Ritsuko/Maya is canon in the Rebuilds.
No, seriously. Maya’s unrequited crush on Ritsuko in Neon Genesis Evangelion isn’t up for debate, but what many people miss is that Anno’s secretly upgraded their relationship in Rebuild. (This isn’t the first time a canon gay NGE relationship has seen an upgrade in the movies. See: Kawoshin.) The clues are buried throughout, and Anno’s left us to unearth them.
There’s this super interesting article that provides very compelling explanations for some of the visual/thematic clues present (shortchanging Ritsuko’s black and white cat trinkets for two black ones, by way of example) that clarify a secret canon relationship between the two.
If you can’t get Google Translate to work its magic on the article, a sufficient English translation is available under the cut:
