Bishonen Line: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"Actually, leading [[Fantastic Science|powerfoligists]] theorize that as you become more powerful, you become more monstrous, and then sharply become humanoid again. They call it the [[Trope Namers|Bishonen Line]]."''|'''Karn''', ''[[Adventurers]]''}}

{{quote|''"Actually, leading [[Fantastic Science|powerfoligists]] theorize that as you become more powerful, you become more monstrous, and then sharply become humanoid again. They call it the [[Trope Namers|Bishonen Line]]."''|'''Karn''', ''[[Adventurers!]]''}}

As the power of an evil creature increases, they become more of a [[One-Winged Angel|large, disfigured abomination]] -- ''until'' they cross the Bishonen Line, beyond which as they gain more power, they (re)gain humanoid form.

A possible [[In-Universe]] justification for this is that what's increasing is not only the creature's power, but also how much they ''control'' that power -- the monstrous, oft-[[Evil Is Visceral|visceral]] features are the result of power pouring out without restraint. Once the creature manages to get a grip on their abilities, they can suppress the giant-scary-monster aspect of their abilities while freely accessing the kick-ass part. In some cases, this concept will be alluded to via the creature starting to [[Glamour Failure|revert to its monstrous form]] as it is harmed and loses control over itself.

On some cases, this could also be viewed as the creature being [[Functional Genre Savvy]]. For example, a huge monstrous abomination cannot physically participate in the impressive martial arts stuff that a [[Fighting Series]] is built around, so if it's in one of those, it gains an advantage by reverting to a humanoid form that will fare better [[Kung Fu Fighting]].

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See also [[Monstrosity Equals Weakness]], a [[Super-Trope]] of this, where more monstrous characters will be inherently weaker / less important than humanoid ones; [[Sculpted Physique]], which may be applied to "cosmetically" or grotesquely; [[Monster Lord]], where this trope divides leaders and [[Mook|mooks]] inside a race of monsters; and [[Humanoid Abomination]].

Compare [[The Man Behind the Monsters]] for an exogenous demonstration of this, and [[Crystal Spires and Togas]], which is more or less this trope applied to entire civilizations.

Not to be confused with [[Miracle Train|Bishounen Train Lines]].

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* Rob Lucci in ''[[One Piece]]'' uses his devil's fruit ability to turn into a giant leopard-man, but one of his [[Charles Atlas Superpower|kung-fu techniques]] is the ability to shrink himself down to normal proportions, making him much more agile.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', the [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|[http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a271/SanCerulean/Homuncurus.jpg Father] first appeared in the form of Hohenheim, a handsome [http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a271/SanCerulean/462px-Father1.jpg older man]. He then reverted to a formless blob with too many eyeballs, until Chapter 104 where he finally settled for [http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a271/SanCerulean/806px-Brotherhood61.jpg a teenage Hohenheim]}}.

* Followed by ''[[Zatch Bell]]'', save for the fact that very few characters actually transform there. Weakest mamodo opponents encountered at the beginning mostly look like humans with cosmetic differences, then much less human-like mamodo, up to and including gigantic dragons, make their entry, yet the first two [[Big Bad|Big Bads]], Zophise and Zeon, look like humans with cosmetic differences, and the final one, Clear Note, is virtually indistinguishable from a human, save from his monstrous [[Battle Aura]]. Then subverted, when he is revealed to have an [[One-Winged Angel]] uber-form after all.

* An heroic example in ''[[Naruto]]'': Both Naruto and Killerbee are [[Sealed Inside a Person Shaped Can|Jinchuriki]], they can transform into huge demons, but their most powerful incarnation is being human-sized with just the power of the demon surrounding them.

** Another heroic example is Sage Mode. Jiraiya's imperfect Sage Mode gives him a goatey, warts, webbed fingers and other toad-like features. The only physical changes Naruto gains from perfect Sage Mode are toad-eyes.

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== Literature ==

* In ''Master of the Five Magics'' by [[Lyndon Hardy]], the Demons have a hierarchy of power. The least powerful are near human, but they grow larger and more bizarrely monstrous as they become more potent. The Archdemon, however, has the form of a lightly built human male. Interestingly enough, a demon's physical power has very little to do with his rank: a demon's rank is based on his ability to make others submit to his will. Each demon has a different method, some inflicting pain on others, others use pleasure, or despair, or any number of other emotions. The Archdemon, however, can use ALL of these abilities, drowning his opponent in an ocean of conflicting emotions.

* ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'': Souls become less and less human in appearance as Dante makes his tour of the afterlife, going from Hell to Heaven -- from physically human in appearance in Hell and Purgatory (though the damned often have their human forms [[Body Horror|disfigured and transformed in horrific ways]]) to ethereal faces in the first sphere of Heaven, shining balls of light with discernable eyes in the second sphere, and beautiful but featureless balls of light in the third through ninth spheres -- but when he reaches the Heavenly realm entirely beyond physical existence, the Empyrean, everyone is entirely human again.

* In [[Lois McMaster Bujold|Lois McMaster Bujold's]] ''[[The Sharing Knife]]'' series, the monsters of the series are known as "malices," creatures of sentient destructive energy which drain the life force of all surrounding creatures in order to build horrific, misshapen forms, and which grow geometrically stronger the more they feed. Over the series we see several different monstrous forms of malices: a werewolf malice that fed on wolves, a flying malice that fed on bats...but the most advanced and most dangerous of the malices they fight is one that has consumed so many human lives that it has developed a stunningly beautiful, superhuman form.

* ''[[Codex Alera]]'' has a Bishoujo Line example: The Vord queens start out fairly insectile, then go through a marginally more human look before eventually graduating to a {{spoiler|"green Kitai"}} form that tries for [[Cute Monster Girl]] but [[Uncanny Valley|falls a little flat]].

* ''[[The Dresden Files]]''

** The Gruffs follow a Bishonen Line. The first ones we see -- the youngest of a group of related faeries -- are goatlike but about the same size as humans. The next group we see are physically similar to the first ones, but are bigger and [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|are carrying submachine guns]]. The third time we see one, this one works solo, and he is even bigger than the last group; he has to bend almost in half just to fit through a door. He is large enough for his size to noticeably reduce his maneuverability. The final one is powerful enough to have defeated three high-ranking Council wizards, but he is only five feet tall and definitely more human-shaped than any of his brothers.

** The Denarians play around with this trope. Nicodemus, the most powerful, is always in human form, while the second most powerful, Tessa, can become a praying mantis. The other Denarians take a variety of forms, with [[Cute Monster Girl|Rosanna and Deirdre]] among the most humanoid.

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** ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]: [[Dirge of Cerberus]]'' is also guilty, with Nero. He transforms into the huge and malformed Arachnero, and then into the human-sized and pretty Gorgonero.

** Vincent as well. His controlled Chaos form in the final area is stronger and looks more human than his earlier uncontrolled or partially controlled Chaos form.

** So does ''[[Final Fantasy X 2]]'': Trema, the resident [[Bonus Boss]] of Via Infinitio, a dungeon full of increasingly ugly monsters, a perfectly normal-looking Unsent.

** So does ''[[Final Fantasy X-2]]'': Trema, the resident [[Bonus Boss]] of Via Infinitio, a dungeon full of increasingly ugly monsters, a perfectly normal-looking Unsent.

* ''[[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]]''

** The final boss of ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'' first fights in his original black-cloaked form, then changes into an armored knight on a throne which is itself on the head of a robot dragon; after several fights against said dragon and knight, the final fight is against him in a recolored version of his original outfit, with an upgraded version of his original fighting style.

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** Before Xemnas however, was Marluxia. The first fight is straight up against him, using his own [[Green Thumb|flower magic]] and wielding a [[Sinister Scythe]]. The second has him on a sinister, large, floating mech with [[Sinister Scythe|scythes for arms]]. The third fight takes place on top of the remains of said mech, only this time Marluxia has a creepily beautiful angel-like familiar wielding a gigantic [[Sinister Scythe|scythe]] backing him up and basically doing all the fighting for him.

** In ''[[Kingdom Hearts coded]]'', the digitized {{spoiler|Sora's Heartless}} first takes the form of a [[Warmup Boss|Darkside]] with glowing tattoo-like markings, but after taking a beating transforms into {{spoiler|a dark copy of Sora}}, then finally {{spoiler|''[[Dual Boss|three]]'' dark copies of Sora.}}

* Ryu, the protagonist of ''[[Breath of Fire]] 3'', can transform into various dragon forms. His strongest form, Kaiser, is identical to his human form, except recolored gold. When you use that form's Kaiser Breath attack, however, he temporarily changes further into a gigantic dragon. This example is more justified than most, however, because the Kaiser form is just so frickin' huge that having Ryu fight permanently in it would fill up half the screen.

* In ''[[Brave Fencer Musashi]]'', the Wizard of Darkness is originally a massive, horned demon-man; he changes into an even more monstrous green beast, then finally into a white-skinned humanoid slightly larger than Musashi.

* Eve's final form in ''[[Parasite Eve (video game)|Parasite Eve]]'' is a rare ''Bishoujo Line'' example, having gone (over the entire game's course) from normal actress to 8-foot pale seductress with a serpentine lower body to taking up a good-sized room while preggers with the Ultimate Being to 20-foot floating monstrosity covered in grasping arms to [[Fan Service|functionally naked]] [[Fragile Speedster]] harpy-thing.

* The characters of ''[[Bloody Roar]]'' tend to avoid this trope, since turning into animals is the whole point, but a few characters get past [[One-Winged Angel|that point]].

** Cronos, one of the potential final fighters, turns into a very nonhuman penguin when he powers up a little. Turn on the [[Ominous Latin Chanting]], however, and he can transform into a phoenix that looks like a human with a beak and feathers before he kills you.

** Uranus is an even better example, as she first turns into a fearsome chimeric beast with her normal powerup, but her strongest form looks like her normal one, just glowing.

** Uriko also exhibits a degree of this. In the original game, as the [[Final Boss]], her beast transformation consisted of going from a little girl to a full-grown woman, sprouting cat ears, and her hair turning green. Later, when she's less powerful, her beast form, although still less animalistic than the others, is noticeably more feline. She also exhibits going to the [[One-Winged Angel]] again, as in the first game, her ultimate form is a grotesque chimera.

* ''[[Shadow Hearts]]''

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* ''[[Tales (series)]]''

** Dhaos from ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' fights you as is, then turns into his presumably true {{spoiler|alien}} form. After beating ''that'', though, he returns to being a humanoid, albeit very tall, suited in white, and sporting angel wings.

** Granted, that form was only put into the ''Remakes.''

** The final boss of ''[[Tales of Hearts]]'' fuses with the core of a giant planet-eating parasite to fight you, has a big magical lump of flesh for an ally, and can summon monsters, walls, and spikes from the room itself to attack you with. After beating that, you enter his mind and fight his "true self", which is him with a bunch of [[Power Crystal|power crystals]], a silly collar...and powerful spells, a tough defense, and a [[Limit Break]].

* ''[[Baten Kaitos]]''

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* Many ''[[Pokémon]]'' get more humanoid as they evolve; Abra to Alakazam, Torchic to Blaziken, Mareep to Ampharos, just to name a few examples. Some subvert this, such as Togepi.

* ''MS Saga'', the failed ''[[Gundam]]'' RPG, exhibits this with the final boss's [[Humongous Mecha]]. He starts the fight in the [http://mahq.net/mecha/gundam/cca/nz-333.htm Alpha Azieru] from ''[[Chars Counterattack]]'' and, when that's destroyed, uses the [[Lost Technology|G-System]] to turn it into a black version of [http://mahq.net/mecha/gundam/endlesswaltz/xxxg-00w0.htm Wing Zero Custom] from ''[[Gundam Wing]]''.

* In ''[[Spectrobes]]'' the [[The Heartless|Krawl]] start off as relatively small monsters, growing in size slowly with each passing boss until the final boss who is relatively large, basically the largest enemy of all (to say nothing of your ally Tindera). Immediately in the second game you are introduced to the {{spoiler|high Krawl}} who are human shaped Krawl. but then this trope is subverted as the {{spoiler|high Krawl}} all {{spoiler|go [[One-Winged Angel]]}}. but then this is [[Doubly Subverted]] with {{spoiler|the final boss[[Sequential Boss|(s)]]}} who are all massive and only grow larger until {{spoiler|you face the ultimate Spectrobe, whom you ''cant'' defeat. then this trope is [[Playing with a Trope|somethinged]] by the [[True Final Boss]] being [[Fallen Hero|Krux]], a human.}}

* In ''[[The World Ends With You]]'', when {{spoiler|Sho Minamimoto becomes part Taboo Noise}}, he basically just loses his [[Nice Hat]] and gains another [[Red Right Hand|black hand]]; much more human than his original [[One-Winged Angel|noise form]], and he becomes, in his own words, strong enough to rival the Conductor.

* ''[[Street Fighter II]]'': the Sonic Boom user was Guile who has a very angular face, chiseled jaw, and huge flattop. Then ''[[Street Fighter Alpha]]'' came and Guile was replaced with Charlie (except for SFA3 Console) who wears glasses and has a more handsome face. Then ''[[Street Fighter III]]'' gave us the bishonen Remy.

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== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Adventurers]]'' is the Trope Namer, as seen above. Khrima goes from a human sorcerer, through two progressively monstrous forms, and then takes on his final form, which is far more human.

* ''[[Adventurers!]]'' is the Trope Namer, as seen above. Khrima goes from a human sorcerer, through two progressively monstrous forms, and then takes on his final form, which is far more human.

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': This is seen with the prototyping of the Black Queen's Ring in the Kid's Sburb session. The Black Queen starts as a carapaced humanoid, until John enters the Medium. As he prototyped his Kernelsprite with a maimed harlequin doll, she loses most of her left arm, gets a scar over her right eye, and has a jester's hat sprout from her head. Then, Rose's dual prototyping gives her cat cheeks and [[Combat Tentacles]]. Then Dave's prototyping gives her crow wings and a sword ([[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice|it starts out in her torso]], but she can remove it at will). {{spoiler|Then Jack kills her and takes the ring, and all this applies to him. Then, with the final prototyping of Becquerel, Jack loses the "hat", cat cheeks, and tentacles, in exchange for a canine head and [[Reality Warper|god-like powers]]. He can bring back all the other stuff at will, though.}} This would seem to be a side effect of prototyping {{spoiler|a First Guardian}}; when the trolls prototype with dead monsters and a frog statue, the Black King and Queen of their session retained features from all 12 prototypings and wind up looking completely monstrous.

* ''[[Spacetrawler]]'': After Yuri becomes a cyborg, she starts constantly upgrading herself--her cyborg implants become increasingly bulky and inhuman, until she eventually looks like some kind of robot spider. Martina forcibly downgrades Yuri to her baseline cyborg form. Then Yuri upgrades herself to her most powerful form yet, a [[A God Am I|a self-styled death goddess]]--and she looks like her human self with a different skin color.