Yes they are reversed in terms of whether top/bottom makes it easier/slower for uphills, and which direction makes it faster/harder for downhills.

They are unified in that the big lever requires more force, and it pulls cable so that the corresponding derailleur moves the chain to the bigger cog (more teeth). The other lever releases cable so that the spring in the derailleur can allow it to fall back and move the chain to a smaller cog.

The oppositeness comes because the gear ratio is front teeth divided by rear teeth, so since rear teeth is in the denominator, more teeth means slower, while front teeth in the numerator means more teeth=faster.