Quote Originally Posted by Lord Celebi View Post
Yeah, but that doesn't mean the character has to be unlikeable. If Shinji = Anno, then Anno just thought he himself to be unlikeable when he was a perfectly okay chap. Anno may think that these characteristics are normal because of depression, but it doesn't make it that way.
Right, it might not come out the way it was intended, but it's pretty clear Anno set out to make a character unlikeable. I never stated that you as a viewer can't like the characters, just that they were intended to be unlikeable mainly due to what Anno set out to do.

Anno also set out to intentionally make Asuka essentially a disgusting character, of how a Tsundere might look like, and she instead became THE icon for Tsundere who's well loved by many otakus. What happened was completely the opposite of what was intended, even if it did work for you, as you do hate Asuka (she came out as intended for you). Same with Rei, Anno set out to describe another aspect of Shinji with Rei, but instead the fandom accepted her as her own character, even creating a new archetype of moe in the Kuudere.