THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 13, 2018 at 17:35 JST
Extended a year due to popular demand, the Evangelion Shinkansen train made its final run between Osaka and Fukuoka on May 13, giving fans of the anime one last chance to ride and see the futuristic-looking train.
About 1,200 fans flocked to the platform of Shin-Osaka Station to bid farewell to the train.
Taiga Shimizu, a 9-year-old elementary schoolboy who came to the station from Kyoto with his father and sister, said, "I desperately wanted to have a last look."
The special 500 Type Eva bullet train was introduced in November 2015 to mark the 40th anniversary of the opening of West Japan Railway Co. (JR West)’s Sanyo Shinkansen Line and the 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of the “Neon Genesis Evangelion” anime series.
The train’s exterior was designed to resemble a humanoid bio machine that the protagonist of the anime pilots, and the interior offers special features based on Evangelion-related motifs.
The Evangelion Shinkansen train connects Shin-Osaka and Fukuoka’s Hakata stations in a daily round trip. The service was initially scheduled to end in spring 2017, but was extended due to its popularity.
The train will return this summer after it undergoes remodeling on the theme of the beloved feline-like character Hello Kitty.
Featured here are videos, photos and graphics on how journalists dug into documents leaked from Bermuda and elsewhere to uncover shady transactions through tax havens.
Here are reports about efforts in Japan and abroad to achieve the U.N. sustainable development goals.
Here are news reports and feature stories that keep you up to date on author Haruki Murakami.
You can view videos of animals as interactive images that allow you to pan and zoom in to them.
A crowd of anime and rail fans watch the Evangelion Shinkansen train shortly before it departs Shin-Osaka Station for its final run on May 13. (Tomoyuki Izawa)
