The List

6 Bizarre Magical Transformations

Let's talk about magical girl transformations for a minute. The first things that come to mind are sparkles, ribbons, cheery music, and maybe a few poses that only the most experienced gymnast could pull off. Then, with a twirl and a flip, our heroine is super-powered and ready for battle.

Now let's change the script a bit. What if this magical transformation wasn't glorious and squeaky clean like usual? What if the results were unexpected, absurd, terrifying, or all the above? These are magical transformations that twist expectations and venture into uncharted territory.

Magical Girl Ore What happens when you sign a magical girl contract with a yakuza? Things don't quite go according to plan. That's what Saki Uno discovers when she makes a deal to help save her stoic crush Mohiro from some buff demons. Her new form doesn't really give her special powers, but it does give her ripped pectoral muscles and calves ready to stomp through any evil-doer that looks at her funny. This does complicate her romantic aims, as both Mahiro and his sister Sakuyo develop feelings for her, but not in the form she was hoping for.

Henkei Shōjo Last year, DLE aired six different shorts in its Henkei Shōjo series, first on the web and later on TV. Each featured a unique transforming girl, but they didn't frilly skirts or magic wands; these girls are closer to Transformers. The different characters turn into airships, sports cars, and okinomiyaki machines. The sports car is by far the strangest, as we see a normal school girl wander up to a gas station, drink her fill of gasoline, and then transform into a panty-exposing pink roadster.

Dog Days' In the second season of Dog Days', 13-year-old Rebecca Anderson joins her classmate Shinku Izumi in another world where she becomes the magical heroine Pastillage—and it's incredibly awkward to say the least. I watched the sequence numerous times and still can't quite figure out what's going on, but it involves tentacles that look like electrical cords plugging into every pore on Rebecca's body, while she awkwardly straddles a staff that gradually turns into a super-powered broom. It's like some kind of weird cyber-infused sexual performance that takes place in a world full of animal people.

Demon Fighter Kocho This one-off OVA is is more like a Demon Hunter Yohko knock-off, but while Yohko has the sexy transformation (and there's plenty of boobs in this one too), Kocho has naked grandpas to share. The show's main protagonists are Koran and Kocho, and their professor who has spiritual powers of his own. He can use these powers to transform into a gi by saying "Kamokamorablin Kamorablin!" and spinning aggressively. Koran dubs it "the worst transformation in history."

You're Being Summoned, Azazel You're Being Summoned, Azazel is an extremely crude comedy series that doesn't much care about good taste. (It has a running gag about how the demon Beelzebub enjoys eating feces, for instance.) One foremost example is the poor fate of Rinko sakuma. Azazel and Moloch sing an altered version of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and transform the unsuspecting Rinko into a cow—not even a magical cow, just a regular old cow. The entire gradual process is nightmare fuel. Revolutionary Girl Utena's Nanami had it much better by comparison.

Hunter x Hunter The power of Gon Freecs' rage is not to be trifled with. When the spry 12-year-old is challenged to battle by Neferpitou in the Chimera Ant arc, things get intense. Gon has just witnessed the death of Kite and struggles to comprehend that knowledge, causing him to unleash his wrath and transform into an adult version of himself. Not unlike the Incredible Hulk, Gon tears through his clothes, revealing an extremely muscular abdomen, calves made for stomping and impossibly tall hair. This isn't like Super Saiyan territory where black turns to gold and gets some added spikes. This is more like 12 feet of human hair pointing directly upward into the stratosphere.

1. Baccano!
2. Durarara!!
3. Re:Zero
4. Spice and Wolf
5. Monogatari series
6. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
7. KONOSUBA
8. Full Metal Panic!
9. No Game, No Life
10. Sword Art Online
11. Hyou-ka
12. Log Horizon
13. Slayers
14. A Certain Magical Index
15. Kino's Journey
16. Overlord
17. The Eccentric Family
18. Fate/Zero
19. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
20. Saga of Tanya the Evil