>>3077357I don't know if Rei was intended to be uncanny valley or not. If they were trying to emphasize how she was a real person and not a "doll" then I feel the manga executed that better. She felt more human and likable, her relationship with Shinji was also better. Instead of Shinji cleaning her room for her they made him stick up his fingers up Toji's fingers to make her laugh, which stood out a lot more to me.
Asuka and Shinji actually have a healthy rivalship going on in the manga, but their relationship is much less significant. In the anime she was sincerely terrible, which I guess makes her more "real" as a mentally ill person. So in the end I still prefer the anime.
Aaaand Shaun is a lot more sarcastic/snarky than Shinji. He doesn't seem to have underlying issues (misogyny, objectification, etc) that he hides and he's a lot more honest and straightforward. It's actually funny because despite his anger issues he's actually a better person than his anime version, but I still love Shinji more. Shaun just feels like your average shonen protag.
