Mecha anime Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z will air a crossover episode involving Neon Genesis Evangelion. The episode will appear in Japan on September 17, 2021. In it, the characters of Shinkalion Z will team up with Evangelion protagonist Shinji Ikari in a new storyline.
The announcement coincided with an update of the official Shinkalion Z website with an Evangelion theme, as well as showing off the story’s unique mecha, the Shinkalion Z 500 Type EVA. Like other robots that appear in the show, the robot is based on the design of a real-life Japanese bullet train, in this case the Shinkansen 500 Type EVA, a special train decorated in the iconic purple-dominant colors of Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s Evangelion Unit-01.
The design was previewed in a promotional tweet from August 2021.
【情報解禁】
「#エヴァンゲリオン新幹線」ことJR西日本「新幹線 500 TYPE EVA」が「シンカリオンＺ 500 TYPE EVA」に変形！
さらに！初の私鉄在来線となる名鉄「エヴァンゲリオン特別仕様 #ミュースカイ」とＺ合体！https://t.co/FXm37s0Dpc続報をお楽しみに！#シンカリオンZ #エヴァンゲリオン pic.twitter.com/NyH4RGLjTc
— 『新幹線変形ロボ シンカリオン』シリーズ(公式) (@shinkalion) August 13, 2021
Shinkalion Z is the second animated series in the Shinkalion franchise. It was originally created as a collaboration between toy manufacturer Takara Tomy and the Japan Railways Group, the conglomerate that operates much of the country’s intercity railway service. In Shinkalion Z, young drivers protect Japan’s peace, which is under threat from mysterious giant monsters controlled by the mysterious organization Kitoralzers. They pilot the Shinkalions, giant robots created by the Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute and transforming from bullet trains.
Check out the show’s opening sequence.
The upcoming crossover episode is actually the third time Shinkalion has collaborated with Evangelion. The new storyline will have the Shinkalion drivers encountering Eva pilot Shinji Ikari (voiced by Megumi Ogata) and Unit-00 pilot Rei Ayanami. The children will team up to fend off an attack by the massive Oni Eva, a monster that appears after the villainous group Teoti pays a visit to the famous Toei Kyoto Studio Park. The park is a real-life attraction in Kyoto, Japan, and takes the form of a large replica Edo-period Japanese town. In addition to its status as a theme park, the location is also often used to shoot period films and TV shows. It currently hosts a near-full-scale statue of Unit-01, and it’s this statue that Teoti turns into the Oni Eva.
Shinkalion Z‘s crossover episode will air in Japan on September 17, 2021. Currently it has no officially licensed streaming option available.
