aspects of Misato's psychology; Misato has various masks and shows herself to be an elder sister, a rough spinster and daring soldier, confusing Shinji. At the end of the episode, Shinji notices Misato shows her coarser, vulnerable side because he is part of her family; after the event, the psychological distance between the two lessens. Misato in "A Human Work" also tries to stop the Jet Alone "with the hands of man" Optimism and hope towards human abilities are themes already present in earlier works of Hideaki Anno, like Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Comic Book Resources's Matthee England described the Jet Alone affair as one of the more concentrated examples of Evangelion deconstruction of the mecha genre. For writer Dani Cavallaro, the mecha formula is turned in "A Human Work" into a vehicle for active engagement in political and economical satire. Critic Dennis Redmond similarly described the episode as a satire of "the arrogance of Japan's nuclear power lobby" and keiretsu business elite. Reception "A Human Work" had a mixed reception. The episode was first broadcast on November 15, 1995, and scored a 5.9% rating of audience share on Japanese TV. Digitally Obsessed's reviewer Joel Cunningham criticized the episode as being probably the worst in the series and unnecessary; according to Cunningham, nothing happens and events remain unchanged at the end. He described the action scenes as "well done, but ultimately frivolous" and also said "there aren't even any particularly good character moments". According to Multiverity Comics' Matthew Garcia, "A Human Work" is not among Evangelion's best episodes, but it does manage to come together in the third act, in large part thanks to Misato. Animé Café's Japanese reviewer Akio Nagatomi negatively received the episode, since it portrays governments as "simple-minded idiots", but also praised the sub-plots involving Misato's double face and the conspiracy that leads to the Jet Alone malfunction, the animation and some "neat" angle shots, like the drop-shipping of the Eva from the bomber. He concluded; "Not a great episode, though the political background has me a little intrigued". Film School Rejects's Max Covill said "A Human Work" does not advance the series' plot "in any meaningful way", but praised the scene involving Misato and Ritsuko. He described it as "an exciting episode" that provides additional background on important supporting characters. Animation Planet magazine' John Beam positively reviewed "A Human Work" and "Asuka