monsters).

I believe that this is rather "criminal" as there were so many opportunities for nerd homage. A big one was the piloting system of the mecha, the "jagers", as it was a "steampunk" version of G Gundam's piloting system.

The most important bit I can add to this thread is this piece of advice gleaned from brutal first-hand experience: if you haven't seen this movie in theatres, don't.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:47 pm Reply with quote
Why not see it in theaters? I did yesterday, and I had a fine time with it. In fact, this is the sort of movie that I'd specifically want to see it on the big screen, one where the action and events are as big as big gets.

I also saw no specific mecha references and think it would be a stretch to claim distinct anime mecha inspiration, as most of what the Jaegers do is more stylistically similar to Western concepts of giant robots. (Maybe the way the head is attached to the body after the pilots are loaded in might resemble some really old-school mecha titles?) Still, it's the closest thing to live-action mecha we've seen to date, and it does feature a rather comely-looking Japanese lass in a substantial role.

And while no one will be watching this for depth, I would say it was completely shallow. It at least scratched beyond the surface and did have a few good moments that weren't purely action. Independence Day is probably a good comparison, but I liked this one a little better.
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Bango



Joined: 06 Jul 2013
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:55 pm Reply with quote
Hands down my favourite Hollywood movie where giant robots battle monsters.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
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Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:08 am Reply with quote
I loved the movie, I watched it in 3D. Few movies get me to actually have my mouth opened in aw like I did while watching Pacific Rim. The action, the CGI, probably my favourite movie of the year. Liked it more than Man of Steel, World War Z and the like, not that I disliked those movies.

I personally saw some aspects that made me think of anime, and I already talked elsewhere about the surprisingly coincidental similarities to Attack on Titan. If the movie came out well after the anime I am sure people would think there was something up.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:15 am Reply with quote
Pacific Rim isn't trying to be deep; it just wants to offer two hours of giant robots punching giant dinosaurs. As long as audiences realise this they should be fine. I mean the movie is absolutely riddled with plot holes but even I didn't care.

That said, for a couple of days after watching it I was desperately and hopelessly pining for a live-action Neon Genesis Evangelion movie. It will almost certainly never happen, and that's a huge shame.
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VORTIA
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Joined: 26 Jul 2005
Posts: 941
PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:20 am Reply with quote
Ironically and hysterically, the scenario in Pacific Rim is nearly identical to that found in Godannar.

Pilots that have to be synched? Check.
International team of robot pilots? Check.
Giant monsters attacking from the sea? Check.
Main male protaganist suffers from the extreme loss of previous co-pilot, temporarily quits, is called back into service due to a grave turn of events? Check.
Main male protaganist teams up with hot new female co-pilot? Check.
Protaganist mecha has jet engine on its chest? Check.
Protaganist mecha fights primarily with its plasma emitting fists? Check.

The whole movie, I was sitting there with the Godannar theme song blaring in my head.
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VORTIA
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Joined: 26 Jul 2005
Posts: 941
PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:36 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:

I also saw no specific mecha references


Oh, you're making me weep.

The head coming onto the body? It's like Mazinger Z's cockpit.

The "iron" armor, when iron would be a totally stupid thing to armor a giant robot with? Probably because they're Tetsujin.

The rocket punch?

The down-on-one knee pose that Gipsy Danger assumed spoiler[after slicing the fast aquatic kaiju in half]? That was a total Mazinger finishing move pose, also used in Godannar after the Soulbreaker.

And lest we forget, Gipsy Danger follows the tradition of giving super robots names that begin with "G".

Yeah, the references were subtle, but they were all over the place.
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