is the eighth episode of the Japanese anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, which was created by Gainax. The episode, written by Hideaki Anno and Yoji Enokido and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, was first broadcast on TV Tokyo on November 22, 1995. The series is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm and is mostly set in the futuristic, fortified city Tokyo-3. The series' protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the organization Nerv to pilot a gigantic, bio-mechanical mecha named Evangelion into combat with beings called Angels. During the episode, Asuka Langley Soryu, a girl who is designated as the pilot of Evangelion Unit-02, is introduced; after the attack of Gaghiel, the sixth Angel, Asuka cooperates with Shinji aboard the Eva-02 to defeat the enemy. Anno conceived "Asuka Strikes!" to lighten the tone of the series after the previous episodes, which were characterized by an introspective, psychological mood. Shinji Higuchi, who worked with Anno on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and is known for his work's humor, drew the storyboards, giving the story a comedic tone. For the installment, the show's production staff drew several real-life vehicles while incorporating cultural references to the plays of William Shakespeare and Gainax's earlier works. The episode's first broadcast scored a 7.6% audience share on Japanese television, and was well-received by audiences and critics. Reviewers appreciated the episode's humor and action, and its introduction of Asuka's character, ranking it as one of the best episodes in the series. Plot Misato Katsuragi, captain of the special paramilitary agency Nerv, takes Shinji Ikari and his friends Toji and Kensuke on a flight to a United Nations carrier battlegroup that is transporting a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit-02 and its German pilot Asuka Langley Sohryu to Japan. Escorting Asuka to Japan is Misato's ex-boyfriend Ryoji Kaji. A massive aquatic creature called Gaghiel, the sixth of a series of enemies named Angels, begins attacking the fleet. Asuka decides she will fight Gaghiel using Unit-02 and she takes Shinji with her. The Angel drags Unit-02 underwater and Misato devises a plan to kill it by lodging two sunken battleships in its mouth and then firing all of their weapons into it. The Angel is killed; some time after, Kaji delivers an embryo-like creature named Adam to Gendo, Nerv's commander, and Asuka transfers to Shinji's class. Production Gainax studio decided