However, though I haven't seen the Re: Cutie Honey episode he directed, from what I understand it was laden with fanservice. Furthermore,
Hideaki Anno wrote:To support the fans that support animation, we felt that a work that would appeal to middle and high school-aged men, who quickly grow away from anime, was necessary.
When we decided that we wanted to something to support the anime [industry] of today, the determination to return to this title was strong.
So has Anno "suffered" a "relapse" into fandom, or is he simply aiming his work toward otaku without actually being one?
(In a quasi-related note, I do love his response to the "Gainax, _______ forever!" quote in contrast to Yamaga's. While Yamaga's was "Gainax, an otaku's friend forever!", Anno's was, I believe, "Gainax, there's no such thing as forever!" Leave it to him to make it seem ominous...)
EDIT: I have just found out that Anno supervised Re: Cutie Honey, but didn't actually direct any of it. Huh.