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Shinkalion Combines Speed of Bullet Trains with the Power of Giant Robots
posted on by Eric Stimson
Bullet trains have long been an icon of Japan and its forward-looking, technologically driven society. Giant robots are another Japanese icon and are a staple of toy stores and children's anime. Sho-Pro has taken what might be a natural step: combine the two with the transforming mecha Shinkalion.
There is another video narrated in Kansai dialect, although it is nearly identical.
The story goes that Hayato Hayasugi ("too fast"), the train-loving son of a train museum curator, accidentally stumbled into his dad's secret research lab one day. Inside he finds the E5 bullet train. As soon as he enters, he hears an announcement that a mysterious enemy, the Bachigami ("bee god"), is attacking the city of New Saitama. Luckily, with the touch of his father's Shinca ("evolve") card, the bullet train he's in transforms into a mighty robot — the Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa!
Additional characters have been introduced. Akita Sugu, true to his name, comes from an Akita family of hunters and is a crack shot.
Akita's mecha, the E6 Komachi
Tsuranuki Maeda hails from an old warrior clan from Ishikawa Prefecture but uses tablets and other modern technology.
Tsuranuki's mecha, the E7 Kagayaki
The Shinkalion project will unfold in the form of toys, events all over Japan, and magazine features. It may also expand into movies or TV eventually.
Shinkalion might be far-fetched, but cars transforming into robots are becoming a reality: a Turkish startup, LETVISION, has developed a transforming car robot, and a Japanese team, Project J-deite, is developing a similar robot.
Source: Shinkalion official website
