The Chibi Project - Shinji Ikari / Trolley Car

The Chibi Project

For this test, we needed a location where we could access railroad tracks. Although the Newtonville, MA commuter rail station was an option (it was where the first test on Chibi Moon was conducted), we decided to try a different kind of train. We opted for the MBTA Green Line and chose the Newton Centre station. A few minutes later, a Type 7 trolley entered the station heading west (outbound). After stopping, the operator warned the Chibi Project team that we should not be standing so close to the rails with a video camera "or I'll have to radio it in." (As the train pulled to a stop, we were standing at the back of the platform...about 15 feet from the rails.) We decided it would be best to move to a new location. We moved on to an undisclosed location on the MBTA's Green Line. With the tracks safe and clear, we placed our figure of Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion on the right track of a westbound train and waited a safe distance from the tracks. It should be noted that this Shinji was originally a keychain. We unscrewed the hook and chain from his head prior to this experiment. "It looked stupid." Within ten minutes, a trolley pulled into the station. By the time it pulled to the center of the platform, it has completely passed by the location where Shinji had been placed on the tracks. We waited for the train to roll out of the station before approaching the tracks. Approaching the tracks, Shinji's body was found next to the rail that he had originally been resting on. His head was not attached. We found his head several yards down the track. It almost got overlooked because it was completely squished and barely recognizable. After being run over by an MBTA trolley, only a few features of his head (an ear, eyes, and what might have been his mouth) are still recognizable. His body is mostly intact with only minor scrapes. When it was finally over, Shinji's head exploded like the heads of many Evangelion fans.