Website Otaku Kart described Asuka as "one of the most popular female characters in anime history". She appeared in polls on best anime pilots and female anime characters, proving popular among both female and male audiences. In 1996 she ranked third among the "most popular female characters of the moment" in the Anime Grand Prix survey by "Animage" magazine, behind Rei Ayanami and Hikaru Shido from "Magic Knight Rayearth". In 1997 and 1998 Anime Grand Prixes, she remained among the top 10 female characters; in 1997 she ranked in fourth place, while in 1998 she ranked sixth. Asuka also appeared in the magazine's monthly surveys, remaining in the top 20 in 1996, 1997 and 1998 polls. In 1999, "Animage" ranked her 40th among the 100 most popular anime characters. Her popularity increased after the release of the second "Rebuild of Evangelion" movie; in August and September 2009 she emerged in the first place and remained the most popular female "Neon Genesis Evangelion" character in "Newtype" magazine popularity charts, while in October she ranked tenth. In a "Newtype" poll in March 2010, she was voted the third most popular female anime character from the 1990s, immediately after Rei Ayanami and Usagi Tsukino from "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon". In February 2015, almost twenty years after the show first aired, she emerged again on the magazine's charts in sixth place. In 2017, she also ranked 16th among the characters Anime! Anime! site readers would "rather die than marry". Her line "Are you stupid?" (あんたバカ?, "Anta baka?") also became widely used among hardcore fans after her first appearance in the eighth-episode.