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Kids' Anime Shinkalion Episode 17 Parodies Evangelion
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
A few months ago Shinkalion, a kids' sci-fi mecha show with transforming trains, announced it was planning a send-off for the Evangelion bullet train. Allegedly, a viewer wrote to staff after watching the anime's first episode and said that the premise of a boy, his father, and a robot reminded them of Evangelion. The comment spurred the staff into action on a collaboration with the classic mecha series.
The fruit of that collaboration will appear in the anime's 17th episode scheduled to air on May 5. The episode goes beyond simply introducing a transforming Eva bullet train robot. Protagonist Hayato adopts Gendō Ikari's signature pose while sitting in a meeting with several black monoliths. The scene is reminiscent to Gendo's own meeting with the mysterious SEELE organization.
The episode will also feature theme songs from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The episode's plot follows Hayato to a planned reunion with his father, Hokuto Hayasugi, who works in Kyoto. While Hayato waits at the Shin-Osaka train station for his father to finish work, a huge, unexpected monster appears.
The JR-West line operates out of the Shin-Osaka train station and is also wear passengers can board the real 500 TYPE EVA train. The bullet train will make its last stop on May 13. The 500 TYPE EVA train already collaborated with Takara Tomy's Shinkanlion toy line in October prior to the anime's premiere.
Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno welcomed the collaboration and said he was looking forward to the episode and especially wanted to watch the transformation. Anno is a train fan himself, and he and original mecha designer Ikuto Yamashita worked directly on the 500 TYPE EVA train project.
The Shinkalion anime series premiered in Japan on January 6. It is not currently streaming in English.
Source: Comic Natalie
