Fandom Snowflake 2021 #5: Watch carefully
Jan. 9th, 2021 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptChallenge #5 wants us to talk about a part of something we love.
In the outside world, the transformation sequence takes up a little bit of runtime (by which we mean anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute or more) and shifts the ordinary character into their superpowered alternative. Series with a Henshin Hero or a Magical Girl are likely to show us the transformation sequence at least Once an Episode. And, until there's an upgrade, for the most part, the sequence is pretty stock. And it's almost always a rule of the universe in which it exists that the actual transformation and detransformation are near-instantaneous to the outside observer, so all of the posing and other elements that are part of seeing the transformation sequence as the show viewer are, to put it mildly, lost on the outside world. (Unless it's plot-important that the right amount of time pass for the transformation.)
Anyway, so if the outside observer will see not much more than a flash and then there's a superhero standing there, then what's the point of the transformation sequence? Rather than ask you to watch Akibaranger, the unofficial affectionate parody of the Super Sentai series that basically gets to hang every lampshade that it can (and a few more), specifically episode 6 of the first series, which is all about the need for having a good transformation sequence and roll call, I'll try to summarize.
Transformation sequences, to me, are about showcasing something about the person that's doing the transforming to the audience. For the United States and people of somewhere around my age, the first major transformation sequence seen is either the Sailor Scouts power make-ups or the transformations of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Which have a couple different approaches to themselves, but the Power Rangers catch up to the same thing as the Sailor Scouts do with the additional poses and such that immediately follow (mostly because, well, the first season of Power Rangers, as well as all the other Saban shows that reused various tokusatsu franchises, is basically trying to graft a different show onto the toku show that already happened, so their footage options are rather limited when there are suits involved.) Each of the transformation sequences of the Sailor Scouts gives a hint to things like their elemental affinities, their personal style, and, presumably, something about themselves, based on the pose they strike at the end, the expressions on their faces, and so forth.
So let's fast forward to one of the more current magical girl shows, one with a big current fandom, Miraculous Ladybug, and test that theory. With the exception of two characters, most of the Miraculous cast have only a single transformation, and as much fun as it might be to apply this to all of the characters, I'm focusing on the two who have more than one transformation sequence. So, Marinette Dupain-Cheng's first deliberate transformation is with the Ladybug Miraculous. Here's a video to follow along with Marinette's transformations. Now, Marinette is known to be particularly clumsy, primarily around her undeclared crush, Adrien. Yet, if you watch the Ladybug transformations, they're dancer- and gymnast-inspired, with high leg kicks and spins - the absolute antithesis of a clumsy girl. Also, I'm pretty sure that we don't see Ladybug crashing in to things unless she's been depowered or interrupted in some way, as well as the skill and finesse required for some of her shots. Chat Noir, on the other hand, ends up taking on a lot of the physical comedy when they're transformed, which is as much a story decision to make him the fall guy, but also points at the idea that Ladybug provides a certain amount of balance and grace to those who are transformed with that Miraculous. The later Mister Bug transformation will also involve him being the physical comedian, which says that the story decisions involving who's allowed to be comedy when they're transformed are rules of the universe - Marinette is comedic when civilian, Chat Noir or equivalent is comedic when transformed.
Advancing the video to the Lady Noire transformation, it's obviously meant to mirror the Chat Noir transformation, but the biggest problem of this is that it's in an episode where Marinette has been transformed into a different physical shape, and so we lose a lot of the detail work that might otherwise come through in a more regular transformation. However, the end part of this transformation involves a more pugilistic sequence, with swipes and punches and a ready fighting pose (with dynamic gravity-defying braid in the background, which is certainly a decision being made about what to use as the cat tail). This pose and transformation sequence tracks with the idea of Chat Noir's defining element being barely-controlled destructive power, a much more direct use of strength (and Marinette's attitude shifts accordingly).
So far, so good. As Ladybug, Marinette is the graceful gymnast, as Lady Noire, the direct bruiser. And then there's a third transformation that happens with her, Multimouse, which has to be accounted for, because, for reasons I don't quite fully understand, Marinette turns at least one, possibly two, back handspring(s) in the transformation sequence. Mullo's ability is to multiply one person into many, proportionately sized to the original person as many copies are made, so there doesn't seem to be any need for additional agility or style involved. Best I can guess is that this is a potential signal that Marinette is actually very balanced and graceful, she just loses all of that around her crush, because comedy rules. If there are more Marinette transformations in the fourth season, we'll get to figure that out more, I guess.
And there's Adrien. Adrien gets three transformations of his own, the first is the original Chat Noir that the Lady Noir transformation is mirrored on. It's a matter of catlike swipes and the impression of power over finesse, so that's consistent. The second one in this video is the Mister Bug transformation, which suffers from some of the same problems that Lady Noire does, but is also much less of a mirror of Marinette's Ladybug transformation. Instead of a gymnast's grace and flexibility, we instead have something more akin to a martial artist's strength and flexibility, with the held high kicks and the ending pose. So maybe the Ladybug Miraculous does impart a certain amount of balance to the wielder, and in Marinette's case, amplifies what she already has to remarkable amounts.
Adrien does have a third transformation, with Sass, and this is interesting, at least in the sense that he's the wrong person for this particular Miraculous at that juncture. He spins around a lot, but the ending pose for him looks pretty awkward and off-balance. Compared to the person who is actually best with that particular Miraculous, it's pretty clear in hindsight that Adrien's not correct, and the transformation sequence helps showcase that.
So! I think this principle, that the transformation sequence is supposed to say something specific and important about either the person transforming or the powers being granted to them, is fairly generalizable, that regardless of whether it's a Kamen Rider, a Sentai member, a Magical Girl, or any other hero who goes through a specific transformation sequence. Counterexamples and subversions welcome, as are more examples that do fit the pattern, whether they're being played straight or deconstructively.
In your own space, promote a canon/talk about a part of canon that you love.If you are interested in my many hundreds of thousands of words worth of complaining and aggravation at the terrible handling of The Dragonriders of Pern, the link is in the sidebar, and the first author's run is on AO3. Which is s lot to ask someone to do for a challenge, so instead, I'm going to talk about something that might get glossed over after the first couple times of seeing it - transformation sequences!
[...]
Whether it is to fix-it, honor it, or expand upon it, canon is why we are all here. So, let's celebrate canon today and talk about our favorites. Nostalgic, new, problematic, or forever canons are all welcome to be loved, dissected, and discussed. Have a favorite scene? A much-loved character? A much-maligned character? Just love the whole thing epically? Talk about it all or as little as you want!
In the outside world, the transformation sequence takes up a little bit of runtime (by which we mean anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute or more) and shifts the ordinary character into their superpowered alternative. Series with a Henshin Hero or a Magical Girl are likely to show us the transformation sequence at least Once an Episode. And, until there's an upgrade, for the most part, the sequence is pretty stock. And it's almost always a rule of the universe in which it exists that the actual transformation and detransformation are near-instantaneous to the outside observer, so all of the posing and other elements that are part of seeing the transformation sequence as the show viewer are, to put it mildly, lost on the outside world. (Unless it's plot-important that the right amount of time pass for the transformation.)
Anyway, so if the outside observer will see not much more than a flash and then there's a superhero standing there, then what's the point of the transformation sequence? Rather than ask you to watch Akibaranger, the unofficial affectionate parody of the Super Sentai series that basically gets to hang every lampshade that it can (and a few more), specifically episode 6 of the first series, which is all about the need for having a good transformation sequence and roll call, I'll try to summarize.
Transformation sequences, to me, are about showcasing something about the person that's doing the transforming to the audience. For the United States and people of somewhere around my age, the first major transformation sequence seen is either the Sailor Scouts power make-ups or the transformations of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Which have a couple different approaches to themselves, but the Power Rangers catch up to the same thing as the Sailor Scouts do with the additional poses and such that immediately follow (mostly because, well, the first season of Power Rangers, as well as all the other Saban shows that reused various tokusatsu franchises, is basically trying to graft a different show onto the toku show that already happened, so their footage options are rather limited when there are suits involved.) Each of the transformation sequences of the Sailor Scouts gives a hint to things like their elemental affinities, their personal style, and, presumably, something about themselves, based on the pose they strike at the end, the expressions on their faces, and so forth.
So let's fast forward to one of the more current magical girl shows, one with a big current fandom, Miraculous Ladybug, and test that theory. With the exception of two characters, most of the Miraculous cast have only a single transformation, and as much fun as it might be to apply this to all of the characters, I'm focusing on the two who have more than one transformation sequence. So, Marinette Dupain-Cheng's first deliberate transformation is with the Ladybug Miraculous. Here's a video to follow along with Marinette's transformations. Now, Marinette is known to be particularly clumsy, primarily around her undeclared crush, Adrien. Yet, if you watch the Ladybug transformations, they're dancer- and gymnast-inspired, with high leg kicks and spins - the absolute antithesis of a clumsy girl. Also, I'm pretty sure that we don't see Ladybug crashing in to things unless she's been depowered or interrupted in some way, as well as the skill and finesse required for some of her shots. Chat Noir, on the other hand, ends up taking on a lot of the physical comedy when they're transformed, which is as much a story decision to make him the fall guy, but also points at the idea that Ladybug provides a certain amount of balance and grace to those who are transformed with that Miraculous. The later Mister Bug transformation will also involve him being the physical comedian, which says that the story decisions involving who's allowed to be comedy when they're transformed are rules of the universe - Marinette is comedic when civilian, Chat Noir or equivalent is comedic when transformed.
Advancing the video to the Lady Noire transformation, it's obviously meant to mirror the Chat Noir transformation, but the biggest problem of this is that it's in an episode where Marinette has been transformed into a different physical shape, and so we lose a lot of the detail work that might otherwise come through in a more regular transformation. However, the end part of this transformation involves a more pugilistic sequence, with swipes and punches and a ready fighting pose (with dynamic gravity-defying braid in the background, which is certainly a decision being made about what to use as the cat tail). This pose and transformation sequence tracks with the idea of Chat Noir's defining element being barely-controlled destructive power, a much more direct use of strength (and Marinette's attitude shifts accordingly).
So far, so good. As Ladybug, Marinette is the graceful gymnast, as Lady Noire, the direct bruiser. And then there's a third transformation that happens with her, Multimouse, which has to be accounted for, because, for reasons I don't quite fully understand, Marinette turns at least one, possibly two, back handspring(s) in the transformation sequence. Mullo's ability is to multiply one person into many, proportionately sized to the original person as many copies are made, so there doesn't seem to be any need for additional agility or style involved. Best I can guess is that this is a potential signal that Marinette is actually very balanced and graceful, she just loses all of that around her crush, because comedy rules. If there are more Marinette transformations in the fourth season, we'll get to figure that out more, I guess.
And there's Adrien. Adrien gets three transformations of his own, the first is the original Chat Noir that the Lady Noir transformation is mirrored on. It's a matter of catlike swipes and the impression of power over finesse, so that's consistent. The second one in this video is the Mister Bug transformation, which suffers from some of the same problems that Lady Noire does, but is also much less of a mirror of Marinette's Ladybug transformation. Instead of a gymnast's grace and flexibility, we instead have something more akin to a martial artist's strength and flexibility, with the held high kicks and the ending pose. So maybe the Ladybug Miraculous does impart a certain amount of balance to the wielder, and in Marinette's case, amplifies what she already has to remarkable amounts.
Adrien does have a third transformation, with Sass, and this is interesting, at least in the sense that he's the wrong person for this particular Miraculous at that juncture. He spins around a lot, but the ending pose for him looks pretty awkward and off-balance. Compared to the person who is actually best with that particular Miraculous, it's pretty clear in hindsight that Adrien's not correct, and the transformation sequence helps showcase that.
So! I think this principle, that the transformation sequence is supposed to say something specific and important about either the person transforming or the powers being granted to them, is fairly generalizable, that regardless of whether it's a Kamen Rider, a Sentai member, a Magical Girl, or any other hero who goes through a specific transformation sequence. Counterexamples and subversions welcome, as are more examples that do fit the pattern, whether they're being played straight or deconstructively.
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