History OneWingedAngel / AnimeAndManga

** The Arrancar transform (or revert back) into massive hulking demons when they release their Zanpakutou. One of them even utters one of the page quotes above just before doing this.

** [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Etherious]] normally move about in "sealed" forms that look human enough, but possess "Etherious Forms" that revert them to their true appearances that always makes them look far more monstrous. This is most noticeable with Tempester post-[[ResurrectiveImmortality first death]] (as he was reformatted into a DarkSkinnedBishonen in his base that transforms into a hulking lion BeastMan), Jackal (who looks like a handsome LittleBitBeastly dog-man that transforms into a slavering werewolf), and Mard Geer (who's a LongHairedPrettyBoy with no demonic traits whatsoever that transforms into a winged black-armored demon).

* ''Manga/FairyTail'': The whole point of "Take Over" magic performed on oneself. Erza's Purgatory Armor is implied to turn the user into a demon somewhat; [[spoiler:but we never get to see what it truly does despite her doing the usual "None have lived" boast that comes with a OneWingedAngel]].

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Yusuke fights numerous demons, many of them start out fighting in human form, and then when they are losing they shift to demon form in order to increase their fighting power. Oddly enough, considering how violent demons are, many demons seem to prefer wandering around in human form even when there's no need to hide what they are (Hiei is a good example of this, since even when fighting the Saint Beasts in an all-demon town he says in his mostly-human form).
** That ''is'' his true form. That's his body, it's what he looks like. He added the third eye through surgery. Since his behavior during his introduction was so out of line with [[EnsembleDarkhorse the rest of his characterization]], people have mostly concluded that stupid zombie-making sword was messing with his head, and that he normally knows better than to use the Jagan to cover himself with eyeballs, which may come with a power boost but means having weak spots ''absolutely everywhere''. He's primarily a swordsman, after all.

*** His Hollow transformation is this mixed with an extreme case of CameBackWrong and is one of the more terrifying Hollow forms seen to date

* In Manga/MagicKnightRayearth, we have [[spoiler: none other than ''Princess Emeraude herself''. When Zagato dies at the hands of the Magic Knights, Emeraude ''[[DespairEventHorizon loses it]]'' and decides to unleash her full power. This involves reverting to her ''actual'' adult age (her child-like appearance is a cover) and summoning a [[HumongousMecha Masshin]] of her own - to fight the girls to the death.]]

* Many monsters from ‘’Anime/OnePunchMan’’ have versions of this, including Vaccine Man, Carnage Kabuto, the Deep Sea King, Boros, and Garou. Not that any of them ever helped against Saitama.

* In ''Manga/DGrayMan'' we get a good example of this when Tyki Mikk loses control of his Noah. [[spoiler:He turns into an armored fiend with a good dozen tentacles coming from his back and a taste for blood.]]
** [[TheHeartless Akuma]] could qualify as well, when they reveal their true form by shedding off the dead body of the one who tried to bring them back to life.
** Recently, [[spoiler:the Earl has transformed into an even more monstrous version of his usual appearance.]]
** In Chapter 219, [[spoiler:we see the Earl's true face; [[BishonenLine he's actually hot]].]] And in Chapter 221, [[spoiler:when we finally get to see the Earl's Noah power.]]

* A subversion takes place in the final episodes of [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the first anime]]. In the middle of his battle with Edward, Envy finally reveals his true form. [[spoiler:He actually looks a great deal like Alphonse... [[IAmYourFather his younger brother...]] and uses the shock to kill Edward. Don't worry, Ed gets better.]] A few minutes later, [[spoiler:he plays the trope straight and turns into a giant snake (well, a serpentine dragon-thing at least) as he crosses the gate to get at Hohenheim. He gets stuck in this form when he reaches our world, where alchemy doesn't work.]]
** In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'', Gluttony is seen [[spoiler: roving about the sewers as a giant, monstrous version of his typically oafish body.]]

* [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Reinforce's]] [[EnemyWithout berserked defense program]] from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs''. When its DeflectorShields were destroyed and Hayate [[TakenForGranite petrified it]], it simply shed its feminine first form and took on a more grotesque one with giant toothy heads and more tentacles. When that one [[AnIcePerson was frozen]] and destroyed with three {{Wave Motion Gun}}s, it started forming a third form. Unfortunately for it, it was jettisoned into space and [[DeaderThanDead vaporized by the Arc-en-ciel]] before it could finish its transformation.

* Spoof in ''Neko Majin Z'', in which Neko Majin transforms in a way so subtle he is forced to point it out ("Look closer... I have double eyelids").

* In ''Anime/TheFantasticAdventuresOfUnico'' Unico fights the villain of the film Baron [=DeGhost=] for kidnapping his friend Katy; he eventually knocks the Baron off the tower where he is impaled on a spire. But not only is he not dead, he transforms into a gigantic skull-faced demon -- so large that his emergence smashes the castle to bits. [[spoiler: Luckily, the love of his friends allows a near-dead Unico to take on ''his'' powered-up form...]]

** [[spoiler: In Sailor Stars, Chaos first possessing Sailor Galaxia and then taking on his own form in the manga fits right in. As a less extreme version, the anime-version of Galaxia becoming very much like an undead beast midfight with Sailor Moon should also count.]]

* In ''Anime/TheFantasticAdventuresOfUnico'' Unico fights the villain of the film Baron DeGhost for kidnapping his friend Katy, he eventually knocks him off the tower where he is impaled on a spike on the tip of his castle, after the others decide to leave thinking him dead, he transforms into a giant skull faced demon.

** Zarbon's case is an interesting one. In his natural form he is a large, ugly, and powerful hulking monster, but being [[TheFightingNarcissist obsessed with his own beauty,]] he most often uses a much weaker {{Bishonen}} form. He is also incredibly reluctant to transform even temporarily into his ugly-but-powerful true form, and consequently determined to beat the shit out of the protagonist whose power forces him to do so or lose.

** Majin Buu has the most transformations of any character in the entirety of ''Dragon Ball'', as he assumes a new form and undergoes some personality changes every time he absorbs a person. He was created as a shrimpy little guy who has no vocabulary whatsoever and blows up planets for giggles; becomes ''very'' buff after absorbing the Southern Kaiōshin; turns fat and goofy after absorbing the Grand Kaiōshin (the form the heroes first encounter him in); expels the embodiment of its evil side as a pale, wiry thing, becomes muscular and savage when the evil side reabsorbs the good side; absorbs Piccolo and Gotenks to become smarter and more powerful with a more human face and longer antennae; reverts to a Piccolo-based form when Gotenks' fusion runs out; absorbs Gohan to take on his most human form yet; and then when Goku and Vegeta free all the fighters he absorbed he finally reverts back into his original form before all the transformations began. Counting Majuub from the anime-only ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', that's 9 in total.
*** Buu crosses over into PowerLimiter territory as The Grand Kaiōshin kept him from using all his power while also making him much more sane.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' [[spoiler:[[BigBadDuumvirate Goku Black and Future Zamasu]] (who are alternate timeline versions of the same fallen Kaiōshin) ultimately decide to take the heroes seriously after Zamasu nearly gets [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] by the Mafuba. They proceed to perform [[FusionDance Potara Fusion]] into Merged Zamasu, who largely resembles a taller, more imposing, white haired Super Saiyan version of Zamasu with some of Goku's facial features and is ''far'' stronger than either of his components.]]

** Zarbon's case is an interesting one - in his natural form he is a large, ugly, and powerful hulking monster, but being [[TheFightingNarcissist obsessed with his own beauty,]] he most often uses a much weaker {{Bishonen}} form. He is also incredibly reluctant to transform even temporarily into his ugly-but-powerful true form, and consequently determined to beat the shit out of the protagonist whose power forces him to do so or lose.
** Freeza's initial form is small and rather weedy looking, but has proved to be extremely powerful in previous confrontations. He transforms into a much taller version of himself, then an even larger, monstrous beast with an elongated head and spikes on its back. However his much-hyped final form turns out to be just as small as his original, but more sleek and aerodynamic, effectively crossing the BishonenLine. At first he is mocked for this, but soon proves that the extra speed and strength far outweighs what he lacks in height. And ''then'' these are followed by a more muscular form of the same, and after losing much of his body after his defeat on Namek and coming to Earth for revenge, a cyborg form. When he returns for ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', he dumps the cyborg form in favor of a Golden SuperMode.

** In the new ''Brotherhood'' anime (but not in the first anime nor in the source manga), Father Cornello transformed as well; he uses his Philosopher's Stone to turn into a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever gigantic]] version of himself, with an extra-monstrous arm where his alchemy had rebounded previously.
** A subversion takes place in the final episodes of [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the first anime]]. In the middle of his battle with Edward, Envy finally reveals his true form. [[spoiler:He actually looks a great deal like Alphonse... [[IAmYourFather his younger brother...]] and uses the shock to kill Edward.]] A few minutes later, [[spoiler:he plays the trope straight and turns into a giant snake (well, a serpentine dragon-thing at least) as he crosses the gate to get at Hohenheim. He gets stuck in this form when he reaches our world, where alchemy doesn't work.]]

* ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' has a BigBad named Lucemon who starts in the form of a child-like angel with wings and blonde hair and shiny light powers. He then turns out to be a fascist dictator and gets steadily deeper into OneWingedAngel territory over three new evolutions.
** Between the various forms of the villains in other series and the increasingly (sometimes ludicrously) powerful Digivolutions on the heroic side in all series, ''Franchise/{{Digimon}} loves'' this trope. The next best example is Vamdemon becoming [=VenomVamdemon=], a humongous and less intelligent form of Vamdemon. In Season 2 he returns as an even stronger and more sadistic [=BelialVamdemon=] before he is finally destroyed for real.

** Between the various forms of the villains in other series and the increasingly (sometimes ludicrously) powerful Digivolutions on the heroic side in all series, ''Franchise/{{Digimon}} loves'' this trope. The next best example is Myotismon becoming [=VenomMyotismon=], a humongous and less intelligent form of Myotismon. In Season 2 he returns as an even stronger and more sadistic [=MaloMyotismon=] before he is finally destroyed for real.

** Frieza's initial form is small and rather weedy looking, but has proved to be extremely powerful in previous confrontations. He transforms into a much taller version of himself, then an even larger, monstrous beast with an elongated head and spikes on its back. However his much-hyped final form turns out to be just as small as his original, but more sleek and aerodynamic, effectively crossing the BishonenLine. At first he is mocked for this, but soon proves that the extra speed and strength far outweighs what he lacks in height. And ''then'' these are followed by a more muscular form of the same, and after losing much of his body after his defeat on Namek and coming to Earth for revenge, a cyborg form. When he returns for ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', he dumps the cyborg form in favor of a Golden SuperMode.
** His older brother Cooler, the villain of the movie ''Anime/DragonBallZCoolersRevenge'', starts the battle in the equivalent of Frieza's final form (but taller and more muscular), but eventually, to Goku's shock, reveals that he discovered a ''fifth'' form beyond it, which he transforms into, becoming larger, stronger, and far more horrific.

** Majin Buu has the most transformations of any character in the entirety of ''Dragon Ball'', as he assumes a new form and undergoes some personality changes every time he absorbs a person. He was created as a shrimpy little guy who has no vocabulary whatsoever and blows up planets for giggles; becomes ''very'' buff after absorbing the Southern Supreme Kai; turns fat and goofy after absorbing the Grand Supreme Kai (the form the heroes first encounter him in); expels the embodiment of its evil side as a pale, wiry thing, becomes muscular and savage when the evil side reabsorbs the good side; absorbs Piccolo and Gotenks to become smarter and more powerful with a more human face and longer antennae; reverts to a Piccolo-based form when Gotenks' fusion runs out; absorbs Gohan to take on his most human form yet; and then when Goku and Vegeta free all the fighters he absorbed he finally reverts back into his original form before all the transformations began. Counting Majuub from the anime-only ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', that's 9 in total.
*** Buu crosses over into PowerLimiter territory as The Grande Supreme Kai kept him from using all his power while also making him much more sane.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' [[spoiler:[[BigBadDuumvirate Goku Black and Future Zamasu]] (who are alternate timeline versions of the same fallen Supreme Kai) ultimately decide to take the heroes seriously after Zamasu nearly gets [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] by the Mafuba. They proceed to perform [[FusionDance Potara Fusion]] into Merged Zamasu, who largely resembles a taller, more imposing, white haired Super Saiyan version of Zamasu with some of Goku's facial features and is ''far'' stronger than either of his components.]]

** His older brother Cooler, the villain of the movie ''Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge'', starts the battle in the equivalent of Frieza's final form (but taller and more muscular), but eventually, to Goku's shock, reveals that he discovered a ''fifth'' form beyond it, which he transforms into, becoming larger, stronger, and far more horrific.

** At the climax of the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', a pre-redemption Piccolo grew building-sized, although only briefly. The same for Lord Slug in his movie.

** The initial 'human' looking form is a mid stage, acting as a more inconspicuous but weaker version of their demonic forms, as their true forms are only revealed when they die when the power of the Behelit leaves them and they turn into the desperate (and usually dying human) [[DealWithTheDevil that made a pact with the God Hand]].

* And then there's ''Franchise/DragonBall'', though it typically happened on less grand a scale -- the villain announces that he's changing to his "true form", then becomes larger and more muscular. (Some do this more than once!) The Saiyans have their Super-Saiyan forms.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Frieza's initial form is small and rather weedy looking, but has proved to be extremely powerful in previous confrontations. He transforms into a much taller version of himself, then an even larger, monstrous beast with an elongated head and spikes on its back. However his much-hyped final form turns out to be just as small as his original, but more sleek and aerodynamic, effectively crossing the BishonenLine. At first he is mocked for this, but soon proves that the extra speed and strength far outweighs what he lacks in height. And ''then'' these are followed by a more muscular form of the same, and after losing much of his body after his defeat on Namek and coming to Earth for revenge, a cyborg form. When he returns for ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', he dumps the cyborg form in favor of a Golden SuperMode.
*** His older brother Cooler, the villain of the movie ''Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge'', starts the battle in the equivalent of Frieza's final form (but taller and more muscular), but eventually, to Goku's shock, reveals that he discovered a ''fifth'' form beyond it, which he transforms into, becoming larger, stronger, and far more horrific.
** Likewise, as Cell steps closer to his 'Perfect' form, he becomes steadily ''more'' humanoid.

** Majin Buu has the most transformations of any character in the entirety of ''Dragon Ball'', as he assumes a new form and undergoes some personality changes every time he absorbs a person. He was created as a shrimpy little guy who has no vocabulary whatsoever and blows up planets for giggles; becomes ''very'' buff after absorbing the Southern Supreme Kai; turns fat and goofy after absorbing the Grand Supreme Kai (the form the heroes first encounter him in); expels the embodiment of its evil side as a pale, wiry thing; becomes muscular and savage when the evil side reabsorbs the good side; absorbs Piccolo and Gotenks to become smarter and more powerful with a more human face and longer antennae; reverts to a Piccolo-based form when Gotenks' fusion runs out; absorbs Gohan to take on his most human form yet; and then when Goku and Vegeta free all the fighters he absorbed he finally reverts back into his original form before all the transformations began. Counting Majuub from the anime-only ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', that's 9 in total.
*** Buu crosses over into PowerLimiter territory as The Grande Supreme Kai kept him from using all his power while also making him much more sane
** Then there's the whole Oozaru thing. In an episode of the Saiyan saga Vegeta has a move that allows him to go Oozaru by creating a ball of energy that looks like the full moon -- he uses this move and turns Oozaru. Amazingly he's still able to speak while being in this form, which was explained as him being trained to have some control over the form (as opposed to the only other Oozaru appearing being entirely untrained kids - Goku and Gohan).
** And pre-redemption Piccolo grew building-sized at one point; same for Lord Slug.
** Garlic Jr goes from looking like a paler midget version of Piccolo without the antennae (or like Emperor Pilaf) to looking like a bulkier, more adult-height version of the same.

** In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Frieza's initial form is small and rather weedy looking, but has proved to be extremely powerful in previous confrontations. He transforms into a much taller version of himself, then an even larger, monstrous beast with an elongated head and spikes on its back. However his much-hyped final form turns out to be just as small as his original, but more sleek and aerodynamic, effectively crossing the BishonenLine. At first he is mocked for this, but soon proves that the extra speed and strength far outweighs what he lacks in height. And ''then'' these are followed by a more muscular form of the same, and after losing much of his body after his defeat on Namek and coming to Earth for revenge, a cyborg form.

*** His older brother Cooler, the villain of the movie ''Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge'', starts the battle in the equivalent of Frieza's final form, but eventually, to Goku's shock, reveals that he discovered a ''fifth'' form beyond it, which he transforms into, becoming larger, stronger, and far more horrific.

* In ''Manga/GreenWorldz'', everyone got freaked out when the [[NotQuiteDead supposedly dead]] female Hybrid human rapidly [[FromASingleCell regrow her body out from a small flesh]] and emerged out [[FullFrontalAssault naked with a creppy bug-like looking head]]. She then commented that this is why she didn't want to get serious and then proceeded to unleash powerful attacks that nearly took out everyone around her. Even {{Bad Ass}} Iwatobi had a hard tme fighting her in [[ForbiddenChekhovsGun his original fighting capability]].

** All the Akatsuki have a OneWingedAngel form in one way or another. Kakuzu's [[CombatTentacles tentacle mass thing]], Hidan's Grim Reaper form, Kisame's Samehada-Fusion form, Itachi and Sasuke's [[PowerArmor Susano'o]], Madara's Intangibility form, Sasori's real body, Konan and her paper angel form... [[TheDragon Pain]] and [[MadBomber Deidara]] are the only who lack it.
*** And Pain already consists of ''six remotely controlled zombies''; his final revealed form was a creepy wasted body impaled by many chakra antennae. Deidara did the thing mentioned in the trope description of becoming a living bomb.