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 Japanese Railways Group in 2015. A spin-off of TakaraTomy's long-running Plarail model train franchise, Shinkalion focuses on giant robots that transform into real-life Shinkansen bullet trains.
Shinkalion recieved 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 created by the mysterious "Black Shinkansen". Inspired by classic mecha anime such as Brave and Hikarian, the Shinkalion anime was enormously popular in Japan, recieving critical acclaim and great financial success, with a feature film that guest-starred Shinji Ikari, Hatsune Miku and Godzilla. (Yes, really.) A sequel anime, Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z, launched in April 2021.
Shinkalion and Transformers
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, running until May 2021.
Notes
- If you're confused about why an action show focused on trains, of all things, would be so popular, remember that rail-fandom 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; hence the existence of Raiden, JRX and... well, Shinkalion.
