| “ | Here goes nothing! | „ |
| ~ Eva's catchphrase. |
Eva Wei, (エヴァ・ウェイ Evu~a U~ei) who is known as Molly (モリー Morī) is the main protagonist of the 2006 French/Japanese animesque series, Ōban Star-Racers.
She is a 15-year old girl who initially wanted to reunite with her father after being serperated from him for a decade, only to find out not being recognized by him. Adopting the name "Molly", she embarks on a mission alongside with the Earth Team to participate in the Great Race of Oban, a galaxy-wide racing competition held every 10,000 years to claim the Ultimate Prize.
She is voiced by: Chiara Zanni (English), Junko Noda (Japanese), Gabrielle Jeru (French)
History
Eva Wei was the daughter of Don and Maya Wei When Eva was five years old, her mother died in a race against Spirit. Just after, in a state of grief, Don took her to boarding school. And for ten years, Eva was abandoned.
After another birthday goes by without hearing from her dad, Eva leaves to find her father again. But when she meets him, she's in for a surprise: he is now cold and cruel, no longer the man she knew. He doesn't even recognize her, initially mistaking her for a boy! But when she repairs a ship for him, he hires her on the spot. When he asks for her name, she panics and tells him her name is Molly.
Shortly afterwards, she eavesdrops on Don as he fills in the Earth Team on their mission. When the Crogs attack and the team leaves, Molly follows to stay with her unknowing father, and accidently stows away on the Avatar's ship.
At first, she is just a surprise, unable to help. But when Rick is injured, she ends up filling in for him. And, to everyone's surprise, she wins. Then Rick returns, but with his handicap Molly still has to race, now with him as her coach. During the finals, she loses to the Crogs and Prince Aikka, losing the prince's friendship in the process. When the time comes, she ends up racing her mother's killer, only to find out her mother's death was simply an accident.
In the end, Molly gets the team to Oban by beating the undefeated Toros, showing off her true skills.
Molly is later forgiven by Prince Aikka and the two become friends again. During the first of the unique final races where she is now competing against multiple opponents at the same time, she unfortunately comes in fifth, frustrating not only herself, but also her father.
In the next two races, she comes in fourth, narrowly missing third. Her relationship with Jordan also slowly begins to change to a more awkward, different phase. She is almost blind to his rivalry with Prince Aikka. During the fourth race, the Arrow is attacked by surprisingly Prince Aikka, sending the team barreling under the ice. Don and the others think it is over, but Molly refuses to give up. She ends up taking first place after finding the hidden gate, being the only team to score.
After the race, Don confronts her about being his daughter, and she narrowly sidesteps the question. She doesn't think they can be a family again until her mother comes back.
As Eva competes in the final race of Oban, she has another run in with Prince Aikka. He is about to shoot and Jordan prepares to attack back, but Eva insists he does not do it. Jordan seems impatient with her answer and Prince Aikka lowers his bow and stands, offering her the chance for an alliance that they can beat the Crogs together.
She happily accepts, and both claim the other would make an excellent avatar. So Eva smiles and winks, saying they will have to flip a coin. They keep racing, but when Prince Aikka is shot down by Kross, she dives after him only to be stopped by his spell, warning her not to worry about him and defeat Kross.
Saddened and worried, she rushed back into the race and shocks everyone as what appears to be the spirit of her mom guiding her helps her dodge an assault and crush Kross' ship, making it explode and she finishes in first. Eva wants to immediately help Prince Aikka, but Satis transports her to his temple to crown her avatar. But she runs out and his power leaves him and Kanaletto is freed.
Oban crashes and Eva, Jordan, Koji, Don Wei, and Stan retreat to a temple which still stands. She cries, saying it's all her fault but Jordan reassures her that it will be fine. Then Prince Aikka appears on the scene, knocked out but alive.
After he awakens, he quickly tells her that she must let him take her to the Temple of Heart to be crowned avatar by the second pyramid of power (the first destroyed by Satis before Kanaletto could activate the power). At first, she does not want him to move because he is still weak, but then says in determination she will not run away.
Before they leave, Don Wei reveals her name and that she is his daughter, confusing Jordan greatly. Eva promises to return and flies off, Don Wei crying as he watches her fly off.
When they reach the temple, a trap winds up slowing them down, but they narrowly move on. Prince Aikka commands Eva to stay between him and Jordan so she will not get hurt. They go through the temple and find the pyramid. As Jordan and Prince Aikka search for Kanaletto, Eva sits and waits with a dagger Prince Aikka gave her for some defense.
Jordan is attacked and she approaches the pyramid. When Prince Aikka is attacked, Kanaletto appears in front of her.
He reveals she was nothing but a pawn in his plan all this time. That he made her mother and Rick crash just so he could get to her. She is in shock and he uses her weakness to hypnotize her into activating the pyramids so he can take the power (because it appears he could not activate it himself).
But as he approaches it, Jordan looks over a high, crumbled pillar he is sitting on and calls out to Eva. He tells her he loves her, snapping Eva back to herself and jumps down for the pyramid.
"JORDAN!" Eva yells and he comes into contact with the energy and a wave is released and appears to kill Kanaletto. Molly finds herself in a glowing, white area, almost like in a dream, and Jordan is in front of her. He has a glowing gold body and his face is the only part that is human or remotely the same.
She asks what happened to his body and he assures her it is only temporary. Then says he needs to leave because the creators have much to teach him. She tells him to wait and gently touches his cheek. He smiles and says she does not have to say anything and leans down and kisses her briefly on the lips before disappearing.
When Eva wakes up, she is in a grassy field and everything looks like it's back to normal. She finds Prince Aikka is fine and hugs him in happiness. When he asks where is Jordan and if he is okay, she smiles a bit and says he is fine, then her grin widens and she assures him he is better than ever.
Don Wei, Koji, and Stan run over and Eva embraces her dad and both cry from happiness. It is time for them to leave Oban. Prince Aikka tell her she must see Nourasia and she tells him it is an honor. He nods and leaves then Don Wei tells her to hurry and she runs over.
Jordan did not come say good bye face-to-face, but she turns to look at Oban again and blows a kiss saying, "Good bye Partner." Jordan stands on the ledge and a tear runs down his face. (Yes, there was a LOT of crying in the season finale.)
Eva then tells us she attends a new school closer to home and is a family with her dad again. She says she really did get the Ultimate Prize because that was all she ever really wanted. It ends when she visits her mother's grave with Don Wei and they walk away holding hands.
Personality
Underneath her tough tomboy exterior, disregard for authority and rebellious behavior, Eva has many deep emotional scars that she keeps well hidden. Having grown up as a loner, she is very self-reliant and does not like to talk about her problems. She learns to trust her teammates and Prince Aikka, but it is a long time before she is able to open up to any of them. She is often headstrong and reckless like her mother was, and like her father she is stubborn and short-tempered. Despite all this, she is insecure enough that she cannot tell Don Wei who she really is when she reunites with him, and pretends to be someone else instead. As Molly, she is determined to prove herself as a pilot, and while she has a natural talent for flying, it is often quick thinking that helps her win against a stronger opponent.
Gallery
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