Asuka vs Rei

"Asuka vs Rei" refers to a rivalry between fans of Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, two main characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the anime fandom, such rivalries are common, commonly referred to as "waifu wars."

Rei Ayanami
It should be noted that Rei Ayanami is not a singular character. Due to her status as a clone, there are multiple characters that have this name. The second incarnation of Rei (named Rei II) is the Rei present for the majority of the series, up until her death in Episode 23 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The vast majority of her character development occurs in this iteration of Rei. Rei II shows little character development outside of developing emotions. After Rei II's death, she is replaced with Rei III. Because of this, all the progress made by Rei II is lost, resulting in "Rei" reverting to her old state.

Despite this distinction, many do not explicitly distinguish between Rei II and III.

Criticisms of Rei Ayanami
A notable criticism of Rei is her lack of emotion with most of her development as a character being related to her developing emotions. Moreover, despite Rei's appearance being that of a fourteen year old girl, she is actually, at most, four years old. As a result, she is emotionally and socially immature. Notably, she displays no emotion after being seen naked by Shinji Ikari, not having developed a sense of modesty.

Notable Opinions

 * In an interview, Hideaki Anno stated that he has "no emotional attachment to Rei at all."