Mari Makinami Illustrious
Mari is named after two World War II warships, the Japanese destroyer Makinami (巻波, "overflowing waves") and the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. The two names may be intended to, as in Asuka's case, represent a mixed heritage: here, British and Japanese (at minimum). Strictly speaking, neither "Illustrious" or "Makinami" (written as 真希波, "noble true wave") are real surnames[5], although this may be nothing more than a creative liberty.
Her first name was originally unveiled in the Nintendo DS Petite Eva@School game.[6] Later, one of the official movie posters included a "teaser" for her full name: showing the "Mari" part, and substituting the remaining characters with asterisks ("*** Mari *******")[7]. Mari's entire name was at last revealed in a revised version of the poster included with the first issue of Eva Extra[8]. Before her actual name surfaced, Mari was known exclusively among fans as "Glasses Girl" (among Japanese fans, めがねのこ, megane no ko, meaning the same thing). |