>>283689519
Even that is quantifiable.
The creators, or rather just Anno, preferred Asuka because her character was more or less made up from archetypes he himself enjoyed. Hence Asuka's backstory is in truth a copy of his favorite character from Nausicaa, Kushana the Warrior Princess, whose mother went insane in her childhood, mistaking her daughter for a doll she spoke to. Even the Rebuilds mimics this character with it's warrior princess nickname to Asuka. Both broken, like Anno prefers.
It boils down to what traits people find attractive, so when you reduce the sample size to just one man or a few creators, then you're going to get clear-cut answers as to why they prefer this or that character. There's always going to be outliers.
But when you widen the sample range to the entire prospective audience, you're going to need a different gauge. Generally, people prefer characters that are successful, heroine-like and important, that stand above other characters in the same story. Characters that can be admired, rather than despised or pitied, and it's in this view there's a reversal for Asuka and Rei.
