Pacific Ring!

Set in the same universe and Mobzilla, and forming a major story arc in-universe, introducing Pacific Ring! Featuring your facvorite jaegers! This was a fun piece to do, and I tried to make a personal goal in making a setting that was much brighter and felt lighter hearted than my previous piece: a3dkid.deviantart.com/art/Mobz…. It's also good practice to try out how to make custom posters and news articles (such as those in the background). I also wanted to learn how to create the "shiny" effect where light bounces off especially reflective metal. I think Striker Eureka's stinger blades succeeded best in this regard. I also wanted to see how I can "anthromorph" mechas, just to fit the theme of anthromorphic kaiju in the story.

To see the posters from the background, look here:
nazrigar.tumblr.com/post/61697…

This piece is also available on my tumblr! nazrigar.tumblr.com/image/6169…
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The Shatterdome is a relatively new place in Harryhausen and a place of oddity (to citizens at least). Unlike most gyms, it chooses to have a brighter color palette indoors, and with its nigh-spherical structure, stands out from the usually cubical architecture of the city. The biggest oddity however, in a city where mechas are relegated to low-paying labor work, the gym is owned and managed by one Cherno Alpha, a mecha from a group called “The Jaegers”.

The Jaegers are the result of Operation Monster Hunter, a program to create a series of mecha that were replaceable, repairable and were able to fight on a kaiju’s own terms. Larger and better armored than their mass-produced brethren while being cheaper and easier to build than the elite “Supers” (which could take 20 years to produce), the program was relatively successful against what seemed to be a sure victory in favor of the Kaiju.

Cherno Alpha is amongst the oldest of the jaegers, and among the most feared. His tesla powered, piston fists were the stuff of legend, and his thick armor made him able to take as much of a beating as he put out. He moved from Asimov to Harryhausen a few years ago for reasons unknown. What is known however is that he founded the gym as a place where mecha can train and engage in the city’s favorite sport; boxing. Seeing the sorry state of the mecha community, he brought along Crimson Typhoon, a three armed mech who switched to mechanics duty during the war after “getting tired of my buzz saw-arms crushed all the damn time” to offer free reparations for an entire week after the opening.

Being a mecha safe-haven brought its own problems. Suspicion grew and some accused Old Mech of hiding violent mecha who wish to take over the city. It seemed Cherno would lose everything in just under a year, until a certain kaiju was willing defend him in court, the famous Mothra. Cherno never heard of “Heroic” kaiju, he spent a life believing that all kaiju were always the aggressors. But after Mothra helped win the court case, he offered eternal gratitude to her and had a new opinion on her kind. He then immediately offered service to kaiju as thanks.

One day, Cherno received a message from comrade Romeo Blue, regarding the situation in the Old Country. Things were starting to become critical, riots left and right over whether or not the peace treaty was fair or left them humiliated. Cherno was to keep watch and protect two jaegers arriving soon in the city. The two were Gipsy Danger and Striker Eureka.

Gipsy is the older of the two, a Mark III delayed too far into the war. She was meant to be a mobile mecha relying more on diverse weaponry than the brute force of previous jaegers. However, as the situation declined she was equipped with several other additions to compete against the ever diversifying Kaiju army. She ranked the second highest in simulation matches, second only to Striker.

Striker Eureka is the only Mark V. In simulation matches he was always the victor. His ego became his most defining trait, and for a long time believed he was “Da Best”. Gipsy however asserted that she could beat the younger machine, and thus created a rivalry between the two. In spite of this however if there’s anyone she can talk to for personal matters, it’s Striker, considering he’s the only one near her age, even amongst other Mark IIIs.

Gipsy Danger is Romeo’s “Daughter” a strange concept to any mecha, even Cherno. She was an energetic and optimistic individual, and always eager for a challenge of any sort. Striker Eureka was the student of Cherno’s friend Tacit Ronin, always confident and wanting to become “the best” in what he loves (fighting). Cherno now understood why they had to be sent to Harryhausen.Not only were they his comerade's loved ones, their youth makes them easilly exploitable to any of the various factions in the old country.

Both jaegers were young, egotistical and could be occasionally aggravating with their constant bantering on “I am the best in X, you are just Y”. In spite of that, they respect and admire the older mech and always help with daily activities. Gipsy calls him “Uncle Cherny”, while Striker likes to call him Mr. Kaidonovsky, for some reason.

One day, owner and manager of “The Rift”, Slattern, came up to Cherno. After years holding a stranglehold on the city, the towering kaiju threatened the Old Machine to have his business elsewhere, unless he wants something “unfortunate” happen to him. An infuriated Gipsy challenged the giant kaiju, if she can beat one of his best fighters, Slattern would cease and desist all threats to Cherno’s gym and leave them be. Slattern agreed to the challenge, believing an easy win and potentially an end to Cherno. He organized that it’ll be on his turf, in the twin rings of The Rift. Striker hopped on the challenge, wanting to make it a double match.

Striker would take on Mutavore, a well-known fighter in her own right, known for her aggressiveness in the ring. Many thought Striker had a good chance of victory, with his good armor, build and speed giving him an advantage. But Gipsy was chosen to fight Knifehead, the welterweight champ of the city. He was bigger, he punched harder and has amongst the most experience of any one in The Rift, second only to Slattern. The odds were so stacked against the lither mech many deemed the match over before it begun. Then the impossible happened… Gipsy Danger won, and worse still, by knockout.

The “Rift Breaker” rippled throughout the city. Newspapers everywhere headlined of how a young mech beat one of the best kaiju of his class. This brought an enormous boost in confidence to nearly all the mechs living in Harryhausen. The push for equality became stronger than ever before. Close friend of Mothra and activist Jet Jaguar commended the Shatterdome, for “giving a chance for mechs to see themselves inside and showing what they can do if we try”.

The incident however increased existing tensions two fold. With a higher debt the chance of Slattern employing violence on Cherno’s gym increased substantially. Gipsy’s victory has led to an underground group, under the belief of “Mechanical Superiority”, to plan out a revolution within Harryhausen to install Mecha rule, and the killing off of the kaiju population. This new foe in has made the underground an even deadlier powderkeg, as Godzilla now has to face off against another, if shadier competitor. The leader of the group is unknown, but all what little evidence that has been gathered has lead the Police force to conclude… a former engineer by the name of MOGUERA is highly likely...