Mata Hari and Nancy Makuhari

A key character in “Read or Die”, Nancy Makuhari (codename Miss Deep) is a clone of Mata Hari. In the “Read or Die” OVA, Nancy’s true identity is revealed when Ikkyu Sojun, her lover, addresses her as Mata Hari in his broadcast. A list seen earlier in Joseph Carpenter’s hands shows Mata Hari on the list of famous persons whose DNA has been preserved by the Special Operations Division. It is possible that Nancy may have been cloned from a stolen sample of this DNA.

The alias of Nancy Makuhari is a clue to her real identity. "Makuhari" is a near spelling of "Mata Hari".

Nancy has many traits in common with Mata Hari. Like Mata Hari, Nancy is an intensely sexual woman with a strong personality. Nancy is outspoken, cynical, deceptive, and unconventional. Beneath this, however, she is romantic and a little sentimental. She is physically and morally brave and can be surprisingly gentle and kind. Mata Hari had the same qualities. Like Mata Hari, Nancy has a self-destructive streak, tends to prefer fantasy to reality, and can be her own worst enemy. Nancy even shares Mata Hari’s enjoyment of fine clothes and dressing up. The two are also similar physically. Both are tall, strong, and dark-haired. Nancy, however, has finer features, reddish instead of dark eyes, and a very large bust.

Oddly enough, Mata Hari had some Japanese connections. Henri de Marguerie, one of her lovers, was French ambassador to Japan for several years. Baron Kurino, the Japanese ambassador to France, was one of Mata Hari’s biggest fans, though he would certainly have known that her “Asian” dances were inauthentic. He was present at Mata Hari’s public debut in 1905, and in 1908 she gave a private repeat performance for him at the Musee Guimet.

There is much controversy in the Read or Die fandom over the question of Nancy’s sexuality. Both Nancies (Nancy 1 and Nancy 2) are lovers of Ikkyu Sojun, and both are willing to kill and die for him. Yet both Nancies also show an intense affection for Yomiko Readman, and this feeling often seems to border on the sexual. On the whole, it seems that Nancy’s leanings in this direction are somewhat stronger.

In some respects, however, Nancy is modeled more on the myth of Mata Hari than on the real person. Mata Hari was not a good secret agent, while Nancy is a brilliant one. Mata Hari was seldom violent, but both Nancies are killers.