Hontou ni sou omou (discussing a picture -- see the post):

In 2000, I actively disliked Asuka. I think I must have disliked her chara so much that it overrode my feeling then that Rei was being depicted out of character. But, more recently, when I dug the drawing out and put it up, I’ve been thinking that Rei isn’t all that out of chara; she did slap Shinji for dissing Gendou and gave Asuka the Glare of Death once when she dissed Shinji. And I’ve mellowed towards Asuka too. While she hasn’t triggered my flag the way she had with Evirus, I’ve become more appreciative of the way she contributes to and completes the trinity, being the Obvious Bitchy Basketcase together with Whiny Lead Basketcase and Silent Timebomb Basketcase.

I certainly can relate. I only watched serveral episodes of the series, mostly out of order, when it ran and re-ran at Cartoon Network. So, my most complete impression of the whole thing came from Death and Rebirth, where Asuka is simply unbearable. As a result, Evirus was an enigma to me initially.

The picture is pretty nice, even with the character models a bit off.