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If my enemy is a magical girl, I will not stand in awe as she goes airborne, drops all of her clothes, and starts spinning in preparation to transform. I will wait until her regular clothes are gone, then yank her down and start fighting. If her shock at my breaking the Law of Uninterruptable Metamorphosis doesn't paralyze her, the fact that she's in her birthday suit will.
Before the Ordinary High School Student (or a hidden bad guy) can access those secret powers, there must be a powerup. This usually involves a change of form or at least costume, although the precise mechanisms usually vary by type.
A Magical Girl's Transformation Sequence is usually triggered by a key phrase and special gestures, and sometimes requires a magical token of some sort. It normally includes a long, symbolic light show, and can strip its subject naked for at least a few seconds before the new uniform starts forming out of ribbons, energy or whatever the dominant paradigm of the character demands. Although this nudity is typically fodder for fanservice, it also has its own significance, in that the character is symbolically discarding her "mundane" identity and taking on a magical one.
The character is lifted into the air, spun around and can undergo a number of contortions which they probably would not normally make of their own free will; they are then deposited back on the ground in their empowered form, at which point most of them feel compelled to give a short speech identifying themselves to anyone who hasn't already figured it out.
There are few "magical boys" and even fewer undergo a true Transformation Sequence; those that do don't seem to need quite as much frippery as the girls. Their outfits are usually more uniform- or armor-like. However, sentai-esque series such as Ronin Warriors will often have them.
A Demonic or pseudo-Demonic Transformation Sequence usually involves ripping skin, gouts of blood, screams of pain and other unpleasantries, depicted either in silhouette, or in excruciating close-up detail. Clothing is shredded and abandoned; replacements are optional and depend on the motif of the resultant demonic form. (See also Magic Pants.) If the transformation is voluntary, it's triggered by a simple act of will. (See Generator Gawl, Guyver, or any horror/sci-fi bishounen anime for samples of this variety.) This variant is also common for alien, mutant, or otherwise monstrous transformations. (Compare Painful Transformation)
Another variant is the "assisted" transformation sequence, which can happen in a To The Bat Pole moment.
 A rare male example
Transformation Sequences are good for a show's budget because they provide a large amount of Stock Footage that can be (and often must be) reused each episode. They also provide nice filler for the writers. If a particular transformation sequence occurs multiple times in one episode, a shortened version will often be used after the first time (hopefully).
The shots and angles used in a Transformation Sequence owe a great deal to the Lock And Load Montage.
Humongous Mecha that can transform and/or merge often do so in this manner, especially in old-school mecha shows of the "giant metal super hero" vein.
Rarely is there a special-effects sequence for changing back.
It seems to be an unwritten rule that evil characters almost never get a Stock Footage transformation sequence, instead opting for a special-effects-assisted "insta-transformation". This is a good way to spot the Sixth Column or a Noble Demon looking to make a Heel Face Turn somewhere down the line.
Note that many transformation sequences are actually just for the viewer's benefit (and to eat up air time), and the actual change as experienced by the character is instantaneous -- or at least very brief. This might explain why bad guys (almost) never attack a hero during his transformation sequence.
Examples:
Anime
- Cutey Honey is the archetypical transforming Magical Girl, including catchphase, naked transformation, and In The Name Of The Moon.
- Was done in an adaptation of Zorro. Regular Zorro. He transformed.
- The majority of protagonists, antagonists, and minor enemies in Guyver are capable of changing to and from incredibly strong and sentient beings; the most prominent is the main character, Sho Fukamachi (a.k.a. "Guyver 1").
- Moldiver parodies the conventions with a transformation that destroys clothing unless the transformee strips naked first.
- Similarly, Poemi Watanabe's transformation to Puni Puni Poemi automatically strips her bare -- except for her socks, which she has to manually remove before she can complete the sequence.
- The Transformation Sequence in Futari Wa Pretty Cure is unusual in that it requires both girls in the show to invoke it together; it is also extraordinarily pyrotechnic in appearance.
- This troper noted that the "implied nudity" present in almost every transformation sequence in anime is only present in the original Pretty Cure and Max Heart; subsequent series have the girls go from civilian clothes straight to glowy shapes which explode into the new outfit.
- Mercifully in Yes Precure 5, the individual girls' sequences are very brief and often happen simultaneously via split-screen. Five long transformation sequences may be pretty and cheap but it ain't half boring the umpteenth time.
- Macross had a mechanically detailed slow-mo sequence of the Valkyrie's shape-shift in the American opening, but most times the changes happened lightning-fast, without Stock Footage. The later Macross series generally followed the lead of the first, although beautifully animated slow-motion transformations (as in Focker's VF-0 transformation in Macross Zero) were retained, these sequences were mostly one-off Fan Service moments.
- UFO Princess Valkyrie has at least 4 different transformation sequences, all of which provide plenty of fanservice:
- Lets not forget doing at least one of them, both ways, at least one per episode.
- Valkyrie: a fairly standard transformation sequence, triggered by Valkyrie kissing Kazuto.
- Hydra: another fairly standard transformation sequence, triggered by Akina temporarily removing the seal on Hydra's power.
- Valkyrie Ghost: an evil-type transformation: involves lots of chains and darkness, appears to be painful, causes manacles to appear around Valkyrie Ghost's wrists.
- Akidora: fairly standard sequence, this transformation combines Akina and Hydra, averaging their "assets"; introduced in episode 9 of season 2 and used 3 times in that episode alone (full-length every time), plus at least once more during the series. Triggered when Akina and Hydra are annoyed at each other, dissolves if they start feeling friendly toward one another.
- Ronin Warriors had multiple Transformation Sequences for different levels of power.
- Getter Robo, one of the classic Transforming Mecha series, subverted it when the prototype Getter units were destroyed as an enemy attacked in the middle of the transformation sequence. A modern sequel had the heroes pull the same trick against their Evil Counterparts - after doing their own combination sequence first - to prove how much more Bad Ass they are.
Ryoma: "What's the matter? Can't even pull off a change without checking the controls?"
- Then gleefully subverted with the relevation that the heroes only destroyed one of the machines. The other two formed enough of the machine for their enemies to keep fighting. Of course, one Stoner Sunshine later...
- Spoofed in episode 41 of Keroro Gunsou, where Tamama suggests the squad attack Kogoro during his Transformation Sequence, but Keroro insists they wait until it's finished.
- In Sailor Moon, we actually see a character (namely, Sailor Uranus) transform back on-screen, which apparently requires only an act of will, as opposed to the "By The Power Of Greyskull" phrases used for normal transformations. Also, there are a few plot-critical moments at which Sailor Moon is temporarily depowered by a villain, reversing her transformation; these, however, are obviously not voluntary.
- Similarly, Tokyo Mew Mew shows Mew Ichigo voluntarily transforming back into her normal form at least twice (with no nudity shown), seemingly just by touching her pendant; in the last episode, the entire team gets their transformations reversed because their powers are no longer needed.
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch gives everyone two separate sequences; one if they're in human form, and one if they're mermaids. Also, once they get their first wardrobe and weapon upgrade, it appears that Lucia, Hanon and Rina cannot transform separately until near the end of the season, for the simple reason that the animators didn't make the necessary Stock Footage.
- Saint October dispenses with glittery body outlines and comes up with things like... giant balls of mud dripping down and covering the magical girl.
- In Princess Tutu, you can tell the Dark Magical Girl by the pain she goes through when transforming -- black wings rip out of her back and thorny vines wrap around her as she voicelessly screams. The title character, however, gets a regular Transformation Sequence with glowy body outlines and beautiful water, egg and light imagery.
- The main character also has a short transformation sequence that takes place when she turns from a duck into a girl, although we see the transformation from the viewpoints of outsiders about as many times as we see the sequence, and it seems like most people simply see it as a bright flash of light followed by a naked girl standing where a duck was a moment earlier. Also, it's a little interesting to note that in comparison to a lot of other magical girl shows, Tutu's transformation sequence is very short--the main character only disappears into a golden egg for a moment and comes out fully clothed. The promo video made before the show was produced shows a much longer, more traditional transformation sequence, however.
- Parodied nicely in Genshiken; when forcing Saki to cosplay, a somewhat...unhinged... Ohno, with a creepy laugh and in a sing-song voice, says "Time for all the gentlemen to get out of here, so Saki can begin her transformation sequence".
- Parodied in Asagiri No Miko where during one monster attack Seiko orders the girls to "Transform!"... And they run into a locker room and laboriously change into their miko clothes.
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha features long transformation sequences for the heroine and her female comrades. Notable for the nudity of the heroine even when she was a minor, although no secondary sexual characteristics are depicted. In certain cases, even the weapons get their own transformation sequences. In the third season, Nanoha StrikerS, the clothes of the only male on the team explode directly into his Barrier Jacket with no implied nudity in between -- particularly conspicuous next to the consecutive transformation sequences of the females, who have their clothes explode long before the Barrier Jacket appears.
- This troper, however, was gratified that the magical boy's equally criminally-young female partner also jumped straight from clothes to Jacket.
- However, this fact is somewhat a subversion as the said sequences happen in decreasing frequency through subsequent seasons. A's has the characters perform the transformation sequence twice for the whole season, while Striker S also had it twice for the main characters only during its 26 episode run. Heck, the Wolkenritter who were introduced in the second season did not have a transformation sequence until the third season, and it was very brief. After transformation sequences have been done previously, the characters usually just gets enveloped in a ball of light and transforms in a split second.
- Yami Yugi's appearances in the early episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh were usually preceded by a Transformation Sequence. After a while they cut this short, but the dub version left it in for a while afterwards.
- Subverted in Card Captor Sakura, where the transformation leaves title character Sakura the same, instead transforming the tiny geegaw she wears on a necklace into a three foot long staff which she needs in order to use the magic cards. Any changes to her wardrobe are done in an entirely non-magical way. Oddly, these transformation sequences don't always use Stock Footage, since Sakura wears different costumes in almost every episode.
- Infact, it only used stock footage when she was in her school uniform, which she rarely was for a fight.
- Konjiki No Gash Bell featured a parody of the elaborate transformation sequence, with one-shot villain Coral Q able to transform into a variety of forms to counter Gash's spells. He takes great pride in these transformations (with theme song sung by sentai mainstay Hiroki Takahashi), and Kiyomaro counters them by simply saying he blinked and missed them, forcing Coral Q to de-transform and re-transform.
- Capcom's properties have been experimenting with this a lot lately. Cross Fusion starting in the third season of the EXE/NT Warrior anime, Denpa Henkan/EM Wave Change in the new Ryuusei/Star Force game/anime, and the "Rock On!" ability that underpins the ZX series.
- Double Subversion in Voltron. During one episode, the villains decide to attack Voltron while it is transforming. Unfortunately for them, they find out that a force field protects Voltron while it is transforming.
- Similarly, Gao Gai Gar is surrounded by a tornado of greenish energy during its Final Fusion sequence. This time triple subverted when at least one Monster Of The Week was actually able to breach it and attack the machines in the middle of transforming, and had to be distracted by another Brave robot.
- The title mech of Gravion is surrounded by a huge bubble of turbulent gravity-manipulation as its parts join together. Notable in that even the pilots of the separate machines have to be careful and concentrate on what they're doing, or it's quite capable of knocking them away too.
- Subverted in Bleach, where in order for Ichigo to become a Shinigami all that is required is for anyone with an appropriate 'soul-removal' tool to give him a good smack with it.
- Averted in Galaxy Fraulein Yuna where one of the characters has a literal three frame transformation from normal clothing to battlesuit. Phenomenally cool.
- Subverted in UFO Robo Grendizer (Westernized as "Grandizer"). The villains exploited a design flaw in the Grandizer unit -- as it left its ship (its transformation sequence), the pilot's seat took eight seconds to travel from the ship's control center to the robot's. The locals end up developing another support craft for the robot to respond to this, complete with its own full-time pilot.
- Subverted in the second episode of Ultimate Girls when Tsubomi and Vivian transform. Instead of the stock animation which is later used, a "now transforming" meter is displayed which looks suspiciously like an Adobe Flash Player loading bar.
- Tekkaman Blade has a rare male nude transformation sequence.
- Moka's super-vampire transformation in Rosario To Vampire shows up nearly every time, and seems to have bats flying into her body and increasing her breast size. All for fanservice. The DVD version goes a step further and removes the glow from her body, canceling out at least some of the Anime Anatomy.
- Guyver has a rare non-nude transformation sequence, as the Guyver Armor appears over any clothes the user is wearing. It additionally provides an explanation for why the user can't be attacked, as he's protected by a Sphere Of Destruction during the transformation. In one of the early episodes, one of the Mooks attempts to grapple the hero in mid-transformation, and gets splattered into a fine meat-paste for his trouble.
- Wedding Peach had two, one for the wedding dress form, and one for their standard Magic Warrior form.
- To Love Ru: Lala's change into "Dress Form" somehow manages to combine this and Naughty Tentacles. Seriously.
- Which is, unusually, skipped after just the first two episodes.
- In To Love-Ru's Show Within A Show, Magical Kyoko, the transformation sequence is subverted. Kyoko, a magical girl, has a cat partner that transforms into her costume - and only her costume. Kyoko has to manually put it on.
- Subverted in Blue Dragon where as several robots begin to merge together in a transformation sequence, one of the heroes quickly slices them in half while berating them for thinking she would stand still and wait while they used such a long sequence during battle.
- The Pretty Sammy series mostly plays it straight with an epileptic seizure causing bit of Stock Footage, but sometimes parodies aspects of it. One of the first times Sammy transforms ends with her getting kicked down by Pixy Misa as she's posing.
- Himeno Awayuki of Pretear has
seven six available transformations, depending on the Leafe Knight she is merging with; all sequences look pretty similar, though. No special words are used, the process is triggered by joining hands. The de-transformations are also shown occasionally, but they don't get any special footage, and don't neccessarily happen at her own will.
- Onmyou Taisenki has a variation, in the form of Shikigami summoning sequences. Interestingly, pretty much everyone has them, and it's a pretty good way of telling how significant a Toujinshi is to the plot: important characters get long personalized sequences, while Mooks and Red Shirts all get the same generic sequence.
- The Demonic subtype is played straight when the titular character of Naruto pulls out his fourth kyuubi tail. Watch it here while listening to Linkin Park.
- Do-chan, the sentient Battle Dogi from Ranma 1/2, isn't actually worn. When it finds a suitable master, it flashes into a bolt of lightning that crashes down on its owner, ripping her clothes to shreds (which leaves them naked momentarily,) and reforming on her body. It is also emphatic enough to know precisely when its owner wants to transform.
- The Impulse Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Destiny uses a variation on the original series' Core Block System to launch - the cockpit is a transforming fighter, the legs are a separate module and the entire upper body is a third, with extra equipment arriving as a fourth after the main body has combined in mid-air. Faintly subverted because the transformation actually takes place in real time, and therefore it's very vulnerable to a quick-thinking enemy.
- It actually seems to be played straight instead because Shinn is never attacked during that sequence, even if the opportunity has been given more times than this troper cares to remember. Mook Chivalry maybe?
- Uta Kata has quite a bit of variety in its transformation sequences for Ichika, depending on which Djinn she summons. Each of her costumes is designed by a different well-known manga or anime artist. Ichika sometimes becomes fully naked, but also changes almost instantly on some occasions.
- Shugo Chara, by its very nature as a Magical Girl series, has these. It has an odd case in Ikuto getting a transformation sequence that has all the sparkles and effects the girls' sequences have. Also subverted briefly when Amu goes through the motions without her Transformation Trinket, only realizing too late that it won't work.
- Kaze no Stigma is positively laden with transformation sequences, mainly Ayano Kannagi whipping out her sword Enraiha. This troper has watched several dozen anime in his time, but still couldn't contain the laughter every time this ridiculously stereotypical one was played - often several times per episode (or at least it felt that way).
- Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs has a "4 vehicles transform into one Mecha" every episode.
- Digimon's not here yet? Not only do the Digimon have several transformation sequences every episode, seasons 3 and 4 had the humans transporming, several times with the naked scenes.
- Subverted it the movie, where a virus Digimon observes their Ultimate Digivolutions, then attacks them in mid-change. This is notable as he is the only character in the entire franchise so far to attack during a transformation. Despite this being a major flaw in all Digimon (one antagonist was a sentient deletion program, yet it waited the several minutes needed for their transformations.)
Western Animation
- W.I.T.C.H.
- Winx Club
- The Centurions -- About a 15-second sequence, as all the various parts of the chosen weapons system would beam in and attach to the heroes' exo-frame, ending with the helmet rudely clamping on to the head. Often showed all three back-to-back, and had the same trigger phrase: Power Xtreme! (Later episodes of the show usually skipped the stock footage, and just showed the pieces appearing and attaching all at once. The two extra characters added later never even got the stock footage versions).
- He Man And The Masters Of The Universe, when it was a Filmation production, got maximum mileage out of Prince Adam's transformation into He-Man with lots of digital pyrotechnics for very little physical change. (He-Man looked identical to Adam except for a tan and a deeper voice; how nobody put two and two together is baffling.) If Cringer was present, his transformation into Battle Cat would further pad the scene.
- He-Man's twin sister She-Ra had a similar sequence, but it was actually longer (and more sparkly). Like Cringer becoming Battle-Cat, She-Ra also had Spirit/Swiftwind, a talking horse that became a winged unicorn.
- In contrast, in the more recent 2004 series, He-Man's transformation takes mere seconds and he looks almost nothing like Prince Adam, though it retains its predecessor's Stock Footage ability to be used time and time again.
- Spoofed in an episode of Invader Zim. Gir begins a Transformation Sequence, complete with music, lights, and midair spinning... and then simply steps into his dog costume and zips it up.
- Curiously, the original appearance of the Transformers in the West did not include overt transformation sequences. The characters would make the switch between robot and vehicle/device forms wherever they were standing in complete continuity with the scene (although they always transformed the exact same way). This is more cultural than cost; newer series such as the shows of the Unicron Trilogy, which were actual anime, frequently featured such scenes, and the Japanese Alternate Continuity third season of Generation 1 featured transformation sequences for new characters only (old ones kept scene continuity). Transformers Animated is generally in-scene but faster than G1, unless the bot in question is about to do something important(i.e. Megatron transforming for the first time after being rebuilt and telling the Decepticons to "Transform and Rise Up").
- Ben10 has ten unique, albeit recycled, sequences. There's one for each alien creature Ben has the ability to change into (though Grey Matter's didn't actually get used until season two). Two more are added in season two, but one was lost after the events of "Ghostfreaked Out". Some are longer and more detailed than others, but all follow the same pattern of showing the change progressing outward from his wrist. Sometimes a simple green flash of light is substituted for the transformation, and said green light is always used for Ben changing back. Seasons three and four added more new aliens, but no new sequences, oddly enough. Future-Ben supposedly had ten thousand alien forms but we didn't (obviously) didn't see all of them.
- And one-shot villain Doctor Viktor gets his own Transformation Sequence, going from oversized scientist into frankensteinish monster. It's only used once, though.
- The old Spider-Woman cartoon series features a transformation sequence for Jessica Drew to change into the titular heroine.
- In Avatar The Last Airbender the Avatar State has this happen with a pause that is clearly in real time, with most people just too scared to react when they see it. Azula commits a dire breach of anime etiquette when she takes advantage of Aang's Transformation Sequence to shoot him from behind with a lightning bolt.
- The DVD Commentary actually mentions that is a vulnerable opening and part of mastering the Avatar State is not doing that.
- An animated adaption of Shazam! featured Billy, Mary, and Freddy, and a drawn-out transformation sequence. Unlike most, they had sequences for transforming back to normal as well, and a variety of different stock sequences for various combinations of the main characters, transforming singly, in pairs, or all three at once. (Interestingly, the comic version is specifically stated to be instantaneous. In the 1970s it was furthermore stated that, between the speed of transformation and the blinding flash, most people don't know that Billy is Captain Marvel, even when he transforms right in front of them, though that hasn't carried over to post-crisis versions of the character)
- In fact, Filmation in general. In addition to the ones mentioned above (He-Man, She-Ra, Shazam), there was also Web Woman, Super Strech and Microwoman, Fantastic Voyage, The Ghostbusters (the 1986 cartoon), and Bravestarr (30-30 had transformation sequences when he went from bipedal to quadrupedal and back), just to name a few.
- A late 1970's version of The Thing (from the Fantastic Four) by Hanna-Barbera featured him as a teenager (implied in one episode to be due to a "cure" gone wrong), but he could become the Thing by touching his rings together and announcing "Thing Ring, Do Your Thing". This also had a reverse transformation sequence, without a required phrase.
- The series was mostly humorous in intention, and it even spoofed itself. At least one episode had the hero retreat to a nearby doorway to transform, only to be interrupted by an old woman exiting the door. She stopped long enough to give him a lecture.
- Like Filmation, Hanna-Barbera were also good at filling time with these sequences. In addition to the Thing, there was also the Mighty Mightor (with a sequence very similar to He-Man, but predating it by twenty years), Arabian Knights, the Impossibles, the Super Globetrotters, Super Friends (in the Wonder Twins' segments), Wonder Wheels, Mighty Man and Yukk, The Drak Pack, and even SWAT Kats. (And I'm sure I forgot some)
- Hanna-Barbera also spoofed this trope with one version of Captain Caveman. On The Flintstones Comedy Show, he worked as a copy boy at a stone-age newspaper, disguising himself with a pair of glasses and his cape folded into a bowtie. Despite that, he still required a coat rack and an elaborate transformation sequence (which included heroic music, rockets, fireworks, and stars) to become Captain Caveman.
- Hanna-Barbera also had Wonder Wheels. The hero would push a button on the handlebars of his pathetic Frankenbike, and say "Won-won-wonna-wonna-wonna-Wonder Wheels!" The bike would buck and after a lightshow, both the bike and the rider would be transformed into their heroic outfits.
- In Banaman it's triggered whenever Eric eats a banana. It's most famous form is in the Opening Credits. In which Eric sprouts muscles and grows two feet.
- Freakazoid!
- Subvert a bit, with Jerrica "Jem" Benton of Jem And The Holograms, which is only a "Showtime, Synergy" to summon Jem hologram and a "Show's Over, Synergy" to remove the Jem hologram--the answer is usually a pink light and very quick.
- The Powerpuff Girls: In the episode "Super Zeroes," the girls each try to change their look to be more like the super hero in their favorite comic books, complete with such elaborate transformations that, by the time they're done, the monster has left town.
Live Action TV (Japanese)
- The many and varied Ultraman series usually involve a man-to-giant-alien-robot-thing transformation.
- Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003-2004) showcased several different transformations managed via digital effects. The results ranged from Moon's clumsy and cringeworthy transform (the first created by the production team) to Dark Mercury's showstopper (the final transform created, after the team had gained months of experience with their tools).
- As with its animated counterpart, we see only one or two instances of de-transformation, and these also appear to be simple acts of will.
- Additionally, we get to see one transformation -- Minako to Venus -- from the "outside", as an eyewitness on the scene would. Instead of all the fancy effects, it's an instantaneous, blink-and-you'll-miss-it change that she performs while running, thus validating years of fan speculation.
- A later sequence, however, has Ami transforming. Unlike Minako, however, she gets a blue glowy thing.
- They also fondly parodied the trope in one of the supplemental shorts: Mamoru becomes "Tuxedo Mask" just by putting on a tuxedo, top hat and mask, but the one time he does it on camera, it gets all the same fancy shots, edits, and sound effects as the girls' magical transformations.
- Many, many, many Kamen Rider characters had this. Even the enemies had transformation sequences, even if they amounted to little more than the camera zooming in on them, blurring a bit, and revealing the monster from its disguise.
- In several early Kamen Riders, the enemies sometimes stopped the henshin gestures by attacking during the middle of the gesture, or setting traps that would halt them.
Live Action TV (Western)
- Animorphs: Characters who morphed had to wear tight clothing or risk becoming naked when they remorphed. The latter only occured once. The books made it quite clear that morphing almost never happened the same way twice, and was usually highly disgusting unless the morpher had an unusual talent for it (as did Cassie).
- An earlier Filmation production of Shazam! from the 1970s had the magic-word-and-lightning transformation between Billy Batson and Captain Marvel. It was usually paired with a similar show, Isis, which had its own transformation sequence.
- The 1970s Wonder Woman series actually had two different Tranformation Sequences. In the first season it was essentially a slow-motion montage of Lynda Carter spinning in place in different stages of the change. Starting in the second season, though, a much shorter and more dramatic sequence was used where Carter would spin, there would be an optical of an explosion over her, and then she would appear in costume. The latter has become subject to much parody. (As well as an homage in an episode of Justice League Unlimited)
- Power Rangers: In the earlier seasons, the usage of Stock Footage became quickly grating, as the rangers would look the same at the beginning of the sequence, regardless of what clothes they'd been wearing beforehand or changes in their hairstyle. In later seasons, it became standard to use clever tricks to downplay this: in Power Rangers Ninja Storm, Power Rangers SPD, Power Rangers Mystic Force, and Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, the rangers are always wearing uniforms before the (full) sequence begins (in Ninja Storm, this is acheived using Flung Clothing). When Mystic Force does a direct from street clothes transformation they follow the next point down. In several other seasons, the sequence is cut such that their pre-transformation clothing is hidden during the sequence using close-ups and visual effects.
- Occasionally, a shorter Stock Footage-free Transformation Sequence was used instead (sometimes called "on-the-fly" morphing), which, with a very few exceptions, used a much blander and more generic special effect. As seen in Countdown to Destruction as well as several other times throughout the various series, the actual transformation is in fact instantaneous and consists of nothing more than a small explosion masking the shift - the drawn-out sequence is purely for the audience's amusement.
- The MMPR Transformation sequences weren't very elaborate... so in "Once a Ranger" a new, snazzier sequence was made for Adam (the second MMPR Black Ranger) so he wouldn't be the only one without.
- The Twilight Zone pulled off an impressive transformation scene despite limited special effects in The Howling Man. A man walks down a pillar-lined hallway as the camera follows alongside him. As he passes behind each pillar, he gets gets more and more demonic (ending with a cliche horns and tail Satan). It's cut so that it appears to be one long take, but there's no effects on screen at any point.
- Masters of low-budget kid shows, Krofft had a few of these. "Activate Electra-Change!" turned Lori and Judy into Electra-Woman and Dyna-Girl, and a magic horn turned the junky Schlep Car into Wonderbug.
- The Mystic Knights Of Tir Na Nog, the ancient Irish Power Rangers.
- Manimal, starring Simon MacCorkindale.
- Weird Al Yankovic undergoes a transformation sequence at the start of his video "Fat" that fortunately does not strip him nude in the process.
Webcomics
Video Games
- Subverted in Disgaea, when Etna shoots two Sentai members during a transformation sequence because, hey, they were wide open during it.
- Parodied in Silent Hill 3 (Of all places...) when Heather equips her ridiculous Princess Heart outfit, triggering a lengthy transformation.
- The early Mario and Castlevania games actually pause the action around the player character while he's transforming.
- The SRX from Super Robot Wars has an impressive combinations transformnation which has its own theme called "Variable Formation".
- The Breath Of Fire series is the king of this trope for video games, since the main character of each game (all named Ryu) can transform into a dragon, with a more elaborate sequence in each game. Furthermore, in the first and third games, a second character has a transformation sequence (Karn in Bo F 1, and his Fusions; Rei in Bo F 3, and his Weretiger transformation), and the fourth game's antagonist, Fou-Lu, is playable and can also transform into a dragon in a sequence largely identical to Ryuu's.
- Sa Ga Frontier: Red had one but nobody could see it because he needed to maintain his Secret Identity. But a good Secret Identity Change Trick (Power Outage, Mecs only in party, Characters stunned/blinded) allows him to go Alkaiser no problem.
- The Legend Of Dragoon has individual anime-like transformations for every single playable character in the game, as they turn into their Dragoon forms. One villain also gets a mid-battle transformation into a Dragoon with his own sequence. Dart, the main character, gets a second Dragoon form late in the game with an even more over-the-top sequence.
- Saiyuki: The Journey West features characters who can transform into monsters. Each one has an elaborate transformation sequence and an equally elaborate reversion sequence. Furthermore, there's two more sequences for transformation and reversion used in cutscenes (even though they otherwise use the same sprites!)
- More minor transformation sequences are used in Final Fantasy VII (Vincent's Limit Break) and Wild Arms II (Ashley's transformation into Knight Blazer). These pretty much are of the "original character fades out, new form fades in" variety rather than the flashy sequences mentioned above, though.
- This trope is arguably the entire point of Final Fantasy X-2. Luckily, there's an option to shorten or turn off the transformation sequences after the first time the girls have changed into their new Dresspheres.
- The character of MOMO in Xeno Saga gets powerups that can be used once per fight that include transformation sequences.
- "Model X! Model Z! Megamerge!" Vent and Grey both get transformation sequences just as long as the girls'.
- Never mind every single villain and hero in the Star Force games, though admittedly usually everyone except for Geo gets theirs shortened to a quick fade to white and back.
- The Tekken series has quite a few. Including Devil Jin's ending from the fifth game and Ogre's transformation into True Ogre in Tekken 3.
Film
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