Transformation Trinket: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

Belts and belt buckles are common, as are wristbands, jewelry, and, for more recent works, cellphones. Weapons and [[Magic Wand|magic wands]]/staves/etc. also sometimes double as Transformation Trinkets. Sometimes swipe-cards, keys or entry-codes are used in conjunction with the item.

 

 

They make lovely [[Merchandise-Driven|merchandise]] for the kids... [[Periphery Demographic|of all ages]]. [[Transformation Trinket/Trope Co|So buy one today!]]

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* ''[[Cutie Honey]]'' has her choker. In ''Cutey Honey Flash'', she has a matching ring, and in ''Cutie Honey: The Live'', her trinket is a pendant that turns into the classic choker when she transforms.

* ''[[Devil Hunter Yohko]]'': finger rings.

* ''[[Pretty Sammy]]'': a baton.

* ''[[Ronin Warriors]]'' used crystal marbles. This element wasn't added until around episode 20.

* Avoided in the ''[[Guyver]]'' anime, where Sho Fukamachi grows telepathic transmitters on the back of his neck that summon the Guyver armor.

* ''[[Spider Riders]]'': had a wristband like device called a Manacle that was used not just for transformations, but also for keeping their [[Giant Spiders]] in [[Hammerspace]].

* The pearls in ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', stored in shell necklaces when not in use and implanted inside the girls' microphones when they transform.

* ''[[Kaitou Saint Tail]]'' used what appeared to be a pendant on a chain, but it's an incense holder.

* ''[[Ojamajo Doremi]]'' uses the "taps", circular musical instruments which vaguely resemble tambourines. In the second season, they were replaced by similar-looking devices shaped like [[Flower Motifs|flowers]]. In the third season, they used circular wrist-mounted devices that were attached to rings. Finally, in the fourth season, they use the "Cologne Taps": perfume bottles which, like the ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]'' example above, trigger the transformations with a couple of spritzes; it doesn't help that both series have the same character designer.

** And while we're at it, [[Sixth Ranger|Hana-chan]] had a transformation device that resembled a compact and was activated through the power of the other girls.

** It is a key-like pendant that transforms into a wand, by the way

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', anyone can form a contract with a mage to draw on their power. This contract produces a tarot card, which can be used, among other things, to summon a weapon (sometimes [[Improbable Weapon User|extremely unusual]]) and a variety of user-defined costumes.

* ''[[Puni Puni Poemi]]'' uses a dead fish. It's [[Gag Series|that kind of show]].

* In ''[[Himitsu no Akko-chan]]'', the protagonist Akko uses a [[Magic Mirror]] or compact to transform into anything she wishes.

* In ''[[Prétear]]'', the "trinkets" are actually people, the Knights of Leafe. Himeno merges ("prets") with one to transform into the various Pretear forms.

* ''[[Persia the Magic Fairy]]'' uses a magic baton.

* ''[[Magical Star Magical Emi]]'' uses a magic bracelet.

* ''[[Magical Stage Fancy Lala]]'' uses a magic pen which she wears as a necklace. The pen is decorated with a small clock whose hands [[Older Alter Ego|spin forward]] whenever she transforms.

* ''[[Floral Magician Mary Bell]]'' uses a pink tambourine.

** When Rukia is in the real world she uses her own mod soul called "Chappy", which has an irritatingly cute personality (this was what she apparently tried to obtain when Ichigo ended up with Kon).

* In ''[[Mai-Otome]]'', the [[Magical Girl|Otome]] have GEMs, which are magical earrings that run on [[Applied Phlebotinum]].

* Karin Kokubu from ''[[Ai to Yuuki no Pig Girl Tonde Buurin]]'' (better known as Super Pig for some) uses a pink compact with to transform into the pig [[Animal Superheroes|Justice Buurin]]. The compact stores a pig's snout which is called by the phrase [[By the Power of Greyskull|"BA BI BU BE BOorin!"]], the compact then opens and the snout comes out and attaches to her face in one of the oddest [[Transformation Sequence|transformation sequences]] in anime. It also apparently is a form of communication of a king of a planet of [[Alien Animals|alien pigs]]. This is definitely one of the [[Widget Series|more interesting trinkets]].

** Not only that, but {{spoiler|it also turns out to be one of the pieces of [[Dismantled MacGuffin|Mytho's heart]], the feeling of hope}}.

* ''[[Animal Detectives Kiruminzoo]]'' has the eponymous kirumin compacts for the main characters, while the animilians can transform at will.

* ''[[Kamichama Karin]]'' has magic rings that let people transform into [[Greek Mythology|Greek gods]].

* In [[Dragonball Z]] Bulma makes Gohan one (a watch) so he can fight crime as [[Large Ham|THE GREAT SAIYAMAN]]! Later on Videl gets one too.

* Used in the TV adaptation of [[Skull Man]]. Coupled with [[Body Horror]] and [[Nightmare Fuel]].

* ''[[Madoka Magica]]'': 'Soul Gems'. Kept as a ring most of the time, turned into a faberge egg looking thing when transforming or using magic untransformed, then becomes a [[Power Crystal]] of some sort when transformed. {{spoiler|And the name is [[Soul Jar|quite literal]]}}.

* Ai from ''[[Dragon Crisis]]'' has a transformation trinket that has been imbedded inside her body that lets her transform into a pseudo-werewolf.

* The two sisters in ''[[Makeruna Makendo]]'' use an elephant wand and a striped baton.

* Lime's choker in ''[[Jewel BEM Hunter Lime]]''.

* ''[[Shugo Chara]]'' has the Humpty Lock which Amu uses to fuse whichever Guardian Character's egg she needs for the situation to transform.

 

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* Dan Garrett, the first [[Blue Beetle]], had the Scarab, which would transform him if he held it and spouted his magic word. Jaime Reyes, the third Blue Beetle, has the Scarab too... [[Body Horror|except it has attached itself to his spine]].

* Jack Ryder used the Molecular Transducer to turn into [[The Creeper]].

* Rather than transforming him, Rick Jones' Nega-Bands activated a hyperspace link that allowed him to switch places with [[Captain Mar-Vell|Captain Marvel]], an alien hero who was stranded in the Negative Zone.

* The Fly, an [[Archie Comics]] hero, originally used a magic ring to transform into his superhuman form; when [[DC Comics]] gained licensed use of the Archie superhero characters and rebooted them under the Impact Comics imprint, it was changed to a fly-in-amber amulet.

 

== [[Eastern Animation]] ==

 

== Fan Works ==

 

 

== [[Film]] ==

* Inverted in ''[[Wolf]]'', the amulet is supposed to ''prevent'' Will ([[Jack Nicholson]]) from transforming but at the end he discards it and becomes a full wolf.

* In [[Disney]]'s ''The Shaggy Dog'', Dean Jones gets hold of an ancient talisman with an [[Altum Videtur|ominous Latin]] inscription that turns him into the titular carpeted canine.

 

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* In the ''[[Rainbow Magic]]'' series, the 2 heroines of the series have been given lockets containing fairy dust, which turn them into fairies (by making them shrink and grow wings) when opened.

* ''[[Come On Ossie]]'', a book by the same author as ''Flossie'', main character Oswald uses his grandfather's medal to turn into an 18-year-old.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' series: for nearly all Riders, a belt. In the Heisei era, the belt generally works in conjunction with a second item, sometimes to access a [[Super Mode]]:

** [[Kamen Rider Amazon|Amazon]] lampshades and subverts this. Amazon is always wearing a giant, rather goofy-looking belt buckle, but it's NOT his transformation trinket (his bracelet is).

** [[Kamen Rider Kuuga|Kuuga]]'s belt is effectively a one-time item; after his first transformation, it merged with his body (and even appears on X-rays!), emerging only when he needs it.

** ''[[Kamen Rider Agito]]'''s G3 had none. He was ''all'' tech, and had to physically don his battle suit (with a bit of automated finishing-up as parts lock into place; think [[Iron Man]], suitcase version.)

** The Riders in ''[[Kamen Rider Hibiki]]'' don't use belts but rather soundwave-activated items to transform.

** The various Riders in ''[[Kamen Rider Kabuto]]'' use "Zecters" (robot insects or, in one case, arachnid) that usually mount on the belt buckle; TheBee puts his on a wristband, and Drake and Sasword use their weapons as their trinkets instead.

** [[Kamen Rider Kiva|Kiva]]'s Transformation Trinket is Kivat, his kinda-sorta-robot bat sidekick. Kivat's bite causes the belt (and Fangire [[Game Face]] [[Facial Markings]]) to appear, and Wataru places Kivat into place as the buckle to initiate transformation. The [[Powered Armor|IXA system]] requires the IXA Knuckle weapon, which links up with the belt that ''totally'' wasn't there before [[A Wizard Did It|simply being in place]] when its user needs to trigger a transformation - no special effects, no sound, nothing, just having appeared between shots. The show generally acts as if the Knuckle is the only part that matters, as seen in episodes where you get this sequence: (1) User is hit hard enough to demorph. (2) IXA Knuckle goes flying. (3) Knuckle is picked up and used, activated by linking it with the belt that's now inexplicably around the new user's waist despite not having been there before. (The belt ''is'' manually attached in the suit's first few appearances though... but only the first few.)

*** For Double himself, he's made up of two people through [[Sharing a Body]]. Shotaro, who forms the body, places the Double Driver buckle on his waist (only the buckle; the ''strap'' is generated from it. Several series' belts are this way.) This causes a copy of the whole apparatus to appear on Philip's waist. Both then insert a Memory for [[Elemental Powers|element]] (Philip) and fighting style (Shotaro.) The Memory used by Philip is teleported from his buckle to Shotaro's, who then invokes the transformation. Philip's body passes out as his soul is now within the Double body. When the Fang Memory is used, the suit appears on Philip and it's Shotaro's body that's left uninhabited. When the [[Super Mode|Xtreme Memory]] is used, it's a proper [[Fusion Dance]] with both bodies and minds merged into Double. Of course, the two-in-one thing creates some problems, since if they lose synch Double becomes paralyzed, and blocking the driver slot can ruin the transformation.

**** With the belt being manual for Shotaro and just appearing on Philip, ''both'' methods of belt summoning are featured in one rider.

** ''[[Kamen Rider OOO]]'' follows in the tradition of [[Kamen Rider Double|Double]], with the belt buckle (the OOO Driver) being a holder for the ''real'' Transformation Trinket, the Core Medals. Eiji then activates the medals by scanning them with a ''third'' device (OOO Scanner) that manifests on the belt whenever he puts on the buckle. As the [[Rule of Three]] is a recurring motif, this isn't accidental.

** Interestingly, in some of the older series, posing and saying "henshin" causes the belt to appear in place and activate, without existing beforehand or actually being interacted with in any way. Sometimes it doesn't even appear to activate transformation - it just appears before the rest of the suit out of habit.

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' and ''[[Super Sentai]]'' have gone through various Transformation Trinkets over the years. Wrist-worn devices are the most common, though cell phone morphers are being seen more often lately, but there are exceptions. The glove-style GekiChangers in ''[[Juken Sentai Gekiranger|Gekiranger]]'' and the [[Cool Shades|sunglasses]]-styled Solar Morphers in ''[[Power Rangers Jungle Fury|Jungle Fury]]'', for example. The [[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger|Dyno-Buckler]] is the most iconic, being the original Power Morpher seen in ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', and was belt-worn while transformed.

** Then there's the ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'' A-Squad. Their ''unmorphed uniforms'' are their morphers, apparently: Ranger-colorcoded energy flows from the colored portions of their uniforms to become the Ranger suits.

*** ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'' also had the keys be the real power source: the keys were put in a number of devices, and got all glowy to make other things happen (in the manner of several mystical power sources that reserve the right to occasionally do more than what they're normally used for.) However, it's easy to forget because they do this much less after [[The Movie]].

** In ''[[Engine Sentai Go-onger]]''/''[[Power Rangers RPM]],'' it's Engine Souls/Cells. A variety of them are placed in a variety of things, including the morphers (cell phones for [[Power Trio|the primary colors]], wrist-worn for [[Three Plus Two|Green and Black]], weapons for [[Sixth Ranger|Gold and Silver]]) and the Zords (to make them grow, because they're pocket-sized by default). However, they're much less of a plot point unto themselves than Ranger Keys or Turbo Keys, let alone Power Coins or [[Kamen Rider OOO|Core Medals]].

* The ''[[Ultra Series]]'' typically has the human host of each title character use an activator device to initiate the change. The [[Ultraman|first one]] was called a "Beta Capsule."

** Interestingly, [[Return of Ultraman|Ultraman Jack]] [[Averted Trope|averted]] this, transforming simply through an act of will.

* ''[[Madan Senki Ryukendo]]'' is another case of the weapon itself being the transformation item.

* The Makai Knights of ''[[Garo]]'' transform by using their swords to draw circles in the air.

 

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* The [[Our Dragons Are Different|Manaketes]] in the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series generally require an item called a dragonstone to transform into their true forms. As dragons, they generally have little trouble destroying the opposition, but once the stone runs out of uses and breaks, they're helpless [[Too Awesome to Use|unless you can somehow manage to find a new one]]. Story wise, Bantu, Fa, and Myrrh all get their stones stolen from them; the former simply requesting that you catch the thief responsible so he can help you (This happens on two occasions in two different games, no less), and the latter two needing to be rescued from the enemy.

* Link gets a few of those in several games.

* ''[[Viewtiful Joe]]'' has the V-Watches. Cool.

** More from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', in ''[[Birth By Sleep]]'' the pieces of armor that Terra, Aqua and Ven wear in their traveling clothes are used to activate the transformation into their full armor.

*** All together now: [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100206004944/kingdomhearts/images/f/fe/ArmorSummon.png IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!]

* The biometals in ''[[Mega Man ZX]]'' and Geo's Transer/Star Carrier (With Omega-xis) in ''[[Mega Man Star Force]]''. Most morphing adversaries in ''Star Force 2'' use Ancient Star Carriers, which are exactly the same only built directly with Murian technology.

* The accessories in ''[[Princess Debut]]'' let your main character don one of 20 different ballroom-ready costumes.

** Later games give Kirby a [[Infinity+1 Sword|souped-up special ability]], usually in the form of a wand or sword. The item bounces around the screen in place of an Ability Star when you let go of it, implying that it's the source of the ability instead of Kirby's copying power.

* In ''Muppet Monster Adventure'' , the main character Robin the Frog can channel the powers of the monsters that his uncle Kermit and his friends have been transformed into with the help of special amulets. The Werebear amulet turns him into a werebear with the power to climb any climbable surface, the Muck Monster one turns him into a swamp creature with the power to swim underwater, the Nose-feratu one gives him flight and turns him into a bat, the KerMonster one turns him into a frankenstein-like creature with super strength, and the Bride of KerMonster one turns him into a Bride Of Frankenstein-like character with a superpowerful karate chop that can smash down doors.

* ''[[Silent Hill 3]]'' has the Princess Heart Transform Costume, which is activated by a key-shaped trinket.

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', once you collected the required [[Green Rocks]]. The most famous being the seven [[Mineral MacGuffin|Chaos Emeralds]] to become [[Super Mode|Super]], on in [[Action Girl|Blaze's]] case, the seven Sol Emeralds. The ''[[Sonic Storybook Series]]'' also bring us two new forms thanks to the seven [[Sonic and The Secret Rings|World Rings]], and four [[Sonic and The Black Knight|Sacred Swords]].

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', Zoe's transformations into a camel are tied to a necklace given to her by Torg. She ''wishes'' she could conveniently lose the necklace somewhere, but after her first transformation it changed into a seemingly unremovable tattoo. Zoe doesn't mind the tattoo itself too much, but desperately wants to get rid of it so her friends can't turn her into a camel whenever they're feeling mischievious.

* Yuuki in ''[[Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki]]'' (a parody of [[Magical Girl]] shows) transforms by use of a brooch. The brooch turns its user into a magical girl (technically, a Valkyrie) which is unfortunate for Yuuki, who was [[Gender Bender|originally a guy]].

** It's not so much a brooch as a magical jewel ''embedded in her chest''. Which does deal with the whole "broken, lost or stolen" thing - if any of those happened, Yuuki would be much more worried about bleeding to death than not having access to Valkyrie powers.

* Each member of the ''[[Panthera]]'' team has an amulet on a necklace "that contain[s] minerals that ease the transformation and help focus [their] elemental power" [http://www.pantheracomic.com/?p=664\].

* [[Darkbolt]], an online web comic, has the Demon Orbs which transforms the 'soul merged' humans into their demon armors. In one case the Phoenix Samurai changes due to an angel.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* The Dimensional Guardians from the web fiction serial ''[[Dimension Heroes]]'' use bands called Guardian Bands to transform into their battle armor. Before the protagonists discovered their powers, they were often thought of as pieces of jewelry.

* [[The Remarkable Journey of Higgins Von Higgings|Higgins von Higgings]]' [[Amulet of Concentrated Awesome]].

'''''"HOOOOOO!"''''' }}

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** Subverted by Ben not originally knowing the device's true title, and the Nickname sticking.

* ''[[El Tigre]]: The Adventures of Manny Rivera'': a spinning belt buckle.

* Jerrica Benton's Jem Star Earrings from ''[[Jem and The Holograms]]''.

* In the ''[[Ace Ventura]]'' cartoon series episode Howl Of The Weremoose, the original weremoose Drew Talbit has a moose talisman he uses to change into his weremoose form, he is able to transform at will but everyone he bites because as Ace puts it...his mindless weremoose slaves. It is also revealed that smashing the talisman will break the curse and turn everyone back to normal. Unfortunately Ace doesn't read the fine print which says he who destroys the tailsman gets the antlers of the grand high moose himself, Ace ends up with moose antlers, it is also said that the antlers can be removed by rubbing moosebane on them- to which Ace exclaims..."Where are we going to get moosebane in Miami!?"

* In the [[Hanna-Barbera]] cartoon ''Mighty Mightor'', Tor had a magical club that he used to transform into the title character.

* One episode of [[Danny Phantom]] involved an amulet necklace that would turn the wearer into a dragon whenever they get angry.

* 1950s cartoon ''[[Tom Terrific]]'' was able to morph into anything thanks to his magic funnel.

 

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[[Category:Shapeshifting]]