LightDragonman wrote:Guess Anno's ploy to tear down Rei in 3.33 to get people to view her like he does (creepy and unsympathetic) while getting people to instead like the two he prefers way more and considers far more worthy of being with Shinji worked. If the poll is any indication, I doubt Rei will be treated with anything but contempt in FINAL, given how much Anno hates her.
I'm sure if Anno truly hated a character, then he wouldn't bother incorporating that character into the fictional work in which he has ultimate control. Also, anytime Anno has Megumi Hayashibara narrate anything in his live-action films, he always has her narrate in the "Rei Ayanami" voice. One could say that this Rei-in-all-but-name showing up in narrations in works like Love & Pop and Ritual is actually evidence of Anno's fondest for the character, or at least fondness for the character's aesthetics.
Personally speaking, Rei II's absence in Eva Q makes me aware of how fond I was of Rei, both in the "Rebuilds" and in NGE itself. Defenders of Rei will point out that Rei isn't truly expressionless, and nowhere is that clearer than in the juxtaposition between Eva Ha's Rei II, and Eva Q's Rei. Rei II has very subtle expressions, like she doesn't quite know how to express bold emotions yet. Rei in Eva Q just has completely soulless eyes. Even other characters tell her that her "original" was more fun. (Though, exactly what they mean by "original" when it comes to a series of clones is rather unclear. Are they speaking of Rei II or Yui?) I don't think Anno hates Rei. I think his goal to "destroy" Rei is more about his desire to create an intense narrative drama in his new Evangelion series. Remember, Anno considers Shinji to be his own self-insert character, and in Eva Ha Anno depicts his self-inter character chasing after Rei II, causing Third Impact. I'm not saying that Anno has a deep love for Rei or anything like that, but he's comfortable enough with Rei to depict his self-admitted self-insert having an intense emotional connection to her, one that leaves Anno's self-insert character very depressed when he loses her.
All this to say, I think we'll see a triumphant return of Rei II in Shin Eva. She's probably still in Eva Unit 01, probably functioning in Eva Unit 01 along side whatever it is Yui is doing in there.