Just found this post that said Rei was meant to be the worst character in the show:
"Let me start by saying that Ayanami Rei isn’t even really a person. She’s a monstrosity made out Yui Ikari’s DNA. The connection between her and Shinji Ikari comes from Shinji being interested to her smell because it reminds him of his mother and the fact that his father is giving her positive attention instead of him. Her personality type in the original anime was a response to the love of typical emotionless and submissive anime girls, and why something like that wouldn’t work in real life. Both the manga and the movie versions replaced that with Shinji straight-up warming her up and making her more human than either her, her in-show clones, or the thousands of direct copies of her in other popular anime.
Rei is by far one of the worst girls in the show, maybe even just in anime altogether, because that was the point of the character. She’s the choice of people who want to escape from human interaction and want a pet to mold however they see fit."
I don't think being a fan of rei is missing the point. Maybe she really was a response to those type of girls. But IMO she is way more depth than just a stupid anime trope. Her personality crisis made me relate so much. Besides she is sexy as hell and i love her!
Asher Diaz
Posting this kind of filth shouldn't be allowed in the glorious Reiwa era.
Rei is the more interesting character conceptually. She's the "best" in terms of what she brings to the show, but Asuka is the "best" to hang out with and talk to. But neither of them matter when Misato is the true besto.
Misato a shit. Slobbish drunk woman child who has lost all hope of maturing further.
Hudson Brooks
Rei isn't a response to submissive girls, she is not meant to be a "girl" to begin with. Like the first line says, she isn't even a person. She was created as a tool, lived as one and died as one, having a small moment of rebellion. I prefer submissive girls yet I'd take Asuka over her any day of the weak because Rei isn't submissive, she just isn't human - she has no personality, her ego boils down to an existencial crisis. That said, I do agree she is quite cute.
Jeremiah Cook
Picking a stereotypical roastie over Rei. cringe desu senpai
Kevin Smith
>emotionless and submissive But she's neither, she's simply too autistic to even process her emotions in the beginning, let alone express them. As for being submissive she's cold as ice towards Shinji until she warms up to him over time through coming to actually like him. She's only "submissive" towards Gendo, the father-figure who's been her soul source of affection for most of her life, and once she realises that he's been using her in EoE she drops him like a sack of shit. The entire reason people disliked Rei Q is because she actually does embody that blank slate with no personal agency.
Jonathan Brooks
Rei isn't even really a character in the normal sense, she's more of a symbol. She also barely ever appears on screen. After watching the show I found all the arguing over who's better to be really weird.
Jonathan Gray
>She’s the choice of people who want to escape from human interaction and want a pet to mold however they see fit. Liking a character doesn't completely reveal everything about your own personality. It's ridiculous logic.
Ryan Perry
This.
Oliver Morales
Rei is like Jesus alter. It should be obvious why she would be popular.
I think what's most frustrating about Reifags is that Anno made Rei to represent what every socially inept anime watcher would want, just some quiet, submissive girl of nothingness with no real features. So then when people say "omg I want to make Rei my waifu!!!" not only are they absolutely not getting what Anno's point is, but they're exactly what he's trying to "Criticize". She's really not human, at all, either genetically or mentally. She's this weird amalgamation of a blank slate that ends up caring for only the protagonist. In other words, a fake person. It's absolutely not anything that happens in a real human life. The whole big theme of Evangelion is actually facing life as it is. Because it's hard and it sucks but you can't run away. Asuka represents this theme the best for Shinji. She's harsh, has flaws, can be difficult, but she's a real person while Rei represents an idealization of a woman. Just as Instrumentality is accepting this "fake dream world" where everyone stands around you and tells you how proud they are of you and everything is great, rejecting it leaves Shinji in this desolate wasteland, but you have to reject it. It's the only way to actually face life and move forward. You have to pick Asuka. Rebuild also follows this, as by picking Rei, Shinji does not move or evolve, attempting to run back where it's safe (back to mother, basically) rather than facing the consequences of his action.
If you try pulling that kind of message from 2.0, it would be: If your friend (Asuka) is in trouble and you stand idle in fear of hurting them, they get hurt still and its your fault. But if your other friend (Rei) is in trouble and you think you learned your lesson from last time and do everything to help - you accidently destroy the world, everyone will hate you, and you won't even succeed at saving them.
John Wright
>people who want to escape from human interaction and want a pet to mold however they see fit What's wrong with that?
Brandon Powell
source: Your ass
Eli Jenkins
Rei-II is the worst choice with an incomplete soul resigned to be a tool. Rei-III is a chad who does what she wants.
Tyler Morgan
No. Rei is super fucking flawed. She can barely feel emotion, just goes along with anything anyone tells her to do, she's not "quiet", shes nothingness. She doesn't stay silent because she's shy or anything, she stays quiet because she doesn't have anything to say. No opinions to weigh in, nothing. She's just (literally and figuratively) a two dimensional character. It's not "Rei Vs. Asuka". Her character development is just vaguely appreciating the protagonist. She's like a caricature of the "shy" anime trophy waifu trope, so grossly exaggerated.
It's tempting because- like instrumentality, choosing her just means an existence where everything is A-OK and everyone appreciates you and no one says bad things and bad things never happen. But this isn't a real life. This isn't a life a person could possibly have. It's artificial, it's created. You have to reject it because it's hard, not because it's easy.
And that's what Asuka represents. She represents confronting your problems and actually tackling them. She represents living in the real world instead of some fantasy world. She's not going to tell you comfortable lies, she's going to tell you the harsh truth so you can fix yourself.
You can still like Rei for the "flavor" she adds in NGE as a foil to Asuka. You can even like her characterization more than Asuka, it doesn't matter. You're not supposed to ultimately fall in love with her like shes the "perfect girl" like so much of the NGE audience has done. Nothing insulting about it.
Brandon Carter
hideaki anno is missing the point of his own show if he thinks this is what he wrote
