Mari Makinami

Mari Makinami Illustrious

Mari Makinami

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Mari Makinami (真希波マリ, Makinami Mari^?) is a fictional character appearing in the Extra Stage chapter of Volume 14 of Neon Genesis Evangelion manga called Eden in Summer.

Appearance[]

She is a sixteen-year-old girl that has long hair and is usually seen wearing denim shorts, a short sleeve shirt and short boots. She also usually carries a bag with the things she uses in university. When she goes visit Kōzō Fuyutsuki office, she uses a white coat over her clothes with sleeves rolled up her elbows. After she and Yui Ikari talks in the office after chasing around the rats that got loose, Yui fixes her hair in pigtails and also gives her glasses to Mari.

History[]

Neon Genesis Evangelion manga[]

Kyoto, 1998. In the Metaphysical Biological Research Lab 1 of Kyoto University, Mari sees Yui Ikari sleeping and drooling over the table and says that she hates her and snatches her glasses when another colleague says that the Dean is looking for her. In the Dean's office, she is told that the Professor Alex's Team at Saintford University in England is looking for exceptional researchers and they will cover all the costs for her to move and study there. When the Dean looks at her grades, he says that he has no problem in recommending her if she wants, but Mari says that there is someone more qualified for that position, that person being Yui Ikari. When she asks why he won't recommend her when Yui is more talented than her, the Dean says that she is a special case, where the State won't let her go. She was already asked to join a government-run research institution.

After that, Mari, Yui and another colleague are drinking beverages in the campus when Yui complains about her missing glasses. The colleague says that the other students are in tears since she ended up dating Gendo Rokubungi. Yui says that she thinks that he is cool and talks about how they met at the cafeteria and how they got to know each other more and more even with his scowl and bad attitude. Mari annoyed, takes her things and leaves, saying she got classes to go. The colleague says that she is probably jealous since she was always the best and, in the university, she met someone who she couldn't surpass. In the hallways, she passes over Gendo and she blushes as she passes over him.

In a later time, she goes to Fuyutsuki's lab room to deliver a paper and find that Yui set free the lab rats by trying to reach some papers at the top shelf and fell on the cages. Mari and Yui try to get all the rats back in the cages. After getting a rat from Mari's head and messing up her hair, she tried to fix her hair, and Mari drops her bag with Yui's glasses that were inside. Yui asks her why she got her glasses and Mari says that she hates Yui, and she admits that she is jealous of her, and she hates that she acts the same way even when she realizes that she likes her.

Yui tells her to sit and that she will fix her hair, and Mari apologizes for saying that she hates her, and she says that she is going to study abroad in England in the next month. Yui tells her to keep the glasses if she wants and puts it on her saying she is cute, looking like a high school kid. Mari wishes her and Gendo the best from a faraway place and Yui thanks her.

Development[]

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto has, however, clarified in an interview that the extra chapter and Mari's inclusion in it should not be seen as a part of neither the manga nor the Rebuild series' storyline, stating that it was something he purely did for "fun", comparing the chapter to "fan service".^[1]^[2] He mentions that he "couldn't use her in the manga", when talking about Mari in the Rebuilds. This further solidifies them as separate characters.^[3] Sadamoto also stated he had no intention to "include elements from the new movies, because [the manga] is only a comic adaptation of the TV series and old movie [EoE]. So, there will be nothing of the new character, Mari."^[4]

Trivia[]

Mari is named after the World War II warships, the Japanese destroyer Makinami^WP.
Volume 9 of the manga features two characters that bear a strong visual similarity to Mari, leading many fans to assume one of them was the same character as Mari Makinami Illustrious from the Rebuild of Evangelion films or somehow had links to her, with another theory being that Mari was Asuka's adoptive sister, impossible as Mari was already 16 years old in 1998, whereas Asuka's adoptive sister is still a child in 2005. Despite this, this chapter was written before Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, many years before Mari was so much as conceptualized, and her later appearance in the bonus chapter almost ten years later was denied as being purely fanservice, as Sadamoto had no involvement with Mari's character besides her design, said he "couldn't use her in the manga", and has repeatedly denied links between the manga and the Rebuild movies. Thus, Asuka's adoptive mother and sister in the manga are entirely different characters, and not Mari.

References[]

↑ Interview with Sadamoto, includes his confirmation that the Mari bonus chapter was just fanservice Next question is about Evangelion Rebuilds, do you know about the symbol of the last movie (repeat sign in music)?:
Sadamoto: Just to start, I’d like to clarify my position on the Rebuilds. I’ve only done the main character designs so… (laugh)
Ah I see. It’s this (shows the symbol of Rebuild 3.0+1.0). We weren’t even able to read the title.
Sadamoto: (looks) Right, I’m sorry but it’s the first time I see it, to tell you how little my implication is.
[...]A question about the Evangelion manga, were you completely free on the script or were you consulting director Anno?
Sadamoto: There isn’t any script. When you make anime there are the storyboards, right? We were just sharing them, so I’m on the same level as a fan. I just wrote it on my own, looking at the storyboards. So I didn’t consult anyone, and of course no one from the TV series’ staff intervened in my manga.
So, in the last page of the manga there is Mari, one of the Rebuild’s characters…
Sadamoto: Oh, that’s not in the storyline, it’s just an extra chapter for the manga volume. It’s even apart from the movies, like fanservice. Just something you mustn’t think too hard about. (laugh) It’s just something that went through my mind, I thought it would be funny if it were like that.
I see. So it was not a request?
Sadamoto: It wasn’t and… since she appeared in Jo, Ha and Q, I wondered what her role in the story would be, and when I asked the staff, they told me that it won’t be possible to really go further in one film, so they had to tie the main story up, and that Mari may have almost no screen time. So I wondered what the point was, and decided to add a little bit of her story in the manga, on impulse. So it’s really not something the staff of the movies thought about or asked me to do, just something you can consider as a play of mine.
I see, since you know, fans tend to read deep into that kind of thing.
Yamaga: Yeah, particularly on Evangelion. They think every little detail has a meaning. (laugh)
Sadamoto: Well, but of course when we see Mari in Jo or Ha and see her call Gendo Gendo-kun or smell Shinji’s odor, she’s doing many strange things. Besides she seems to like songs of the Showa era very much since she’s singing them. [...] But again, it’s only me imagining all this. (laugh)
Has director Anno decided about that?
Sadamoto: Like I said, director Anno hasn’t approved or refuted that idea, he has nothing to do with what I just said.
↑ PR.- Is that appearance part of the character's development in the movies?
YS.- Ah! What I just answered is not official, it was my point of view (laughs) The truth is that the love story of Mari and Yui came up while chatting with the scriptwriter of Evangelion as something that could be interesting and curious but we should not give it much more importance (laughs). - Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Interview (AlfaBetaJuega 2017/07)
↑ On the one hand we wanted to create a different character, one that would appeal to a new type of audience and mark a break in the story. There were both "market" and plot requirements, and I had to keep them in mind. In the movies there is a great mystery around her presence, which is why you only find her there. I couldn't use her in the manga, although I would have liked to. She'll be up to a lot of mischief, together with Asuka, so wait for the new movie, because there will be surprises and a lot of interesting characters. Sadamoto Days – i fan meet e l’intervista (2013)
↑ - Young Ace, Vol. 1, pg. 2

Characters
*Neon Genesis Evangelion*	Shinji Ikari • Rei Ayanami • Asuka Langley Sohryu • Misato Katsuragi • Gendo Ikari • Ritsuko Akagi • Ryoji Kaji • Yui Ikari • Kaworu Nagisa • Tōji Suzuhara • Kensuke Aida • Hikari Horaki • Kōzō Fuyutsuki • Keel Lorenz • Maya Ibuki • Makoto Hyuga • Shigeru Aoba • Naoko Akagi • Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu • Dr. Katsuragi • Pen Pen • Shiro Tokita • Mr. Langley • Old Teacher
Rebuild of Evangelion	Shinji Ikari • Rei Ayanami • Asuka Shikinami Langley • Mari Makinami Illustrious • Kaworu Nagisa • Misato Katsuragi • Gendo Ikari • Ritsuko Akagi • Ryoji Kaji • Yui Ikari • Tōji Suzuhara • Kensuke Aida • Hikari Horaki • Kōzō Fuyutsuki • Keel Lorenz • Maya Ibuki • Makoto Hyuga • Shigeru Aoba • Sakura Suzuhara • Koji Takao • Sumire Nagara • Hideki Tama • Midori Kitakami • Pen Pen • Tsubame Suzuhara • Ryoji Kaji (Boy) • Hajime Aida • Advanced Ayanami Series
*Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA*	Shinji Ikari • Asuka Langley Sohryu • Rei Trois • Rei Quatre • Rei Cinq • Rei Six • Mari • Misato Katsuragi • Gendo Ikari • Ritsuko Akagi • Ryoji Kaji • Yui Ikari • Kaworu Nagisa • Tōji Suzuhara • Kensuke Aida • Hikari Horaki • Kōzō Fuyutsuki • Maya Ibuki • Makoto Hyuga • Shigeru Aoba • Professor Mizusato • Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu • Crimson A1 • Lieutenant Colonel Kasuga • Warrant Officer Endo • Lieutenant Colonel Clausewitz • Noah • Azuchi • Momo • Master Sergeant Sakura Yoshio
*Secret of Evangelion*	Kyoya Kenzaki • Hitomi Kaga • Hajime Suruga • Koji Katori • Mitsuru Wakatake • Porter • Hawk
Other	Mayumi Yamagishi • Marie Vincennes • Commander Nikolayev • Mana Kirishima • Musashi Lee Strasberg • Keita Asari • Mr. Tokunaga • Natsumi Suzuhara • Kaede Agano • Satsuki Ooi • Aoi Mogami • Mari Makinami • Natsuko Kako • Kyouko Nachi • Erika Kashii • Mimi Satsuma • Nene Matsukaze • Nozomi Horaki • Kodama Horaki • Hitomi Amagi • Kotone Suzunami • Ghidorah Rei • Biollante Asuka

[1] Interview with Sadamoto, includes his confirmation that the Mari bonus chapter was just fanservice Next question is about Evangelion Rebuilds, do you know about the symbol of the last movie (repeat sign in music)?:
Sadamoto: Just to start, I’d like to clarify my position on the Rebuilds. I’ve only done the main character designs so… (laugh)
Ah I see. It’s this (shows the symbol of Rebuild 3.0+1.0). We weren’t even able to read the title.
Sadamoto: (looks) Right, I’m sorry but it’s the first time I see it, to tell you how little my implication is.
[...]A question about the Evangelion manga, were you completely free on the script or were you consulting director Anno?
Sadamoto: There isn’t any script. When you make anime there are the storyboards, right? We were just sharing them, so I’m on the same level as a fan. I just wrote it on my own, looking at the storyboards. So I didn’t consult anyone, and of course no one from the TV series’ staff intervened in my manga.
So, in the last page of the manga there is Mari, one of the Rebuild’s characters…
Sadamoto: Oh, that’s not in the storyline, it’s just an extra chapter for the manga volume. It’s even apart from the movies, like fanservice. Just something you mustn’t think too hard about. (laugh) It’s just something that went through my mind, I thought it would be funny if it were like that.
I see. So it was not a request?
Sadamoto: It wasn’t and… since she appeared in Jo, Ha and Q, I wondered what her role in the story would be, and when I asked the staff, they told me that it won’t be possible to really go further in one film, so they had to tie the main story up, and that Mari may have almost no screen time. So I wondered what the point was, and decided to add a little bit of her story in the manga, on impulse. So it’s really not something the staff of the movies thought about or asked me to do, just something you can consider as a play of mine.
I see, since you know, fans tend to read deep into that kind of thing.
Yamaga: Yeah, particularly on Evangelion. They think every little detail has a meaning. (laugh)
Sadamoto: Well, but of course when we see Mari in Jo or Ha and see her call Gendo Gendo-kun or smell Shinji’s odor, she’s doing many strange things. Besides she seems to like songs of the Showa era very much since she’s singing them. [...] But again, it’s only me imagining all this. (laugh)
Has director Anno decided about that?
Sadamoto: Like I said, director Anno hasn’t approved or refuted that idea, he has nothing to do with what I just said.

[2] PR.- Is that appearance part of the character's development in the movies?
YS.- Ah! What I just answered is not official, it was my point of view (laughs) The truth is that the love story of Mari and Yui came up while chatting with the scriptwriter of Evangelion as something that could be interesting and curious but we should not give it much more importance (laughs). - Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Interview (AlfaBetaJuega 2017/07)

[3] On the one hand we wanted to create a different character, one that would appeal to a new type of audience and mark a break in the story. There were both "market" and plot requirements, and I had to keep them in mind. In the movies there is a great mystery around her presence, which is why you only find her there. I couldn't use her in the manga, although I would have liked to. She'll be up to a lot of mischief, together with Asuka, so wait for the new movie, because there will be surprises and a lot of interesting characters. Sadamoto Days – i fan meet e l’intervista (2013)

[4] - Young Ace, Vol. 1, pg. 2

[1]