Transforming Bullet Train Robot Shinkalion
Transforming Bullet Train Robot Shinkalion (新幹線変形ロボ シンカリオン Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion) is a non-Transformers toy franchise created by TakaraTomy in association with the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Japanese Railways Group|{{#if:||Japanese Railways Group}}]] in 2015. A spin-off of TakaraTomy's long-running [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Plarail|{{#if:||Plarail}}]] model train franchise, Shinkalion focuses on giant robots that transform into real-life [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Shinkansen|{{#if:||Shinkansen}}]] bullet trains.
Shinkalion received an anime adaptation that ran from January 2018 to June 2019, focused on kid hero Hayato Hayasugi and his Shinkalion mech E5 Hayabusa, with the aid of the "Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute" and his fellow pre-teen mech pilots, battling giant monstrous beings created from inanimate objects by the mysterious "Black Shinkansen". Inspired by classic mecha anime such as Brave and [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Hikarian|{{#if:||Hikarian}}]], the Shinkalion anime was enormously popular in Japan, receiving critical acclaim and great financial success, with a feature film that guest-starred Shinji Ikari, [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Hatsune Miku|{{#if:||Hatsune Miku}}]], and Godzilla. (Yes, really.) A sequel anime, Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z, aired from April 2021 to March 2022. A new anime series, Shinkalion: Change the World, premiered in April 2024.
Shinkalion and Transformers
[edit]In April 2020, the Shinkalion arcade game Get the Card! Super Shinka Battle was relaunched as Toy Clash! Roboca Battle, a three-way crossover between Shinkalion, fellow TakaraTomy changey-bot toyline Tomica Bond Combination Earth Granner, and Transformers: Cyberverse, which ran until May 2021.
The transformation scheme and engineering of the Bot Shots Blitz Shots would see re-use in 2024 in the Transforming Bullet Train Robot Shinkalion: Change the World toyline, although these releases are not branded as Bot Shots/BeCool and lack the rotating drum gimmick in their chest.
Notes
[edit]- If you're confused about why an action show focused on trains, of all things, would be so popular, remember that rail-fandom (and public rail travel in general) is huge in Japan, in contrast to the United Kingdom where it's a niche hobby for weirdos and the United States where it basically doesn't exist (outside of Thomas the Tank Engine); hence the existence of Raiden, Sixliner, JRX and... well, Shinkalion.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]- [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion|{{#if:||Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion}}]] at Wikipedia
- Shinkalion Wiki at Fandom