Transformation sequences in anime...

[paradigm_shift]

What do you think (in general) of transformation scenes in anime? Are they annoying, cute, or just meh?

Transformation sequences appear every so often in an anime, especially if one is watching a magical girl or a mecha title. It's basically recycled animation that only serves to heighten whatever action follows it. I find them to be tolerable up to a certain point, especially with the repetitiveness in each episode.

[Tommy]

Depends how often they are performed.

[paradigm_shift]

From what I can tell, magical girl shows use them in almost every episode. And typically, it might take 3-5 minutes to watch every character (if there is more than one) transform.

[Mangafanatic]

To me, it depends on how drawn out the transformation is and how much I object to the way the transformation is depicted. In magical girl type transformations, I'm often left thinking "If she's so magical, why can't she transform with her clothes on?"

[Bobtheduck]

Magical girl transformations, and stuff like the summoning in Final Fantasy unlimited and the constipation stuff in Dragonball Z are all annoying... Whenever they use long, repeated sequences to save effort, it is annoying.

[uc pseudonym]

If it can be called a "scene" I probably disapprove. Though I understand that reusing animation is easy on budgets, they frequently aren't really impressive and take too much time, so they quickly become annoying.

[Myoti]

I kinda liked the summoning in FFU since he had least said something different everytime, but yeah, that kind of stuff can get to be a bit annoying. :l

[paradigm_shift]

The transformation scenes aren't that annoying when you think about each episode being one week apart in the original broadcasts. When you watch the same show on DVD (or even marathon the episodes), it gets to be pretty bad.

As for showing anything "revealing" in mahou shoujo anime, I wouldn't say it's in good taste for the younger girl audience (which is where those shows appeal to).

[Nate]

I'm often left thinking "If she's so magical, why can't she transform with her clothes on?"

Well, for the most part, transformation sequences don't show much unless they're like...kinda sketchy to begin with. Full Moon's transformation sequences, for example, didn't really show anything. Sailor Moon showed body outlines, but no details. So...eh.

[Kurama]

o.0...I did make 2 amvs about transforming lol

A Night on Fire
http://youtube.com/watch.php?v=uh8-oAWh1ck

and Similarites!
http://youtube.com/watch.php?v=4Z_nKBIjuxI

I dont know I just thought it was funny when I saw this thread while I was watching my amvs lol! But I like the transformation sences there great for AMVS! ^^;

[Little T-chan]

Yeah, Sailor Moon did get kind of annoying, and I kept thinking, "If I were a villian..I wouldn't wait that long..." -0-;

But the one I found more annoying was DBZ. They would stand there yelling for a pretty long time...or so it seemed.

[Nate]

[quote="Little T-chan"]Yeah, Sailor Moon did get kind of annoying, and I kept thinking, "If I were a villian..I wouldn't wait that long..." -0-]
Well, I think it's pretty much assumed that the transformations are instantaneous, they're just shown to be that long to eat up time. This was slightly proven in the episode showing where Haruka met Michiru for the first time, and Michiru transformed to fight a monster instantly, with no sequence.

[Myoti]

Villain 1: Oh noes! He's transforming! WE'RE DOOMED!!
Villain 2: Huh? He's like... wide open! Come on, let's get him!
Villain 1: We can't! We must wait for him to finish his transformation first!
Villain 2: But why? It hasn't changed for past the 30 episodes.
Villain 1: It doesn't matter. It's the rule of shonen: you must wait for the hero to completely finish his transformation!
Villain 2: *sigh* Maybe this is why the hero always manages to finish their transformation unharmed...

[uc pseudonym]

Admittedly, in Dragonball Z at least on a few occasions people do interrupt a transformation or power up sequence. This isn't always successful, but at least the creators acknowledged this as a possibility. But the general assumption is that other transformations are instantaneous, as kaemmerite pointed out.

[termyt]

I can generally tolerate transformation sequences in most cases. I understand the demands on animators and the need to re-use animation in order to keep budgets down. At least the characters occasionally get new costumes, unlike most american cartoons.

DBZ really tried my patience. They spent a ridiculous amount of time doing anything but fighting in their fights. We were told Namik had five minutes left before it was destroyed like ten episodes before it happened. I'm pretty sure the dialog alone between Freeza and Goku would have taken five minutes let alone all of the transforming, screaming, and posturing. The actual combat took about five minutes, though. I truly marveled in the amount of wasted time in each episode of DBZ.

Of course, you could say the same for Sailor Moon. With the exception of a bout a dozen shows in its entire run, every episode is essentially the same. They follow identical plot lines.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Pretear seemed good about tranformations. There weren't a lot of long ones. Often she just transformed and they didn't make such a big deal of it. At least that's how I remember it.

[Tommy]

For DBZ it was like this:

Nappa: YYYYYYYAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Krillin: oh no, look at the powel evel of that attack.
Nappa: YAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
Krillin: Maybe we should attack him?
Goku: No, we can`t.
Krillin: Why not?
Goku: Because.....I`m a nice Guy! -Poses-

I`m pretty much sick of DBZ except those "Cooler" movies were pretty cool.

0_0

Um, back on topic...

If a transformation sequence is 3-5 minutes long while watching your TV then I`d sit through it but if i hide the option then:

Fast Forward>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[ChristianKitsune]

The transformation sequences that annoyed me the most were all the digimon sequences.. when ever they went to champion that annoying song was in the backround... "Di-di-digivole into Champion.." or whatever...And do they have to talke while digivolving ALL the time!?

[TrigunX89]

Depending on how long they last, they can be incredibly annoying. Tokyo Mew Mew for example: It was cute for a while, but when you have to watch all 5 girls go through the same transformation sequences (not to mention the same attack sequences) it gets old fast. (I still like the show, don't get me wrong. And the same can be said for Sailor Moon or any other show.)

[JezusBoy]

Well, for the most part, transformation sequences don't show much unless they're like...kinda sketchy to begin with. Full Moon's transformation sequences, for example, didn't really show anything. Sailor Moon showed body outlines, but no details. So...eh.

Remember, it doesn't take much imagination with an outline to figure out what it looks like. So it's only a little better than actually showing the real thing.

[JezusBoy]

The transformation sequences that annoyed me the most were all the digimon sequences.. when ever they went to champion that annoying song was in the backround... "Di-di-digivole into Champion.." or whatever...And do they have to talke while digivolving ALL the time!?

I know what you mean about digimon. At least half the show was digivolving with that stupid "change into digital champions to save the digital... world" I still talk to my therapist about the wasted time they spent doing that.

[creed4]

I remember an eps of Voltron when they tried to get them while they were merging, they couldn't even get close to the lions the field just threw them back, I don't mind trans formations just as long as they remember to change out the back ground. You can tell it stock futage when the room suddenly changes when they transform, and then go back to the room they were in.

[Arnobius]

Well, with Sailor Moon, the transformation scene, battle and final banishment of the monster seems like almost a ritual and as such it feels necessary.

[meboeck]

The transformation sequences that annoyed me the most were all the digimon sequences.. when ever they went to champion that annoying song was in the backround... "Di-di-digivole into Champion.." or whatever...And do they have to talke while digivolving ALL the time!?

I got a chance to watch some of Digimon in Japanese where they didn't have a dumb rap as background music. The original background music is actually pretty cool, which decreases annoyance level by a lot. Also, they did eventually start shortening digivolution sequences or having multiple characters digivolve at once to cut down on time. I thought that was a smart idea.

[JezusBoy]

I got a chance to watch some of Digimon in Japanese where they didn't have a dumb rap as background music. The original background music is actually pretty cool, which decreases annoyance level by a lot. Also, they did eventually start shortening digivolution sequences or having multiple characters digivolve at once to cut down on time. I thought that was a smart idea.

sounds like an idea that should be practiced here.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

The transformation sequences that annoyed me the most were all the digimon sequences.. when ever they went to champion that annoying song was in the backround... "Di-di-digivole into Champion.." or whatever...And do they have to talke while digivolving ALL the time!?

Yeah, you're right--I love Digimon, but those LONG transformation effects in conjunction with that TERRIBLE theme really put me off.

[Sami_jane]

i dont mind it so much but when it takes up like 5 mins of the show and tehy show it like practically every time the anime is on it gets kind of annoying. Like Mew mew power does that a lot...havent seen that show in a while tho

[jon0]

It's so incredibly annoying, and on top of that you notice the villan just sits their and does nothing.