Transformation Is a Free Action: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Why are you just standing there? She's totally going to kick your ass when she's done transforming. Oooooh! You're doing that thing where you're being uncharacteristically chivalrous even though you just murdered her entire defenseless family for some cheap laughs. Well, it's your funeral, buddy.

 

 

Villains may have several reasons for doing this.

* He thinks [[Underestimating Badassery|the hero is hopelessly outmatched even transformed]].

* He is trying to turn them with a [[Not So Different]] speech.

 

Whatever the case may be, it ultimately comes down to the villain being [[Genre Blind]], and it rarely works out in his favor. A [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] villain will just [[Just Shoot Him|shoot first and get it over with]].

 

 

In-universe examples also sometimes show these transformations happening in real time, I.E. so fast (or that it actually never happened) that it justifies why the villains or even the heroes can't just kill them while they transform.

 

 

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' is the classic example where their transformations seem to go on forever without any of their enemies attempting to interrupt them. However there is some circumstantial evidence and [http://www.sailorenergy.net/SMMiniMangas/SMMangaInfoTransformationTime.jpg fan theory] that this is because these sequences are viewer eye-candy only, in "real time" they take seconds. Also the fact that the enemy rarely actually sees the Senshi actually start the transformation. They'll often transform before they get there or duck around a corner and transform. One last season episode parodied the latter by Usagi searching for an empty room to transform.

** It was made clear in the Death Busters arc that the sailors avoid transforming in front of the enemy, not because they could be attacked during it, but because it's one of the few ways the evil ones could learn their secret identities.

* ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' has quite a reputation for this. After two decades of parody, most viewers expect at least five minutes of some guy glowing, getting bulkier, and going "AAAAARRGGGGHHHHH" with nobody doing anything about it besides commenting on how much stronger he's getting. In practice, powering up more "normal" attacks tended to go exactly like this (especially as the series wore on), but really dramatic ones (the Spirit Bomb, infamously, was interrupted the first three times Goku tried to use it) and major transformations almost always had the enemy at least trying to disrupt them. Sometimes it worked, usually not.

** Yet another case: When Piccolo and Goku team up to take down Raditz, Piccolo's special attack takes FIVE MINUTES to charge up. During this time, it is up to Goku to keep Raditz busy, even holding him in place long enough for Piccolo to fire.

*** [[The Abridged Series|Da Da, DahDahDa. Da DahDah Da. Da Da, DahDahDah, DahDahDah, Da DahDah - I'm charging my attack.]]

* ''[[Voltron]]'' is a subversion of the highest order. The villains in this show are [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] and anytime Voltron tries to combine they are interrupted by either the villain or his minions though in some cases the interruption is too little too late.

** Actually only the first [[Monster of the Week]] was smart enough to do that.

** And when he transforms ''again'' into {{spoiler|<s>Super Saiyan 3</s> Raiten Taisou 2}}, this time Kotaro has to cover him for 43 seconds.

** And then there was that time in the Mahora Festival [[Tournament Arc]] where Kotaro decided to change into his demon form {{spoiler|only for <s>Colonel</s> Ku:Nel Sanders to squash him repeatedly with gravity magic while he's in mid-transformation until he finally fell unconscious}}.

** EI-15 (GGG Spare Parts Robo) got through too, and at a time when the Final Fusion program was disabled, forcing GGG members to pilot the GaoMachines. Big Volfogg grappled the Zonder to get it off.

** The earlier Brave show ''Might Gaine'' actually did feature at least one incident involving a villain interrupting the gattai sequence.

* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' completely averts it with the last major transformation of the series, which takes about one episode while all hell is breaking loose around.

* ''[[Transformers]]'', [[Transformers Armada|The]] [[Transformers Energon|Unicron]] [[Transformers Cybertron|Trilogy]]. [[Talking Is a Free Action|Talking]] ''while'' transforming? ''Still'' a Free Action.

** Unless you're Unicron himself. His transformation in ''Armada'' took half an episode {{spoiler|and killed off a named character}}. Then again, there's a lot of him to transform...

** The [[Stock Footage]] sequences are intended to be subversions. When somebody transforms without stock footage it takes mere seconds. The "talking" often inserted into the sequences in the dubs can be dismissed in nearly all cases as hearing the character think. After all, thinking a sentence takes less time than actually saying it. If multiple characters communicate during a sequence, do note that in the case of ''Transformers'' they could be talking to each other the way computers talk over the internet. As a further note, the shows exist [[Merchandise-Driven|to sell toys]], and the stock sequences can act as instructions for transforming the toys. In some cases, better than the print instructions they're packaged with. The American-original series typically do not have these sequences, though ''Animated'' uses them on occasion.

* Though usually played absolutely straight in ''[[Digimon]]'', the villain of the first movie gladly [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|attacks the heroes mid-transformation]].

'''Agumon:''' Tai, if you don't shut up, I'm gonna '''eat your parents.''' }}

* Played straight in ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'', where onlookers gasp in awe during the Forest Spirit's transformations...except for {{spoiler|Lady Eboshi, who [[Boom! Headshot!|subverts this trope]] in the climatic scene.}}

** ''[[Suite Precure]]'' has an opening before the credits where the badguys are just sitting around watching the [[Pretty Cure]]'s [[Transformation Sequence]] ''on TV'' in their lair for no reason but to lampshade this trope.

** Also, whenever a Pokémon evolves, it's allowed to finish doing so, regardless of what was happening prior. In official battles, this is likely a polite thing to do, but even evil teams politely wait for them to finish. Considering they turn into energy during their transformation, it may simply be useless (or even dangerous) to attempt attacking them during evolution.

* Averted in ''[[Naruto]]'' where most transformations are almost instantaneous, and the few that aren't (Gaara's partial Shukaku transformation) happen gradually and clearly in real time.

** Also, even though Naruto using his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] is pretty quick, Sasuke was able to put him under a genjutsu that forced him out of it right as he was using it.

* ''[[Saint Seiya]]'': Played straight. While they rarely ever have transformation sequences during battles, no one ever attacks them while they put on their Cloths.

* Averted in ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', when Kisshu knocks Ichigo's pendant out of her hand before she can transform in Episode 45.

* Generally played straight a few times in ''[[Fairy Tail]]'', mostly with Erza's transformations into her magical suits of armor. Episode 8 of the anime involves her transforming ''right in front of the face of the enemy'', and he doesn't do a thing.

* During their first encounter in the sewers, Bradley cut off Greed's arm and manage to capture him before Greed could attempt to transform his entire body into protective armor in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''.

* The trope itself is [[Conversational Troping|mentioned]] by Megane in ''[[Inazuma Eleven]]'' after an [[Otaku]] opponent subverted [[Talking Is a Free Action]] and tried to steal the ball from him in mid-speech:

* ''[[Voltes V]]'' averts it at one time when the bad guy shoot at the team while doing a very long mecha combining sequence.

* Also averted in ''[[Blue Dragon]]'', a robot is going to transform into a big robot, much to Kluke's excitement, Zora blows it up before it can finish.

* In ''[[Getter Robo]] Armageddon'', they actually subvert it when Shin Getter Robo catches Invader Dragon Machine before it can combine with Liger and Poseidon to become Invader Getter Dragon. Ryouma even taunts the pilot, Professor Saotome, before destroying the plane.

** The ''[[Gundam]]'' franchise, being a set of [[Real Robot]] shows, is generally known to avert this trope, probably with the exception of ''[[G Gundam]]'', one example being that G-Armor has to hide behind a hill to separate into G-Fighter and Gundam.

* The [[Guyver]]'s transformation pretty much ''can't'' be stopped because it creates a massive [[Sphere of Destruction]]. It also takes place rather quickly. Yoshiki Takaya is a major [[Kamen Rider]] fan, so this may be an intentional [[Lampshade Hanging]].

* Lampshaded in ''Nowhere Boy'':

'''Oh Duk Hee:''' "No. [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|During transformation, there is no danger.]] That is the law of the transforming genre." }}

* ''[[Bakugan]]'' subverted this too, mostly in the second arc of Mechtanium Surge. At the very beginning, as Gunz was preparing to throw Reptak out, he was struck by Mechtavius Destroyer. In many of the battles, Wiseman would order an attack before the Bakugan got to combine. Most notably in the episode "Evil vs. Evil" when Mechtavius Destroyer won't let Betadron, Kodokor, and Mutabrid combine and actually kills Mutabrid in the process. Surprisingly, he didn't try this in his battle against the Brawlers three episodes from then.

** In the episode "Enemy Allies", he actually attacked ''Dan'' upon his attempt to call Dragonoid Destroyer. This was also played with in "Enemy Infiltration" when Mandibor tried to stop Radizen and Roxtor from combining; however, he missed due to the animation of their combination (they leap into the air and hold each other; Mandior aimed at the ground they were standing on).

 

== Film ==

* Worst case ever... ''[[The Howling]]''. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP8fROTK5UA Run Karen Run!] Well, Karen's not the villain. But she sure as hell lets a serial killer werewolf take his time.

** Actually, justified; he has her pinned behind a gurney.

* Gloriously averted in ''[[Dog Soldiers]]'' when {{spoiler|Megan}} starts transforming into a werewolf they just shoot {{spoiler|her}} in the head. Played somewhat straight with {{spoiler|Ryan}} as they don't outright kill him while he's transforming but they do get their weapons ready. Understandable because he was under a table and nobody really wanted to get that close to a werewolf.

* In Digimon the Movie, (Our War Game in Japanese) when Greymon and Kabuterimon, Infermon shot them down before they could finish, in one of the most memorable scenes in history. "Not so fast!", indeed!

== Literature ==

* The villain of [[Orson Scott Card]]'s ''Magic Box'' has as her goal {{spoiler|a [[One-Winged Angel|transformation]] from her [[Enfante Terrible|frail young self]] into a [[Scaled Up|gigantic]] [[Our Dragons Are Different|dragon]]. She sets up the conditions to begin it, and the hero stands helplessly as it progresses . . . [[Subverted Trope|and then a minor character kills her with a gun before she can finish]]. A bit of a pity, since there's [[Anticlimax|no proper final battle]], but kudos for the [[Genre Savvy]].}}

 

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' does this when the [[Humongous Mecha|giant]] [[Transforming Mecha|transforming]] [[Combining Mecha|combining]] robots are going from five individual things to one big robot. The giant monster just sits there for something like a minute every episode of every season, waiting for the incredibly complex docking maneuvers to be completed.

** Slightly averted in some Megazords that are in motion during their transformation and thus more difficult to hit.

** Some Riders are fortunate enough to get a [[Sphere of Power]] for their transformation, and attacks tend to bounce off of these, only making the Rider look all the cooler before the smackdown ensues.

** Played straight with [[Kamen Rider Double]], ''especially'' with Accel.

* ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' brings the ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' example above to its logical extreme: during her first ever transformation, Sailor Mercury manages to [[By the Power of Greyskull|chant the invocation phrase]] and go through the entire flashy sequence ''in midair'', while falling from roughly five stories high. Again, it's hinted that the transformation is actually instant and the flashy sequences are just a symbolic representation.

* ''[[Space Sheriff Gavan]]'' plays around with this. Gavan's actual transformation [[Instant Armor|only takes 0.05 seconds]], as we're told by the narrator [[Once an Episode|each time it happens]], but then they go back and show the whole sequence in slow-motion so we can see the details, like the Gavan suit being beamed down from its spaceship.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Even though Shapechange, the epitome of mortal transformative magic, allows the caster to change shape as a free action once cast, it is still a standard action to cast in the first place. If you are standing next to an opponent, they are ''not'' obliged to sit around and let you finish your spell. Quickened spells, up to and including Shapechange, are however free actions to cast.

** Another high-level spell, Time Stop, is most commonly used to give spellcasters time to cast large numbers of buffs at the beginning of combat. Shape changing spells are a very common element in most self-buff strategies, and so this commonly does result in everybody else staring paralyzed through long transformation sequences.

** In 4e, transformation (using the Druid power Wild Shape) is a minor action. There are a number of utility powers and feats which can upgrade it to a free action or even immediate interrupt (meaning that you can be standing next to someone in human form, and bite their arm off in beast form as an Attack of Opportunity, before they even have the chance to shoot). There are a lot of other transformation powers too, but the Druid's is probably the quintessential one.

* In ''[[Champions]]'', this is called "Instant Change", and is a power you can purchase if the GM agrees.

* ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'' literally has transforming as a Free action. This includes Alternate Forms and all the various shapeshifting powers.

 

 

== Videogames ==

*** Due to terrible load times if you haven't installed the game data onto your psp, it can easily generate this effect naturally as the heartless just kind of lounge around you the 15+ seconds it takes to activate.

* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' just loves these, take any [[One-Winged Angel]] and it's practically guaranteed to qualify.

* Subverted by the player characters of the ''[[Mega Man ZX]]'' series; the first transformations into the Model X and Model A Mega Men don't take as long as they seem to, as the camera merely focuses on different parts of the body in separate shots - one could argue it's all happening at the same time. The first transformation into the Model ZX Mega Man does take a while, though presumably because of the bodily strain and the energy being released, which ''vapourises all of the enemies about to shoot Vent/Aile''. However, [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|during gameplay]], Mega-merging still takes less than a second.

** Subverted also by Serpent, who transforms in identical fashion to the hero's in-game transformation, and also by the four enemy Mega Men of ''Advent'', who do take a ''few'' seconds, but release powerful phenomena when they do so, which protect and obscure them (respectively: surrounded by whirlwinds, engulfed in flames, encased in ice, wrapped in shadows) and are ready to go ''immediately'' afterwords.

** Played ''very'' straight, however, by Vent/Aile in ''Advent'' (when they're met as ''enemies'' initially), whose transformations are ludicrously over-the-top and expository, ''especially'' Aile's. Also done by {{spoiler|Albert}}, who initially blows away the walls and ceiling, but otherwise floats in the air while his transformation completes itself. Both instances take a very long time to complete, and in both cases, Grey/Ashe just stand and watch.

* Famously subverted in ''[[Disgaea]]'', where Etna shoots two [[Sentai]] characters in the middle of a transformation sequence.

*** Obviously, she's still hanging on to the one she nearly killed you with at the start of the game. It's probably an heirloom, or something.

*** [[Fridge Brilliance|She's practicing]]. In ''Disgaea 2'', she suddenly has an A rank in guns, the same rank she has in Spears and Axes

* Played straight in ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'', if you choose Kevin as one of your characters. "Hey monsters, just gonna go werewolf here, don't mind me."

** If you want to get technical, transformation could actually be a free half action, what with getting into a correct position and all.

*** And then you have the re-release of ''Disgaea 2'', where a modified monster can add itself into the already magichanged monster, resulting in two transformations, possibly one right after the other.

** Another subversion occurs in one mission of Alpha Gaiden, where the dinosaur empire has created a special squad of mechabeasts whose sole purpose is to stay between the getter machinces and prevent them from combining. However, they were ultimately unable to stop a much higher speed, and therefore more dangerous, version of the combination mechanism.

** ...it's kind of funny, though, considering that the rule is fully in effect in all the other [[Super Robot Wars]] games - anyone who can combine, divide, transform or whatever, can do so whenever they like, without wasting a turn. In fact, you can even combine with units that have already moved this turn as long as the one who's activating the combination hasn't, which [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|you can take advantage of]] by separating a combined mecha, having all but the main pilot for the combined form attack, and then have the last one combine to launch a final attack that is much stronger than any attack the individual would make (and keep the individual units from being killed during the enemies turn).

* Defeating the Doppelganger boss in ''[[Castlevania III]]'' relies on this trope. Changing your active character will cause the Doppelganger to transform into that character. For you, transforming (well, technically changing lead characters) is a free action. For the Doppelganger, [[Weaksauce Weakness|it is not.]]

* The nature of ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' transformation ranges all over, from the transformation happening instantly, everyone being unable to attack for no adequately explained reason, the boss making itself temporarily invulnerable, the boss incapacitating everyone before transforming, the transformation period being an excellent time to beat them up without resistance, to being able to stop them transforming at all by killing them or disrupting the spell.

** The Reliquary of Souls (a large three-faced orb) in The Black Temple retreats inside a cage-like shell made out of bone for a few seconds while switching to its next face. The Devourer of Souls, a boss with the same model, shifts faces instantly and without warning, though.

** M'uru cannot be attacked during his transformation to Entropius, but this gives the raid valuable time to kill any remaining adds before the start of Phase 2.

* Subverted in ''[[Pokémon]]'', where Ditto's only move is to transform into the opponent exactly except for HP. However, this takes a turn, and it normally gets knocked out or severely damaged before it can actually do anything due to its subpar stats.

** Subverted again with evolution. Pokémon wait to transform until after the battle if they're ready to evolve midfight.

* Played straight in ''[[Mabinogi Fantasy Life]]'' in that any of the many character transformations give you invincibility during the transformation sequence.

* [[Averted Trope|Averted]] '''hard''' in ''[[Skyrim]]'' with the [[Our Werewolves Are Different|werewolf form]]. It isn't rare for a player to activate werewolf form during a fight, only to be cut down during the transformation sequence. This isn't helped by werewolf form effectively turning your [[Player Character]] into a fast-moving [[Glass Cannon]].

 

== Webcomics ==

* ''[[Angel Moxie]]'' lampshades this.

'''Alex:''' It's my moment. Let me have it. }}

 

 

== Western Animation ==

** It actually varies in the Japanese series. Sometimes there are long dramatic transformation sequences, and others the transforming happens instantly. As with ''[[Power Rangers]]'', it apparently actually looks like the in-scene morphs to the other characters. It comes into play more, though, during ''[[Transformers Cybertron]],'' as actual dialogue is inserted into [[Stock Footage]] sequences to make it more interesting (as ''Cybertron'' went ''way'' overboard with them.) It largely works, but... in the time it takes Optimus to go to Super Mode and then combine with Leobreaker, while explaining Vector Prime's whole plan and their part in it... Sideways, who was in the middle of his usual [[Teleport Spam]] attack, hasn't reappeared? Really, the Decepticons could have gone home, taken a nap, come back, and ''then'' blown Optimus and Leobreaker to scrap before that ended.

** Note that in the American series nobody every tries to interrupt characters combining into a bigger robot, which clearly ''does'' take time.

** ''Animated'', however does both. Most of the time, transformation is instantaneous, however characters occasionally do get a transformation sequence where this trope is in effect.

** One of the Japanese-only ''Transformer''-style series has the baddies develop a special gun that was triggered to fire exactly in the seconds of transformation, when the robots are most vulnerable. The heroes eventually get around this by having their back-up team transform ''before'' coming on the scene, making them late to the fight but not knocked out. The villains never use this device again.

*** In the episode "Double Jeopardy", Rattrap shoots Tarantulas in the middle of his transformation, but Spider-boy has spent a few seconds gloating about catching Rattrap in the act of espionage, allowing him time to pull his gun and fire.

** Horribly subverted by [[Transformers Prime]]. When Starscream sees an angry Megatron eager to punish him, he changes into a jet, but gets grabbed a half second before he can finish and is hurled into a side of the nemesis.

* The girls of ''[[Winx Club]]'' are never interrupted during their transformations. One episode of season 4 even parodies this when the wizards stand around and Ogron comments, "This silly dance again?".

* Parodied in ''[[Robot Chicken]]'', where it takes Vehicle [[Voltron]] so long to transforme (partially because they screwed it up so badly at least once) that nearly everyone they were supposed to rescue is dead by the time they actually got there.

* Subverted in grand style in an episode of the 2011 [[Voltron Force]] series. A hypersonic Robeast specifically designed to attack Voltron while forming is sent to Arus by Prince Lotor. Daniel's Voltcom powers are crucial in defeating it, as his speed-based powers allow Voltron to compress its combination sequence from 36 seconds to just four. Or as it was put in the comments section on a video recording of the Flash Form on [[YouTube]],

** *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* INSTANT VOLTRON!

** In the episode "Brains," the trope was explicitly invoked by the writers, as Prince Lotor challenged Voltron to one-on-one combat, and the combination sequence that followed used the classic, rather than modernized, Voltron music. Prince Lotor did nothing to interrupt Voltron's combination sequence, because he wanted a direct one-on-one fight with his nemesis.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Fight Scene]]

[[Category:Plot Time]]

[[Category:Shapeshifting]]