The official website for Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Animation , the television anime adaptation of Takara Tomy 's Shinkalion toy line, revealed the anime's cast and staff on Monday.

The new cast members include:

Ayane Sakura as Hayato Hayasugi, the protagonist and driver of the Shinkalion E5



Manami Numakura as Akita Oga, the driver of the Shinkalion E6 who fights alongside Hayato



Rie Murakawa as Tsuranuki Daimonyama, the pilot of the Shinkalion E7





Takahiro Ikezoe ( Show By Rock!! , PriPri Chii-chan!! ) is directing the anime at OLM. Ajia-do is credited for animation cooperation. Kento Shimoyama ( Bleach , Armed Girl's Machiavellism ) is in charge of series composition. Yuka Aono ( Brave Beats ) is designing the characters, and Keita Hattori is in charge of mechanical design . Toshiyuki Watanabe ( Giovanni's Island , Space Brothers ) is composing the music, and Masafumi Mima ( Attack on Titan , Valvrave the Liberator ) is the sound director. SMDE is credited for CG animation.

The anime will premiere in 2018 on TBS and its affiliates.

The Shinkalion robots are various models of real-life Japanese bullet trains (shinkansen) that transform into robots to fight an unknown evil to protect the safety and peace of Japan.

In the franchise 's story, Hayato Hayasugi (his last name is a pun on the words for "too fast"), the train-loving son of a train museum curator, accidentally stumbles 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.

In the anime's story, Hayato and other children will serve as conductors to pilot the Shinkalion. The children must work together with the adults of the "Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute" (SUEI) to defeat a monster that looks like a jet black bullet train.

Takara Tomy also revealed the "Deluxe Shinkalion Series" (DXS) line of toys in the franchise in October, starting with the E5 Hayabusa.