超特急ヒカリアン

"Super Express Hikarian" is a robot toy franchise created by Tomy (now Takara Tomy), which also spawned a children's OVA, magazine serialization, a TV anime series broadcast from 1997 to 2000, and picture books. The series follows the story of the evil "Blatcher aliens" from another planet attempting to turn the Earth "black", while the "Hikarian aliens" from "light energy" fuse with vehicles like the Shinkansen, transforming into the righteous robot warriors "Hikarian" to fight against them. In the story, humans establish the "Japan Hikarian Railroad (JHR)" as a base, where the Hikarian usually perform transportation tasks in the form of Shinkansen trains, but transform into robots for combat during wartime. In addition to the TV anime, the series has various forms such as OVAs, manga, and picture books, as well as a large number of toy merchandise. The TV anime was produced using digital animation technology, which was rare at the time, and was broadcast in several countries with titles like "Super Express Train Warrior" or "Hikarian Great Railroad Protector". In 2002, the series launched a sequel, "Lightning Attack Express Hikarian", featuring a change in protagonists and storyline, while still maintaining the concept of robot transformation and battle.