Anime / Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion: Change the World

A long time ago, a mysterious type of enemy known only as the "Unknown" suddenly emerged, threatening to cause chaos upon the world if left unchecked. In response to this unprecedented threat, a secret subsidized branch of Japan Railways Group known as "Evolution Railway Development Agency", commonly shortened to "ERDA", developed the "Shinkalions", humanoid combat mechs based on Japan's many shinkansen bullet trains, as the sole countermeasure against this new threat to Japan's safety. It just need some pilots specifically able to withstand intense "ultra-evolution" speeds of 1225km/h to use it.

Taisei Onari is a second-year junior-high student who recently transfers to Shinkai Academy Junior-High Division in search for clues in finding his older sister who went missing two years ago in an undisclosed incident. Unfortunately, the Unknown suddenly reemerges for the first time in ten years and began wrecking havok, forcing ERDA to deploy the Shinkalion for combat. Incidentally, Taisei is been assessed by ERDA and is found to be a compatible Shinkalion pilot, specifically for the E5 Hayabusa, and is forced into a secret battle that would bring him one step closer to his goal.

One way or other, Taisei will need all the help he can get to solve the mystery behind the Unknown, find his sister and save the world, all while balancing his already-hectic school life.

Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion: Change the World, also known as simply Shinkalion: Change the World, is a Real Robot Genre Transforming Mecha anime animated in collaboration with Production I.G and Signal.MD, once again co-produced by East Japan Marketing & Communications, Japan Railways Group, Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, and Takara Tomy as a third installment in the Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion franchise. The anime, serving as a Continuity Reboot of sorts, was released on April 2024.

Tropes! Now Departing!:

• Action Prologue: The second scene of the first episode is three Shinkalion pilots already mid-combat, before going back to when heroes first came together.
• Alternate Continuity: Evolution Railway Development Agency, not the Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute, claims to have created the Shinkalion, and the Unknown have existed for a decade, which brings this series to a separate timeline from the previous seasons.
• Art-Shifted Sequel: There is a noticeable change when compared to the previous installments, abandoning the "cutesy" style and Anime Hair they used for more realistic designs.
• Breaking Old Trends: Numerous established tropes used by the franchise are thrown out in favor of innovative new developments.
  • Unlike the past seasons, road vehicles are given much more prominence.
  • The cockpits are much more akin to an actual train cabin, and likewise, the drivers now have proper uniforms instead of the skin-tight bodysuits in past seasons.
  • The Narrator no longer announces the Finishing Move.
  • The token Robot Buddy Vina is not a part of the organization, and was completely against to Taisei joinins as it's too dangerous.
  • The drivers don't have a designated Character Catchphrase.
  • The previous seasons introduced the Quirky Miniboss Squad fairly early, while here for the long time there are no known antagonists aside Black Shinkalion, and there's no info on it either.
  • The H5 in the past seasons was originally driven by characters from other franchises, with the first season using Vocaloid's Hatsune Miku and the second season bringing over Maetel Tsukino from Galaxy Express 999. This season, however, instead uses a Canon Foreigner, which was unheard of for female drivers in the franchise.
• Cannot Keep a Secret: When Akane gets injured by the Unknown, Ryota casually spells out that ERDA has rescued them, with late realization that he is in the Masquerade, so Akane is told the rest.
• Career-Ending Injury: Akane sprained his leg while exercising, destroying his chances of being on track and field.
• Central Theme: Be assertive. If you don't act with confidence, you'll lose the opportunity to.
• Character Development: Through Episode 2, Taisei tries to be more assertive, and instead of taking everything personally to speak up his mind. He slowly gets over his social awkwardness over the series. In Episode 4 Ryota also learns to speak his mind instead of holding all in.
• Chekhov's Gun: In Episode 4 Taisei is excited by being gifted a "Mr Wake-Up" inflatable pillow. Later in the episode, during the fight, Ryota's dodging maneuver is named after it.
• Childhood Friends: Ryota and Mai have been together since they were kids.
• The Chosen One: Taisei is the first person to be compatible with Shinkalion, before others join him. Him getting before Ryota and Mai, who were specifically recruited and trained for this, creates some early issues between them. On reconsideration, Taisei believes he was not ready and it takes him a while to gain confidence as a pilot.
• Class Clown: Ryota Kuzuryu is the jokester in class and can easily socialize with anyone.
• Conveniently Seated: Taisei's seat in class happens to be the corner one near the window.
• Cool Big Sis: Taisei's big sister Ina took great care of him and cheered him on, so when she has disappeared, finding her became Taisei's main motivation.
• Cyberspace: Taisei is a regular user of VR glasses where he designs Shinkansen stations in his free time, which is also what the Railway Club uses for their training activities.
• Darker and Edgier: While simply a rehash of the usual formula, Change the World has a more ominous tone that is readily evident in the Opening Theme. The series also has more interpersonal drama, and aside from obligatory toy marketing, the series prioritizes developing its cast of characters.
• Enemy Summoner: Similar to previous seasons, each Monster of the Week is created by the enigmatic Black Shinkansen spreading The Corruption in areas it passes.
• Establishing Character Moment: One of early scenes shows Taisei leaving a seat for an elderly, but being too embarrassed to call her, which results in the seat being taken by someone else. In the same scene, Mai Ome shows doing the same with less hesitation.
• Evil Counterpart: The first episode shows what looks like a Shinkalion on the enemy's side, shrouded in fog.
• Famed In-Story: Ina Onari is known as the famous genius AI systems engineering, and when Taisei tells he is her brother, he gets everyone's attention.
• Fangirl: Mai greatly admires Ina and is interested in anything that relates to her.
• Heroic Wannabe: Ryota is passionate about the Shinkalion because he was attacked by the Unknown 10 years ago and was rescued by a pilot from that time, and for a while holds a grudge against Taisei for taking the spot from him due to having higher compatibility. This gets fixed in Episode 4 when his honesty resolves his incompatibility.
• Hero of Another Story: When Shnkalion was first developed 10 years ago, its pilot has protected young Ryota. The idendity of the pilot is a mystery.
• Hidden Eyes: Taisei's face goes dark when he yells that his sister is surely still alive.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: Taisei has full understanding of how to operate the Shinkalion due to using the simulator some time before the series. The first combat still ends in Post-Victory Collapse.
• Japanese School Club: The Railway Club has only two members at the start of the series, and turns out to be a front for ERDA.
• Kid Hero: Compared to the teenage main cast, Ten Uotora is only 10
• Meaningful Echo: When Taisei says that his sister must be alive, Ryota replies that he believes it too because he trusts him. Later in the episode, Ryota describes the ERDA, then wonders how ridiculous it sounds, Taisei replies that he'll believe him.
• Mecha Expansion Pack: The E5, E6 and E7 Shinkalions are shown to have auxiliary units called ERDA Vehicles based on ground support equipments (GSE) commonly used in airports and railway stations, specifically a trailer truck, a container reach stacker and a Drill Tank respectively, which can combine to form alternate combat forms for the three Shinkalions.
• Mentor Mascot: Vina takes the role of a flying robot assistant like Shashot and Smaat, generally criticizing Taisei for his indecisiveness. It's a sentient version of the Navi assistant after being modified by Ina.
• A Minor Kidroduction: The series starts by introducing Taisei as a kid along with his sister, before jumping to the present.
• Mission Control: Kadomichi Takanawa acts as the homeroom teacher, club advisor, and as the intermediate commander for the heroes.
• Nature Versus Nurture: Akane is athletic and popular, but he really hates when his family being Olympic athletes is brought up because he wants to prove himself on his own.
• New Transfer Student: Taisei transfers to the Shinkai Academy, as his sister also attended there.
• Punny Name: Taisei attends the Shinkai Academy, with Shinkai being another connection to railroad terminology.
• Rail Enthusiast: Similar to Hayato, Taisei is a railroad fan and gets excited when the topic is brought up, and won't stop talking once he starts.
• Parental Favoritism: Because Akane has strained his leg, his parents have switched all their attention to his brother Asahi. When Akane got into hospital, they only show up to sign papers. Though they are relieved when Akane finds confidence in himself.
• Rule of Three: Accidental, but the franchise's anime installments have debuted three years apart from each other: the first season premiered in 2018, the second in 2021, and the third in 2024.
• Samaritan Syndrome: Taisei has a complex of being "cool", and despairs over damages to the city he didn't even cause, and overthinks if he's being inconsiderate to others.
• Searching for the Lost Relative: Taisei's primary goal is to search for his big sister Ina. Ina's ERDA account has been regularly accessed makes others believe he's still using it from somewhere.
• Shrinking Violet: Ten Uotora is great in battle, but he can barely talk to other people. During his introductory episode it's revealed that he's even been Willfully Weak to be considerate to other pilots to his own detriment.
• Sibling Rivalry: Akane really hates his brother Asahi because he is consistently compared to him by everyone when it comes to athletics and he's a victim of Parental Favoritism. Asahi on the other hand, remains nothing less but supportive of him. Akane gets over it after realizing he doesn't need to surpass him.
• The Slacker: Ryota doesn't like studying and finds excuses not to.
• Stepford Smiler: Ryota laughs off his concerns, to the point where Mai can tell he's withholding his frustrations.
• Support Party Member: Mai wanted to be an engineer like Ina, so she's not a pilot and mainly provides battle analysis, quickly being pushed Out of Focus.
• Video-Game Lives: The PC Unknown is themed after gaming and has three lives.
• Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World: Compared to previous seasons, Shinkalion duties don't spare the heroes from properly attending school.