Despite the hype around so-called giant robots, we're still a long way from building the humanoid mecha of our dreams. That doesn't mean we can't dream, though, as Japanese train operator JR West obviously knows. In lieu of creating any actual giant robots, JR West is dressing up one of its super-fast bullet trains to look like a mecha from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. The newly-christened 500 Type EVA train is being given a flashy purple exterior matching that of the mecha Evangelion Unit-01, with JR West promising that the interior will get a similarly themed makeover.

An illustration of 500 Type Eva. (JR West/500 Type EVA)

Once a day, the train will make the return journey between Osaka and Fukuoka (the two largest cities in western Japan), with operations scheduled to start in autumn 2015 and continue until March 2017. The makeover is in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Sanyō Shinkansen line that connects these cities, as well as the 20th anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion. JR West says it's also planning to sell commemorative products and memorabilia, with Evangelion animator Hideaki Anno supervising the project. This means that it should be an authentic reflection of the anime, apart from — and we should stress our disappointment here — the lack of any actual giant robots.

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