Eva Wei, who is known as Molly for most of the series, is the protagonist of Ōban Star-Racers.
Official Profile
A daring, rebellious 15-year-old girl, Molly is a gifted pilot and mechanic, but she's also highly unpredictable. Determined to be reunited with her father, Don Wei, Molly keeps her true identity ("Eva") hidden. The sudden accident of the Earth Team's number one pilot, Rick Thunderbolt, finally gives her a chance to show her dad what she's made of...
Biography
Background
Eva was born in 2067 to racing manager Don Wei and champion pilot Maya Wei. She lived happily with her parents and developed a love of flying early in her childhood. Her life changed dramatically in 2072, when she was five years old. In the final round of the First interplanetary championship, her mother was killed in her race against the Phils pilot Spirit. Devastated by the loss, Eva's father sent her away to the Stern Boarding School, where she spent the next ten years of her life.
Because she grew up all alone in a boarding school and never saw her parents, Eva became a tough girl who hid her sensitivity behind a tomboy attitude. To distance herself from the other students with whom she did not get along, Eva dyed her hair red, got some tattoos and several ear piercings, and wore a boy's uniform. Also, she secretly assembled her own rocket-seat and taught herself how to ride it.
Alwas Cycle
In 2082, Eva turned 15 years old. She spent the night of her birthday by the phone waiting in vain for her father, Don Wei, to call her. By the next morning, she made up her mind to leave the school and find him. When she does, however, he mistakes her for a boy and tells her to leave. But when Don's back is turned, Eva quickly and expertly fixes a malfunctioning star-racer, and lands a job as a mechanic. When he asks her name, Eva becomes very intimidated by his harsh demeanor. Unable to tell him who she really is, she takes on the name of "Molly", after reading it on a nearby poster.
Moments later, President McMullen of the Earth Coalition summoned Don Wei to lead a team in the Great Race of Oban. Molly was among the Wei Race mechanics who assisted in the ships' preparations. Everything was going smoothly until a surprise attack from the Crogs. Don and his team barely managed to escape with their ships and reach the Avatar's vessel just in time. Determined not to lose her father again, Molly chased after the team on her rocket-seat and ended up stowing away with them to the planet Alwas. Having no use for the girl but unable to send her back to Earth, Don had no choice but to keep her around.
The Earth Team's first race on Alwas ended in disaster. With their first ship destroyed and their pilot, Rick Thunderbolt, injured, Molly volunteered to take Rick's place as the team's pilot. Don Wei refused her, but she took the team's second ship anyway and even got Jordan, the team's gunner, to side with her. Although she lacked experience flying a star-racer, she managed to win the race that day with Jordan's help and a lot of luck. Don remained critical of her, but let her stay on as pilot after it was discovered that Rick could never fly again.
Molly won the first four races of the Pre-Selections, thus qualifying the Earth Team for the Playoffs. Unfortunately, her first opponent of the Playoffs was Toros. The race ended in her first defeat, but the blow was eased somewhat by her budding friendship with Prince Aikka. However, the two were to face each other in the second race and Aikka was under orders to win at any cost. Molly promised him that her team would not use their laser cannons if he agreed not to use his magic arrows, but could not convince the team to cooperate with her plan. The race ended in another loss for the Earth Team and damaged her friendship with the prince.
Frustrated and angry, Molly refused to race again but Don Wei brought Rick back to the team to coach her. Under Rick's guidance, Molly was able to win against Super-Racer. Her next race against Rush was a target race, and with Jordan's help she brought the Earth Team a second victory. Molly's winning streak did not last in her next race was against Spirit, though. Just the sight of him brought back painful memories of her mother's death and ignited a thirst for revenge. Throughout the race Molly tried several times to injure Spirit but succeeded only in injuring herself, her partner, and her ship. In the end, she learned the truth about Spirit but lost the race.
The next day, at Rick's suggestion, Molly attempted to confront Don Wei and tell him who she realy was. The conversation went badly when Don mentioned having a daughter back on Earth and Molly angrily stormed out. She left the Earth Team Pit with Jordan to watch Rush race against Toros. She hoped to see Rush win, but he fell victim to his own thirst for revenge and lost. Molly offered to grant Rush his wish to restore his polluted home world if she won the Ultimate Prize, but Rush refused and encouraged her to win for her own sake. She decided that she would win Ultimate Prize to revive her mother, believing it was the only way to reunite her family.
Molly assisted in the construction of the Whizzing Arrow III, and her final race of the Playoffs was a rematch against Toros. The Crog pilot remained undefeated, but this time Molly was ready for him. With a new ship, new skills and a new goal, Molly won the race. However, the Race Judges decided that for the Earth Team to qualify for Oban, Prince Aikka had to beat Spirit in their own rematch. Despite the prince's allegiance to the Crogs and the fact that he had yet to forgive her, Molly had faith that Aikka would win. He did, and the Earth Team prepared for Oban. All except for Rick, however, who felt he had done all he could for the team and decided to return to Earth. Molly saw him off at the port and thanked him for all his help.
Oban Cycle
On Oban, Molly was reunited with Prince Aikka, who at last forgave her and their friendship was restored. However, she faced tougher competition in the races this time, as the finalists included the powerful magician Sul and the notorious General Kross of the Crogs. The first three races each ended in a loss for the Earth Team. During all of this, Molly's drama with Don Wei continued and a new one began with Jordan, who was falling in love with her.
Molly's faith in Aikka was put to the test again in the fourth race. At Kross's instigation, the prince shot her down in the Ice Region. She would have lost again, but she managed to find the gate hidden under the glacier and won her first victory of the finals. However, her trust in Aikka was shaken and his actions in the following three races did not improve matters. Molly decided to confront him about his behavior, but instead found him making a secret pact with some other pilots to eliminate Sul, the current champion. Molly went to warn Sul of the plot but her warning was unheeded.
The plot failed, but Sul vanished mysteriously. Thus, Molly moved up in the rankings from fourth to third place, right behind Kross and O. She was not very happy with this victory, though she found some comfort in Jordan's company. The next morning, however, Don Wei told her that he knew she was really his daughter, Eva. At last the two of them brought their issues into the open, but Molly was too angry to forgive him for abandoning and forgetting her. The incident convinced her even more that bringing Maya back was the only way to save her family.
Against Don's wishes, Molly continued to race for the Ultimate Prize. A surprise attack from O made her veer the ship out of control and resulted in a near fatal crash landing at the bottom of a deep canyon. With the ship wrecked and no other way out, Molly and Jordan set out to find their way back to surface level. Along the way Jordan saved her from falling off a bridge, and after climbing miles of stairs they reached an ancient temple. Inside they met the Creators and learned the true purpose of the Great Race of Oban and the Ultimate Prize.
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 team mates 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.
Relations
Coming soon!
Appearance
Eva in school clothes
Eva is a fifteen year old girl with reddish-brown eyes, dyed hair, and a tattoo on both cheeks. Her eyes are definitely those of her mother Maya Wei. Her pink goggles are also the same as the one's Maya wore (but not the same pair). Her tattoos and dyed hair are souvenirs from one of her first runaway attempts. The stripe represents a tear while the star symbolizes hope.
At the Stern Boarding School, she wore the boy's uniform, with the jacket and white shirt unbuttoned, and a black tee with a black "X" in a red circle on it. On Alwas she is seen wearing the black tee in Agile Like Aikka, but is never seen wearing the rest of her uniform.
Molly in Earth Team clothes
During the Great Race, her uniform seems to be much like the uniforms worn by Stan and Koji, but with the top of the overalls folded over and the shirt being cut to fit her fashion sense. With the exception of sleeping, she is always seen with her mother's goggles and her Diskman music player.
Trivia
- In the 2001 pilot film Molly, Star-Racer (short), Molly's overall appearance is almost exactly the same as her final look. Her younger self looks much different, however.