#4 arrows

Action/Sci-Fi. Giant alien monsters from the seas VS giant robots piloted by humans. End of the world. Teamwork. Drift compatibility.

Some spoilers below about the characters and the relationships in the movie.

The characters

Raleigh Becket is the male lead. Late 20s. He quit the Jaeger task force 5 years ago and is still damaged from his last battle. He gets recruited back since he is the only experienced pilot available for one of the four robots left to defend humankind. At first, he seems like the stereotypical white alpha male hero, but he’s really not, and I was surprised by how much I liked him. There is a certain quietness to him that is refreshing, and he’s very supportive of Mako.

Mako Mori is the female lead. Early 20s. Japanese. Working in STEM. Her introduction is incredibly cool, and she is all around amazing, especially for an Asian character. I was particularly taken by her ambition and her determination, and while she is bold, she is also humble. I also loved how they incorporated her Asian background in her character, not by her speaking in Japanese, but with what she would say or how she would act. The line “It’s not obedience, Mr. Becket. It’s respect.” was especially powerful.

There is also Stacker Pentecost, the leader of the Jaeger program and Mako’s mentor/father figure. Two scientists I didn’t care much about. And the other pilots, one team from Australia, one from Russia, and one from China. The international feel of the movie was great, but it’s a shame the least interesting team got the most screentime. Mako is also pretty much the only speaking female character of the movie.

The relationships

Now, let’s talk about my favourite concept of the movie: drift compatibility. It’s not about feelings really, it’s about connection and how naturally in tune you are with someone else.

So, to pilot a Jaeger (giant robot), you need to meld your mind with the body of the robot. However, the mental load is too much to bear for one single person, which means that multiple people, usually two, have to connect their minds before melding with the robot. The drift is the empty space where the minds meet, and drift compatibility refers to the strength of the mental bond between the people involved. The stronger the bond, the better they control the robot, and the better they fight.

The first part of the movie is about finding Raleigh a co-pilot. Him and Mako are found to be drift compatible. Whether or not their relationship is portrayed as romantic is debatable. I think it’s fair to say that there is nothing explicitly romantic between them. In any case, it’s not the point of the movie. My favourite part of their relationship is how much he champions for her to become his co-pilot once he discovers how strong their connection is. I also liked how much of a silent companionship they had. They had a deep understanding of each other and were simply comfortable to be together.

The other major relationship is the one between Mako and Stacker Pentecost. I won’t get too much into it, but it was nice to see an adoptive family consisting of a black father and an asian daughter.

My rating on the arrow scale (from 0 to 5) 4 arrows – very aromantic-friendly

My first thought when I finished this movie was they did not kiss. I absolutely expected them to kiss even though there wasn’t really any lead up to it. It just happens so often, especially with action movies, that the hero is rewarded with a random kiss, that I thought this would go the same way. And I was so happy when they did the forehead touch instead. It’s honestly hard to like action movies and identify with female characters because they usually end up being disappointing. Well, not here! This ending was perfect. And I think that the fact alone that they don’t kiss singles it out as a unique movie.

The aromantic-friendliness of the movie doesn’t just come from a lack of kissing though. It comes from the general lack of importance put on romance, and the emphasis on drift compatibility. The movie also portrays a lot of different types of relationships, and all are shown as equal. Mako and Raleigh are friends. Mako and Stacker Pentecost are mentor-mentee/adoptive family. The Australians are father and son. The Russians are a couple. The Chinese are siblings.

The reason I don’t give this movie a perfect score is my take on the platonic vs romantic portrayal of Mako/Raleigh. I’m annoyed that it can be read as romantic, and that, in my opinion, it was made purposely so. The movie uses tropes that are used to set up a romantic relationship from their first meeting to the combat banter. Which doesn’t mean that their moments were romantic as I, for one, see most of their interactions as Mako being intrigued by her study subject/hero, but I think they left the door open for it to be made romantic. After that, it’s like the movie decided to portray them solely as platonic (except for that one moment when Mako is smiling because she thinks Raleigh came back to talk to her, and that moment felt so out of place). It doesn’t help to distinguish between platonic and romantic as the movie has the super cheesy dialogue most action movies have. And I realize that something that might be romantic for someone might be platonic for someone else and inversely, but I just wish we could’ve had a movie that I feel is consistent in its portrayal instead of one that tried to have it both ways.

At its core though, the movie gets points because drift compatibility is the only thing that matters, and the ending explicitly allows us to read their relationship as platonic, which is unfortunately rare.

Do I read any of the characters as aromantic? Honestly, not really. But there is absolutely nothing that would prevent a reading as such because none of them has a romantic relationship. I just don’t feel like any of them has been sufficiently fleshed out on a personal level to be able to say they are, and I personally like my headcanons to have some substance. Raleigh would be the one I’d say is the closest, as he’s been a loner for 5 years, and before that only seemed to be into Kaiju fighting alongside his bro, but then again, we haven’t seen a lot of his past.

I would recommend this movie to people who - Like giant robots. Each of them has a badass name and unique fighting style. The production value is great, the music is epic, and the experience is immersive. - Want good Asian representation. Mako Mori is awesome. - Like the concept of drift compatibility.