Quotes / Transformation Is a Free Action

Anime and Manga

"Now, we're going to power up. You stand there and be quiet, I'll tell you when it's time to fight."

— Trunks sets Majin Buu straight, Dragon Ball Z

Freeza: Ninety-eight...percent! Almost...at maximum power!
Goku: That's right, you go right on up to 100. The only reason I'm waiting so patiently for this "grand unveiling" is to have the honour of taking you down at your best.

— Dragon Ball Z Kai

Vegeta: (watching Cell transform) He's certainly taking his time; this had better be worth the wait.
Trunks: There's no way I'm letting this happen! (opens fire, but his blasts just bounce off Cell's aura)

— Dragon Ball Z Kai

"You tried to mess up our combination sequence. You have no shred of romance or aesthetics!"

— Minato Sakai, after Team Try Fighters fails to stop the Tryon 3 from combining, Gundam Build Fighters Try

'Oh no, no, no. There’s no retreating into ball form for you!'

— Mechtavius Destroyer killing Mutabrid by attacking as he runs out of energy, Bakugan Battle Brawlers

Live-Action TV

Wilfred: When I saw you before, you said that your people could change, like your whole body.
Doctor: I can still die. If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead.

— Doctor Who, "The End of Time"

Video Games

"No attacking while I transform!"

— Neptune, Neptunia

Webcomics

"Ain't you learned from anime that you never interrupt a transformation sequence? Or an enemy's monologue?"

— Blackbeard, Fate/Gamers Only

Web Original

"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."

— "If I Ever Become an Anime Villain," an Evil-Overlord-inspired list.

"If an enemy begins to metamorphose into something bigger and badder, I will immediately start whacking away at it instead of watching in horrid fascination."

— The Things I Will Do if I Am Ever the Hero

Web Video

"Okay, really? You couldn't even let a brother transform first? You broke, like, Rule 4 of all anime, dude!"

— Alphastar716 griping about a player splatting him in Splatoon 3 before he could mount his Crab Tank, "Inside the Mind of Splatoon 3 Crab Tank Users"

"Vegeta, I know this is Dragon Ball, and it's a rule that we idly have to stand by when a villain powers up. But can we make an exception just this once?!"

— Krillin, Alternate Reality DBZ episode 30

"This is taking a lot of start-up time..."

— Byakuya watching Ichigo activate his Bankai for the first time, Bleach (S) Abridged

(While Trunks is powering up) "You know, if I had a watch, I'd be looking at my wrist really condescendingly right now."

— Cell, Dragon Ball Z Abridged

Western Animation

"Man, that took a while..."

— Skeletor after the Masters of the Universe transform, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021)

Miscellaneous

"Why do I let people do that?!"

— Goku, Revenge of Cooler Abridged

Picolo: I feel like we should be stopping this.
Goku: Nah, I want a good fight.

— Super Android 13 Abridged

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