I want to hate Asuka, but I cannot. She's actually interesting, unlike Rei.
Does Rei show any signs of emotion later on?
I know what you mean, her personality is horrid but she's actually likable.
Rei is bland and just there to take up space. Better than the emofest we got with Shinji in the first 5 episodes though.
IMO the best part is episodes 6-very early 20s. I forget when but it eventually gets really budget cut'd to hell.
No joke, one episode had a stillframe for a minute. 60 whole seconds. >_>