3. The Beautiful Japanese Girl Is Just One Of The Guys
Although a female presence in the Jaeger programor in the movie at large for that matteris mostly limited to Rinko Kikuchkis beautiful pilot Mako Mori, this facet isnt just wish-fulfillment for an adolescent male mindset. Any fan girls who grew up having to shoulder their way into the boys club of sci-fi/fantasy geekery, discarding those My Little Ponies for Transformers, GI. Joes or Star Wars, will also find a kindred spirit in Mako, whos strong, determined and beautiful, but also allowed to be an assertive ass-kicker without caving to the status of love interest. Of course, theres no getting around the fact, that seen in another kind of light, Mako is the preferred type of girl figure for young boys that still find feminine identity rather intimidating. While there are certain times her stunning looks and clear gender are used to rile up the hormonesnothing in-your-face or egregious like Alice Eve in Star Trek or Megan Fox in Transformersas a character shes basically your best mate, with breasts, those conveniently hidden behind muscular armor that obscures this fact until you want the reminder. Theres no talk of princesses or ponies here, and when she gets emotional, shes more likely to incinerate something or chop it in half with a sword than have a long, tearful talk about it. Del Toro goes a little bit further, and gives Mako a more prominent emotional identity than any of the male characters, and her determination and tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds becomes a rallying point for the beleaguered Jaeger team. Her connection to Hunnans Raleigh, via the neural Drift, adds some necessary poignancy and verve when the big bads come calling.