Shinji IKARI

He really doesn't deserve all the hate he gets. The most common reason I've seen for people hating him is that he's a coward, yeah well no shit. Look, let me first explain to you something, even if he wasn't a "coward" he still probably wouldn't want to do this shit. Shinji's father abandons him after his mother's death, never visits or anything and then suddenly he sends a letter, the contents of which is basically "Come" no explaination or apoligies just a flat out order as if he hadn't basically abandoned all of his parental rights when he abandoned Shinji. So when he gets there, probably hoping to finally get the parental love he's probably almost always craved, only to be told that he needs to risk his life fighting giant alien creatures of course he would refuse. Now, even in a situation where the person asking this of you (though it wasn't a request so much as an order in Shinji's case) didn't abandon you as a child you'd still likely be afraid. Nearly anyone is afraid to face death, let alone a mere teenager! Would you want to do it? probably not, so try to see this from his point of view. 

Evangelion is a series where everything can, and probably will, go wrong so after he is basically forced to do his father's dirty work everything just goes downhill. No matter what he does, none of the people around him really express love for him, wether Asuka or Rei love him is up for the imagination but even if they did they aren't the types to express that in a way Shinji can understand. He's always seeking the acceptance of his peers, something many people do, and constantly looking for love from his father, who never gives it to him. Finally somebody shows up who changes everything, Kaworu. Kaworu appears and is open and will tell Shinji things like "I love you" without hesitation, this being something Shinji probably hasn't experienced since his mother's death. Of course Shinji is likely to latch on to any affection that is freely, and openly, given to him. So when Kaworu dies, by Shinji's own hand I might add, despite not having known him for that long, he's devastated and I believe that was the straw that broke the camel's back. If Shinji wasn't on the verge of mental collapse before, well then folks he was after that point. Everything continued to get worse and worse, it seemed like nothing would ever go right for him and up until the end this misfortune remained.

Shinji is not a coward by my definition, he's simply unfortunate and afraid. He likely thinks with a mindset of "nothing has gone right for me before so why should it now?" and suddenly faced with the responsability of his entire planet's fate on his shoulders, he is right to be fearful and anxious. I can understand how people don't share my dislike of Asuka but what I don't understand is just why so many people hate Shinji so damn much.