Evangelion Fans Find Hilarious Mario Movie Similarities

The influence of anime has been readily apparent in more than a few animated projects in the past. Recently, we’ve seen feature-length films such as Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and Creed 3 take the opportunity to pay homage to the medium created in Japan. Now, it seems that the biggest animated movie of the year might have had some influence from anime as keen-eyed fans believe that they have spotted some moments in the Super Mario Bros movie that might mimic the adventures of NERV.

Neon Genesis Evangelion recently made a splash on the big screen thanks to the quartet of films known as “Rebuild of Evangelion”. Helmed by franchise creator Hideaki Anno, the four movies retold the story of the original anime series, while adding more than a few new characters and story elements to make the recent movies their own thing. Presently, Anno hasn’t revealed whether he will be returning to the franchise with any new projects, as his latest movie in the Shin universe, Shin Kamen Rider, arrived in Japan. While nothing has been confirmed when it comes to a crossover film, anime fans have seen Eva Unit 01 featuring in merchandise featuring a Shin Crossover that sees Shinji Ikari, Godzilla, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman side-by-side.

Mario Genesis Evangelion

Keen-eyed fans believe they have found a few moments from the Super Mario Bros. Movie finale that ties into some major action beats of Neon Genesis Evangelion. While there has been no confirmation that the latest iteration of the Mushroom Kingdom pulled anything from the anime medium, Mario and Luigi’s fight against Bowser certainly incorporates action scenes that could be interpreted as being anime adjacent. Unsurprisingly, there has never been a crossover featuring the Mario Bros and Eva pilots.

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The Super Mario Bros. has cleared well over one billion dollars at the box office around the world, though Nintendo and Illumination have yet to confirm a sequel and/or spin-offs for the Mushroom Kingdom. The only two animated movies that are still above the latest Nintendo film are the two Frozen movies. Needless to say, it’s hard to deny that Mario’s first animated film has become a smash success.

Do you think these Mario movie scenes were an homage to Evangelion? Do you think the Mario brothers are on their way to helm the biggest animated movie of all time? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Nintendo.