Plagiarism or Ignorance?

To start this off, I would like to say I'm avoiding the butt hurt rant that everyone who reads this, is probably expecting. But Pacific Rim, however you look at it, show's a complete disregard for previous existing materials from similar media. That doesn't mean to say I think this is a bad movie. I'm sure the team who worked on it bled their hearts out for hours trying to compose a film of this scale. I do actually understand their position. I myself am a conceptual artist, 3D modeler and games designer. Now most complaints I have read through online have been a little "blunt." Calling pacific rim a direct rip-off of movies and media, such as Transformer and Godzilla. Though i can see similarities, none really strike me as offensively stolen material. However when I look at Pacific Rim, and I know i'm not the only one, I see Evangelion. It is true that a large amount of people have probably never heard of Evangelion. Fair enough, but for those who don't know, it's a VERY popular Japanese anime published in the early 90's and has reached it's way around the world, creating an enormous fan base. Here is a short synopsis of Evangelion. "Evangelion focuses on a teenage boy recruited by an organization named NERV to control a giant cyborg called an Evangelion (Eva) to fight monstrous beings known as Angels." Here is a short synopsis of Pacific Rim. "The film is set in a near future where soldiers pilot giant robots into battle against invading giant monsters who have mysteriously risen from beneath the ocean." They are both very similar... For a good reason. Now you could say that a synopsis doesn't reflect a comparison, and is pretty petty if that's all my argument is formed around. I absolutely agree , the substance lies within the body of a film, you could read a synopsis of any war film and all of them would probably be a few words different. Sadly the similarities don't stop there. Trust me, I wish they did. I'm going to list some of the ridiculously similar (exactly the same) features, Pacific Rim shares with Evangelion... For this next part, at the end of each point, add "Just like Evangelion." - Mankind is forced to build giant mechanical being's in order to defeat a alien threat (just like Evangelion) <--- example - Mankind has lost all of it's resources trying to defeat said aliens to find only one method works. - Distinct emphasis on Japanese culture with a secondary pilot character, who displays little emotions. - Pilot's enter an object to synchronize with the Jaeger, then are inserted into the body of the Jaeger and are able to pilot. "My personal favorite." - The pilots use a neural connection in order for their movements and thoughts to be simultaneously transferred to through the Jaeger. I haven't even seen the movie yet, and i'm sure there will be more. This does hurt me in a lot of ways, being both passionate about the creative medium and a fan of the Evangelion series since I was seven years old. On top of all that, the creators and animators of Evangelion have been working solidly to try and release a live action film to the big screen, for a long time now. Even going so far as to rebuild their original anime over the last 6 years into movies. To try and re-establish an audience following and prime the story for a live action adaptation. It pains me to think that if they do reach their live action goals, that it may be met with an ignorant populous, who can the film for it's similarities to a pre-existing film. (Pacific Rim) Now obviously this Doesn't mean "RAAARGH TAKE THE MOVIE DOWN." Why I am writing this is to express my disappointment, and maybe create some understanding. That it is not OK to steal other Intellectual property. Even if you claim that you were unaware of previous materials existence, It is not OK to be ignorant of the IP, in a professional film industry, or any industry for that matter. If you took the time to read this, I hope it either solidified your opinions on the subject. Or maybe provoked you to take action against other existing media's you know to have been victims these cir***stances. But overall Thank you for the read, and you are entitled to your opinions. I leave you with a direct quote for Guillermo del Toro himself. “I felt there was a chance to do something fresh, something new that at the same time was conscious of the heritage, but not a pastiche or an homage or a greatest hits of everything. One of the first things I did is make it a point to not check any old movies or any other references. Like start from scratch.”