One of my favorite anime tropes is magical girl transformations, when a character holds a magic object and shouts a special keyphrase, allowing them to change their form. Let’s explore the history of magical girls in anime and enjoy the best transformation scenes together. Henshin!
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Why Are Anime Transformations So Much Fun?
The first magical girl anime was Sally the Witch, a show that was directly inspired by the popularity of Bewitched! in Japan. The manga’s creator obsessed over the character Tabitha and how much fun it would have been to be born into a magical family with special powers. This manga established a huge category that would be dominated by the Toei Animation studio up til this day.
Why are magical girl transformation scenes so enjoyable to watch?
- A good henshin scene allows the animators to show off their skills with bright colors and motion, which delights the fans. But since each scene can be re-used multiple times, they actually save production money. Everyone wins!
- Transformations can fulfill many fantasies in the minds of viewers. For example, the heroine in Creamy Mami is a young girl who gains the ability to transform into a grown-up version of herself. What elementary school-age girl wouldn’t wish for that?
- Anime made for children often builds transformation scenes around a toy that parents can buy for their kids, allowing the children to play along with their favorite characters.
- Anime transformations allow the animators to insert a little fan service for the fans, especially male fans. This gives fans a shot of dopamine that causes them to feel positively about the anime and its characters.
The Best Magical Girl Transformations!
Let’s look at the ten most important magical girl transformations in this blog post!
Cutey Honey Invented Sexy Transformations
Manga artist Go Nagai was extremely innovative, coming up with many story elements common in anime today, including creating the first giant robot with a human pilot riding inside. He pushed the envelope on how sexy anime could get with Cutey Honey, and changed the world forever.
Who are the most legendary anime and manga creators from Japan? Check this list here!
Sailor Moon Introduced the West to Magical Girl Transformations
Before Sailor Moon came along, anime was an underground thing known only to hardcore fans who met once a month at their local anime club. But thanks to this influential magical girl show, suddenly everyone in the world knew how great anime was. I love how they slipped in a no-pan shot for Sailor Jupiter, complete with her looking at us in a smug way.
Magical Knight Rayearth Perfected the Genre
This outstanding anime from CLAMP showed us all how good a magical girl story could be. And it also helped my kids learn English!
Pretty Cure
Another hugely popular anime in the genre, Pretty Cure has gotten no fewer than 20 different series to date, becoming a huge money-printing machine for Toei. Which one is your favorite? (Source is Hug tto! Precure.)
Vividred Operation Gave Us Sexy Magical Girl Transformations
Made by the staff who brought us Strike Witches, Vividred Operation was a magical girl show with an extra dose of sexy fan service.
Valkyrie Drive Mermaid’s Sexy Lesbians
Not every henshin scene in anime is related to the magical girl genre. Valkyrie Drive Mermaid had an amazing story in which girls would transform into weapons when their lovers kissed and fondled them. Anime really gives me unrealistic expectations about how lesbian relationships work!
Magical DoReMi Brings Families Together!
My daughter was lucky to be born a few years before the popular Magical DoReMi series aired. Every Sunday our family would gather around and enjoy each week’s episode together.
Madoka Magica Introduced the Post-Modern Magical Girl Era
What happens when genius writer Gen Urobuchi takes on the magical girl genre? Something amazing, naturally!
Kill La Kill’s “Henshin” Scenes Were Over the Top
It’s more hardcore science fiction than mahou shoujo, but the transformation scenes in Kill la Kill serve the same purpose. Only Trigger could have pulled off this amazing animation!
Fans Gush Over Sexy Magical Girl Transformations
Finally, the most popular magical girl anime in years is also the sexiest. Gushing Over Magical Girls tells the story of Utena, a sadistic girl who learns to love torturing magical girls for her own sexual enjoyment. How many new fetishes has the show given you?
Thanks for reading this blog post exploring the importance of henshin! transformation scenes in anime, and why we love them so much. What is your favorite transformation scene in anime? Tell us in the comments below!
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