Jordan Peele is an anime nerd! During the film’s climax, Em Haywood (Keke Palmer) pulls off a motorcycle slide in the California desert, mirroring the iconic Akira slide from the 1988 film Akira (Snippet from Interview). Akira has inspired multiple animators and the Akira slide is referenced in countless animations (Akira Slides) so it was very satisfying to see it in a live-action scenario. While researching I learned that Peele was once considered to direct a live-action adaptation of the film but ultimately turned down the offer to focus on other projects so by choosing this specific homage, I think Peele chose to take a moment to pay his respect to Akira’s influence on sci-fi and modern pop culture, while embedding it in a distinctly different setting: an American Western horror story. On top of that, he stages this homage with a black female character! This choice adds even more depth to the genre-blending nature of Nope, suggesting the universality and adaptability of certain symbols across diverse narratives.

When it was revealed that the saucer was actually a living creature, my mind also went to the cult classic Neon Genesis Evangelion! The sheer awe & spectacle of the creature in its true form reminded me of the alien “Angels” (a namesake like Angel in the film who connects to themes of surveillance) from the series and very much like Jean Jacket, the Angels (in the show and biblically) seem hostile & appear in many different frightening & mind-bending forms. Jean Jacket bears many similarities to the Angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion, particularly Shamshel (image above) and Sahaquiel. VFX supervisor Guillaume Rocheron said in an interview (VFX Interview) that inspiration was taken from Evangelion in the minimalistic and functional design of Jean Jacket. Jean Jacket particularly resembles the angel Sahaquiel (Sahaquiel 10th Angel), with its saucer-like form and large eye, and the shape and positioning of its mouth. This parallel continues through the alien’s ability to disable nearby technology, a trait also possessed by Sahaquiel in Evangelion and used by Jean Jacket in Nope to limit the characters’ modern defenses.

Peele is not subtle with his love for anime and the references and homages made it a fun watch!