I love creating arbitrary means of sorting things, so let's create an arbitrary Taxonomy for Magical Girl Transformation sequences! Basic Henshin AnatomyLet's talk about what a henshin is before I try to create some distinctions between them. A Henshin, or a Transformation, is pretty straightforward it's the act of changing. Within the genre it's a term used to describe the sequence of changing from a civilian form into a hero form. Henshin Hero is it's own genre of media popularized and coined in Japan and Magical Girl falls under that main genre header. For this write up Henshin / Transformation will be used interchangeably and it's important to note that within the genre it's specifically talking about the character's appearance. Cardcaptor Sakura? No henshin. She has an attack sequence when using her wand, which is a different but similarly common trope. All henshins have one thing in common: the before and the after. This is the one unifying portion of anatomy all transformations share. What I'm aiming to do here is make further distinctions within the broader category based on specific elements within transformation sequences. Other components are fairly interchangeable. The Application ProcessThe Call - "Showtime Synergy!" "Moon Prism Power!" "Pretty Cure! Smile Charge!" The call out for a transformation has become commonplace. They're more notable in Long Form transformations but were first introduced to the genre by Cutie Honey with her iconic "Honey Flash" (1973). This is the start of a transformation sequence and is typically accompanied by some sort of item that helps make the transition possible. The first animated Magical Girl seen using a consistent item to transform was Himitsu no Akko-chan (1969) "Plagg, Claws Out!" is the Call for Cat Noir from the English Dub of the Miraculous series. Sub-Space - Refers to the magical out-of-reality dimension Magical Girls enter into when they transform. Sometimes it is implied that this is a space that is strictly for the viewer, and that the transformation is happening much quicker than we're shown. Other times (typically in parodies) it is shown that everyone has the ability to witness this plan. Not every magical girl uses this and nearly all early proto-magical girls don't. The idea of a Sub-Space started gaining ground in the 80s, prior to that and transformations took place in real time. The first magical girl to enter a Sub-Space was Pastel Yumi (1986), though hers was not used to transform. The first show to use a Sub-Space to transform was Magical Emi, the Magic Star (1985). Infamous scene in Shugo Chara! where Sub-Space is viewed from the outside. Glaze - This is the initial application process that shows us where the clothing, accessories, etc. will be going or what parts of the heroine will be transforming. It's typically stylized as a sheet of glitter but can some time take the form of other recognizable objects. More often the personality of the show/girl comes from the application of the glaze. Sometimes Glaze is even pre-applied without much of a fanfare. Unlike a Pop there is no burst of momentum showing the physical after effect of application and the application itself is a slower than other components of a transformation. Timing wise it typically happens before a piece as materialized.
Pop - The type of affect where clothing, accessory, etc. is applied via a 'burst' of some sort. Pops can all be used in conjunction with other components of a transformation and are often used as a finishing step of Glaze application. Pops can take on different shapes that are either thematically appropriate or reflect the girls' personalities. They can be shapes (hearts, circles, etc.), objects (feathers, flower petals, etc.), or sparkles/glitter. Sometimes all three or a combination of any two. They're notable for their a physical reaction, unlike other portions/styles of henshin. There's a momentum to the transformation that makes the piece of clothing or body part they're applied to feel like it's being pushed with the force of the Pop. Lyrical Nanoha is notable for using Pops to remove clothing as well.
Burst - Burst is a big Pop and usually signifies the finale of a transformation if it does happen. Bursts are categorized by full movement and bright light to apply some significant piece (clothing, hair, finishing pose, etc.). 'Full movement' can be full body or the clothing reacting to the change. Unlike a Pop which just moves the affected area, a burst moves everything. Sometimes entire transformations can be boiled down to the Burst.
Short Form vs. Long FormPartly why there isn't more to henshin commonality is because they vary so much. The first big distinction is short form vs. long form henshins. I'm choosing these names based on the amount of time the character spends transforming. Does the character spend a minute or more transforming? Long form. Is the transformation a 'blink and you miss it' situation? Short form. Typically long form transformations can be made into short form ones for dramatic affect, while short form transformations sometimes rebooted into long form animations as media evolves. Straight to the pointShort Forms are our first bit category to define. Short Form refers to the length of the actual change itself and not any sort of preliminary items that accompany it. In order to be considered a Short Form transformation the change needs to happen at at once and can't be pieced out, even including accessories. It should be noted that summoning henshin items do not count as being part of the transformation sequence. Most short forms go: Call > Glaze or Burse > Transformed. Some don't even have a consistent or any Call. They serve their purpose and are more common in non-animated mediums. They're largely limited for dramatic moments in magical girl shows from the 80s onward, but still make an appearance from time to time. Flash is like the Sally the Witch example provided above: we see one one outfit / model and then in a quick flash it is transformed into the second outfit/model. This can be done in a flash of light, a quick sparkle animation, etc. A Flash can happen off screen or on screen as long as the transformation itself is initiated on screen it would count as a Flash. Swipe is when there's some sort of visual transition beyond a flash and swap. This is the type of transformation we see used frequently in Himitsu No Akko-Chan. It almost looks like a Power Point transition, which is where the name comes from.
Long StoryLong Form Henshins can pretty much be split up into two categories as well: Sailor Moon and Everything Else. But let's drill down deeper than that. I've a little bit about the history and time line of transformation before, but I think there's value in revisiting the topic to talk about influence. Creator of Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi, has said that Super Sentai was one of the influences for Sailor Moon. The video, along with the time stamp where she begins talking about it, was made easily accessible thanks to a tweet by @t_unmasked. So the conventional modern magical girl transformation is less of it's on innovation and more of a retooled tokusatsu trope. Still Toei's 90s animated adaptation of Naoko Takeuchi's manga became the blueprint moving forward for this style of henshin, even if we saw the bones of it in Ashi Productions' Minky Momo. So all of that preamble to talk a bit about why I'm naming the groups the way that I am. I don't really see the value of attributing that specific style of transformation to one show even if it is the show that made it popular within the genre. I think it's a little bit reductive in that it compares/contrasts everything to Sailor Moon which- quite frankly- I get enough of as a genre fan. So my final long form henshin categories are: Dress Up, Dance, Morphs and Avant Garde. With the following sub categories: Horny and Not Horny Let's Play Dress Up!Dress Up is the type of transformation used by the titular Sailor Moon and is the most the most instantly recognizable type of transformation the genre has to offer. Even people with only cursory knowledge of the genre can pick out this style of henshin. Dress Up means that the heroine must be shown putting on her clothing in stages. It can't be like a Flash henshin where suddenly there's a complete outfit change, there has to be some order of operations of the change. Because of this stipulation the original transformations for the most of the Sailor Scouts wouldn't even qualify under Dress Up. Most Senshi fit into the Dance category, explained below. Ojamajo Doremi "Dress Up" Henshin Dance, DanceDance is classified by the time ratio spent pre-application of clothing/pieces of the transformation. If a heroine spends more time 'nude' and her outfit is materializes (mostly) all at once, it's probably a Dance. In the original Sailor Moon most of the Senshi's henshins could be described as a Dance because their clothing was not applied piece by piece but in bulk after a long initial sequence. Sometimes, Dance transformation will apply finishing touches in stages but the bulk of the transformation needs to happen at once. Important: The dance must happen during the transformation stage. In many older magical girl shows there was something that could be considered a 'dance' used to summon transformation item or even initiation the henshin, those would not count because the dance is part of the Pre-Henshin that would include the Call. Sub Group: Horny & Not HornyUnfortunately both Dance and Dress Up style transformations can be broken down further to basically: Horny and Not Horny. It's usually easy to discern what is what based on the target audience but the main indicator is basically: is the silhouette used mid transformation covered or not? If it's a nude, flesh tone silhouette or if they are mostly nude with pinpoints of light covering the bits that would get the series moved into a later time slot, it's probably Horny. If the silhouette is obscured by sparkles or some sort of shift, it's probably Not Horny. In some cases, horny henshins will remove pretext all together and put the heroine in her underwear prior to transformation, some even make a spectacle of removing the clothing. Other key components in differentiating between Horny and Not Horny include:
Morphing TimeMorphs aren't common and they happened primarily in early Magical Girl shows before 00s, but they're distinct enough where I believe they deserve their own category. This type of transformation is the slow on screen morphing of the heroine into her final form. It can be slow or quick but the most important part is that we see the body changing on screen. It can't just be an aspect her outfit, or change in a flash alight, her physicality must morph in a noticeably way on screen. We see this in shows like Creamy Mami , Persia, the Magic Fairy and Minky Momo. There have been a handful of others that implement this style, but those three are the most notable. Yu Morisawa morphing into Creamy Mami ARTEESTAvant Garde Henshins were popularized by Madoka Magica but existed as far back as the 90s with Magic Knight Rayearth. These are all transformations that could maybe fit into one of the other categories but because they are so unique in their form I believe they deserve their own for doing something more. They break the mold, most notably in beautifully elaborate ways. The Avant Garde henshin should pull from some artistic movement. Madoka Magica is most notable for it's Superflat influences while Magic Knight Rayearth has strong Art Nouveau resemblances. If it looks like a painting instead of the typical henshin odds are it's Avant Garde. Other than that, there are really no 'rules' to be in this category. Basically if it's a long henshin that doesn't fit into one of the above categories I would probably put it here.
There are so many transformations that don't fit nearly into any of the above categories and these classification are by no means definitive. As with a lot of my writings and list this is mostly for me and my own neurotic need for categories, but I'm happy to share with people and build on this weird niche of study together.
I welcome any and all questions, comments and feedback on this. My knowledge on the genre is vast but not infinite and I have not consumed every Magical Girl show to date.
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