Those 20+ minute transformation compilations are how I got into Precure and Doremi 💗✨

It's actually quite interesting that Go! Princess was the worst selling season before the pandemic, because that was the season where they didn't animate the objects that were obviously meant to be toys. They were animated in 3D as opposed to 2D, making it _very_ obvious that these were toys meant to be marketed. Not to mention at the end of each episode it displayed all the keys, Scarlett's violin, and the Music Princess Palace at the ends of the episodes.

The increasing length of the transformation sequence can be easily explained because it is basically stock footage that can be reused again and again without viewers complaining about it. The longer the sequence, the less you have to animate the rest of each episode, which translates into lower production costs. Fresh is probably the best example of this, because it was the last attempt at keeping PreCure going after the relative failure of GoGo, so they cut costs wherever they could, introducing CGI dancing in the ED as it was also cheaper than the standard EDs prior to Fresh. It is therefore no wonder that Fresh also had some of the longest transformation sequences. Fortunately, Fresh did fantastic and found a formula that transitioned PreCure from being a derivative Sailor Moon knockoff that was Yes/GoGo into a darker and grittier format in Fresh, HeartCatch, and Suite, some of the more profitable and popular series in the franchise.

Go Princess transformations literally left me breathless the first time I saw them💖. Hate they got stuck with the worst selling season title.

I like to imagine that the transformations are actually instant, the one doing it just imagines it to be so long. Or: it happened like that once before and it’s more fun to imagine it the same. Best of the both worlds.

I kinda wanna make a magical girl anime where most of the transformation sequences are about 30 seconds per member involved besides the hyper-aggressive one, and then have that one transform last as a sort of punctuation to the sequence, with her transformation being less than a second long, compressed to the point that it creates an explosion that she tactically uses outside of the transformation sequence, either pushing surrounding enemies back, propelling herself at the enemy/enemies, or concentrating it into a point-blank blast at a single enemy, immediately starting or resuming the fight with no room for dialog exchanges or monologues, and following up with the strongest attack she can use without a teamwork sequence, before having to fall back and work with her team.

PPGZ never felt that long to me as a kid but maybe I was just jamming out to their transformation songs (Bubble’s song is gold btw)

To be honest, I love the lengthy transformations! Sometimes I'm having a bad day, and just want to turn on the tv and vibe to the music and colors 🤩. My Personal Favorites are Happiness Charge - Mahou Tsukai (as well as star twinkle ofc) I can't help but just go KIRAMEKUUU~ every time I hear them 😭.

I know Mahoutsukai gets a bad rap sometimes, but I really love it as a season. The small main cast makes it easy for every episode to treat them all as important characters, I love the relationships between the characters, and it may very well be the last season centered on a true Cure duo. Also episode 49 is a strong contender for best precure episode ever.

Coming from way across the demographic side, Toei also dabbles in live action Henshin (transforming) Hero genre with Kamen Rider and Super Sentai (what power rangers's footage is based off of). And yes both of those properties are JUST as much ads for toys with their transformation presentation, but the plot integration is almost subconsciously embedded in the genre and stories for Monster Fights of the Week that it actually might've just had as much fans in creating them to do them for the sake of it. It actually might be better answered with a control group of Magical Girl (or really any other Henshin Hero) show where the transformations DON'T have a tie-in toy/merch product, of which many parody series (or with stuff like Madoka Magica and Yuki Yuna is a Yuusha as cynical satires of the genre), just to see how they present themselves. Coming from a Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha fan (coincidentally which came out the same year as the original Futari wa Precure), Nanoha had all the tropes of the genre (elementary school girl, cute mascot power-explainer, small gem like device to transform) but one of the key differences was...there wasn't a tie-in product at least not until MUCH later than the show itself. My hunch is at least some of the production staff actually appreciates just making the transformation scene, both in aesthetic and personality showcased in the sequence but also cuz, y'know, it's a great place to show off their animation skills in pretty much a self-made music video (lyrics optional, or see Symphogear). I'd reckon they do it cuz "it's just so cool" is actually more than enough reason for shows to keep putting it in, even if that coolness never translates into actually selling something

I like to think time stops when these transformations are happening. For any magical girl show. I say this because of Sailor Moon. The titular character has this long transformation, but in the manga, it's literally just FLASH, and she's transformed. It makes me thing magical girl transformations have the crutch of that ability. With that said, as a Pretty Cure Fan, I'm mixed on longer transformations. They can be memorable in some instances, like Go! Princess has my favorite transformation sequences of the franchise, and Star Twinkle's song element makes the whole thing feel magical and like you're in the scene too. But I feel like the only time I felt like the length was a huge problem and dented my enjoyment of the sequence was Cure Felice. I think that's because it's really slow and her body is just standing/floating there. If you're gonna have a long transformation, do something with that time. Same goes for short transformations too. It's a huge selling point on magical girl shows. You got to make it memorable.

I'm so glad you're doing deep dive video essays on PreCure! This is exactly what I need as a fan And my thoughts, I get the annoyance of the length but especially in PreCure (and especially Star Twinkle) I just love them so much! It weirdly resonates for me to see the transformations but just as a fan of animation it's great to look at

I’ve always assumed that the lengthy transformations was to save money each episode. They can utilize the scenes to promote toys to sell, while saving money for later parts of the episode. Either way… I got nothing against it because I love me a good transformation, especially the PPGZ ones that people complained about.

This is incredibly well-made and fascinating!! The transformation sequences are magical to me too TwT They really give the feeling of the Precure being magical!!

this video got me to check out some of the precure transformations and oh my GOD the personality in the tropical rouge ones like they could have just had them all have similar expressions but they didn’t! all the characters’ personalities come through so much through just the transformation sequences! summer seems really excited about everything, coral is more reserved, papaya’s just kinda going witht the flow of it all and FLAMINGO. i love her so much already. she seems so unabashedly confident in herself and uses her transformation kind of to show off a little bit? and i LOVE IT yes girl you are the coolest person around. ohmygod and it totally stops the transformations from getting repetitive too cause there’s a lot more going on than just a costume change (not that there’s anything wrong with that)! i need to watch this show genuinely thank you so much

I really didn’t realize how long the Fresh PreCure transformation was 💀 it goes so fast. Now I wonder if the transformations affects the viewership. I also wonder how long Sentai and Kamen Rider transformations are.

I really love looong grandiose transformations like Cure Felice. I appreciate the build up and think snappy ones are less fun for me. Delicious Party did it best with pacing and music.

I totally agree with you! The transformation are one of the best parts of Precure tbh😭 I always do the poses and say whatever they say and it's rlly fun pretending to be them and stuff!

I heart magical girl video essays Transformations will always be my favorite part of magical girl anime’s and it’s so crazy to say that it’s how I got into both Doremi and Precure like it’s insane I just couldn’t hold back any longer I need to see them get a magical item from their hard work and go “I’ll show you!” to do exactly what you said, the girls that get it get it Like I’m being so fr when I say there’s multiple transformations I could watch on replay and be happy for hours Also!! I do think the longer transformations are for marketing/kids, I totally believe that it can save them time in the episode when they can still keep kids interested or even give them their favorite part. Only a little similar for spells or attacks because they either gotta: start their wand, go “pirika pirilala poporina peperuto” to even use it OR get a little gadget and do like 5 completely different things just to go PRECURE! Fuq Em Up!!

For me, the only thing we can really conclude based on the transformation length is that at the beginning of PreCure, TOEI was really strict regarding transformation time, and it had to be short. The first four seasons are all in shorter end of the spectrum. 5 Go Go is a bit longer but it has lots of characters so ok. And then, TOEI probably allow for longer transformations, which gave us the longest transformation ever with Fresh. They then went back on their idea because they considered that more than 2 minutes is probably way too long so they asked again for a shorter transformation sequence in HeartCatch and then following HeartCatch, they probably said "well do whatever you want but please no longer than Fresh".

I love when transformations get creative and incorporate cute moves and ways to transform. It makes it more fun and well... ✨️magical✨️

Yes my Heartcatch Pretty Cure hahaha that's my girls Cure Blossom, Cure Marine, Cure Sunshine, Cure Moonlight and Cure Flower ✨🙏🏻❤️ so happy that they were famous after all when it comes to their transformation sequence and plots... ❤️✨ I hope all Pretty Cures shines a lot when it comes to their individuality and plots 🌟

for those who want updates: hirogaru’s final sales were right below healin good!

Mermaid melody had the longest transformation sequence

this video is literally perfect!!! the math!! the numbers!!! the research!!! love love love!!!

I loved this! Super interesting! Also I'm surprised you haven't seen Mahoutsukai yet! It's my 2nd favorite season! love those witchy queens! Also hope you enjoy The Owl House! It's a fantastic show! A contemporary cartoon classic! TOH & Amphibia are my fav disney cartoons at the moment

I can’t believe Tropical sold less than Healin Good, it deserves better. I love my long transformations. Like is the long transformations really the part where people stop being unable to suspend disbelief?! This was a great video thank you!

This vid was SO FUN I love love loved it :D 🌈💕💫💕

ahh congrats on the 1k subs! I knew you'd get there so fast! much deserved!!! You have the personality & energy for videos!!

The sudden playing of the star twinkle precure transformation song was a jump scare since I just started watching it ToT

OOH! I’m living for this video!!! ❤❤❤

Star twinkle transformations make me want to cry every time. Girls singing about how there’s no limit to what they can achieve as long as they have their imagination, it’s like a daily affirmation.

Guy who likes the smile precure transformation so much he thought it was like 30 seconds tops and watched it every time 😳(me)

YAAAAY! Congrats on 1k

I really enjoyed all the content you make. I hope you continue making a lot more videos in the future. When it comes to the magical girl genre, I came for the transformation and stayed for the wholesomeness.

My opinion is that I like long transformations and attack sequences the first few times but if its extremely long or i just dont really like the sequence then i will start to skip it after a few episodes. I just get kind of bored of seeing the same animation every episode after awhile. I feel this with most OPs and EDs too (for any show) btw which is probably considered sacrilege

I’ve seen some ytb anime vids where they talk about « sakuga ». A moment where the animation is just so amazing, it’s almost like perfection, the quintessence of the anime and catches the viewers’ eyes effectively. For me, magical transformations are the « sakuga » of magical girl anime. It can make you dream and fall in love instantly over and over. I think that’s why magical transformations nowadays are longer to appeal to viewers and thus advertise the toys etc

i’ve been waiting for a vid like this for forever❤️❤️❤️

Star Twinkle transformation sequences are the best.

LOOOOVED this video !!!

I loved the PPGZ anime and their transformation, would watch through it every episode and i remember i always loved how they mixed the group transformation nicely by combining their solo ones. Buttercup is my favorite, i also love how they add in each girl's personality with their movements like how Buttercup's are more boyish and have that umph kind of extra power in it compared to Bubbles and Blossom

This is a really interesting topic to cover, and a well-structured video. Well done!

Also, Happy Momoko Birthday!

This was so fascinating, thanks for breaking it down for us! ❤

I love watching magical girl transformations theyre so pretty with pretty colors and shimmers and they get me excited for the fight scene that comes afterwards

Long magical girl transformations are the best. i think nowadays some of the precure ones are too short and i wish that they would do the full transformations every time. Transformations are favorite part of each episode!

This was such a well done video, slay

This was really interesting!! I love transformations! They are so pretty and feature beautiful animation. I used to watch them for hours in the compilations you mentioned. Thank you for this nice dive into Magical Girl transformations! :D

THAT GIRLS THAT GET IT GET IT, YOURE SO RIGHT !!

so excited for your owl house videos!!

The earlier seasons may also have lower sales numbers due to things like inflation and brand recognition

It’s pre-fab footage that reduces the number of frames the animators need to turn out per episode, allowing them to focus their energy elsewhere. I used to think lots of transformations meant less work or lower quality work, but you can really tell when animators choose to invest that extra time in lovingly rendered panels elsewhere.

Omg the transformation compilations had me on a chokehold as a kid 🥹🥹🥹💖💖💖 I remember pretending to transform when I was little ah memories

I feel like one reason for having longer transformations is that it's footage they can reuse each episode. with around 23 minutes per episode, if we have about 4 minutes for the opening+ending, and then 1m40s for a transformation sequence (and then a reusable animation for the attack with it's own background that is same for each episode), that cuts down on the amount of new scenes that will need to be animated each episode, and thus bring down the amount of money needed to be spent on each episode. I'm still sad that we don't often get scenes like when cure Scarlet is fighting whilst transforming, because that scene made me think of how even cooler these scenes could be.

Ur awesome, immediately subscribilled :D

When you said “It’s a chance to get up and get a snack.” I died. 🤣

It is storming as I was watching this and the moment you revealed the longest transformations there was what felt like a dramatic thunder clap outside lol

To me, it's because not a lot of things happen in Powerpuff girls z transformations. They're mostly hitting the air and posing a lot of the time. But take Go princess precure. It takes a lot of time but each movement unlocks a part of the transformation

I always enjoy watching the transformation. Sometimes I just go on KZfaq & look up transformation from either precure, sailor moon, or Symphogear. Find a playlist & then sit back and watch.

Go! Princess being that low on sales is just so wrong

The only transformation I can't let slide is winx butterflix

Personally I love the transformations and I understand why they're using them over and over but seeing them repeat every episode can get tedious for me. I prefer the Madoka Magica approach: they show the full individual transformations the first time, and all the other times the magical girls are just glowing for a second and that's it (I know Madoka Magica is a bit of a subversion on the magical girls tropes, but I still love it).

Alright god damn it, I was watching this and I was having fun and it was a very interesting case study, BUT then you made me laugh. "Its also a great to get a snack" hit me way harder then it should have, bravo.

tbh this video made me happy bc i thought i was wierd for crying tears of joy while watching magical girl transformations lolol. also i wonder how hirogaru sky will place on this tierlist when it ends

What’s the point of living if I don’t have my own magical sequence to change clothes with music in the background😭 also the owl house IS AMAZING❤❤

If any Site Streams a Magical Girl Anime, they need a Dedicated Skip Button for the Henshin Scene.

i truly cannot imagine watching a magical girl show and being upset about the transformations. its become such an important part of the genre like why are you here . its fun . its pretty . get over yourself

The only PreCure show I've ever watched was Smile PreCure and it was very cute so I was watching the countdown wondering where it was on the list and then I was pleasantly surprised to see it was both long in length and higher in sales. Aesthetically I like Tropical Rouge PreCure the most but I am so sad it performed poorly because of the big event that took over everything.

The Long transformations of Go Princess Precure is how I discovered the rest of magical girls, since I only knew Sailor for sometime

Ooh another heater vid 🔥 Wanted to check the economy during precure's run and found that that sick run '07-'14 where 8 seasons made top 10 in sales aired with a pretty weak yen. In fact '11 and '12 had the worst yen overall but suite and smile made 3rd and 5th in sales. All that to say "yeah I dunno what makes for good sales" 🤷‍♂️

TBH I am kinda shocked in all honestly with Hugtto being the shortest since it always felt like one of the longest. While at the same time my two favorites of Yes 5 Go GO and Star Twinkle were in the back of the pack and yet always felt so fast. But thinking of it I have a kinda theory I have thought up to explain it called Music Theory. If the opening has a really good OST to it that I vibe with then length doesn't really matter how long it is but if it doesn't then I just think it's longer. For me that's why Yes 5 Go GO and Star Twinkle were shorter in my head because those songs I hum or sing to so often I don't notice the time. It's also why I love Hirogaru Skies for being really good because ironically both Delicious and Tropical Rouge that are both long and short were songs I didn't vibe with. I was shocked cause Tropical Rouge felt so long to me but now I think it's more the OST thing. So umm thanks now I think I understand myself better and have a talking point with my friends about the series! :) Also editing this but finishing the video fully I do find it ironic you mentioned watching these because I know I did as a kid with both magical girl stuff and other anime. Like Digimon digivolutions in each season compilations were my jam even today. Heck I know this'll make sense to you but for me as Doremi fan growing up I loved the dub but even back then I saw other transformations. Heck Sharps even back then was my favorite. Just one I did the little dance to with a blue or purple pencil sharpener (IDK I forgot which color) and would listen to a lot.

seeing some of my favorite seasons with the worst sales pains me

It's the🧙 magic that does it for me.

I got used to long transformations in Heart Catch that cure moonlights transformation made me a little bit sad that it was kinda short

I love long Pretty Cure or Magical Girl transformations they look pretty tbh!

My personal theory when it came to magical girl transformation length was always that they made them long and extravagant to be able to fill up time in each episode So they don't have to animate nearly as much, possibly saving budget in the process Then again this is not something I can prove it's just a theory😊

Go Princess PreCure not selling as well as the other seasons made me feel very sad as I did like that series a lot (and I still love it)

I think cuz thier fun but also pads the runtime with good animation they can use over again. So they then can use more funds on the rest of the episode animation budget as they don't need to make new animation for most the trasfomations in the show. if you add up all the trasformation chucks in the whole season you can see how mutch runtime they saved on doing something well the first time and beeing able to use it mutiples times with most ppl loving the rerun of said animation.

I think it's worth noting as well that even if there might be lengthy transformations, it's also possible to cut down something long where expanding something short isn't as easy. Because of this they do have that extra stock footage and can adjust as needed to suit the episode runtime needs. Also, it wasn't quite clear to me but were the figures lifetime sales or sales for just the year that the series was airing? If it's the former, there could be bias towards older seasons that have had more time to make sales and thus throw the results off.

For me transformations are awsome to watch similar to power rangers,precure,sentai,rider

let me answer without having watched the video: NO! they're absolutely perfect so no they're never too long if only each one of them could be at least two minutes long lol >w< i love them way too much!!

The short answer to that question is: "Of course not!"

I'm just gonna say, give me longer Dokkan. I like the concept and going faster, but the design deserves a longer transformation more aligned with the other seasons.

They are too long but I love every second of it.

Hearing the fact that Go Princess had the 3rd worst sales charts hurts my heart. I bought all the toys cuz I thought they were so awesome!

Cardfight Vanguard IF is an exception through for nowadays magical girls

Finding out how badly (statistically speaking) Go! Princess tanked felt like someone telling me a relative died. I just…say it isn’t so!!!😭😭😭

#Justice4GoPri

I think the people who say they’re too long are people who don’t like fun and just don’t get it lol

I remember watching the Tropical Rouge PreCure’s movie and the transformations took so long 😭 But it gets a pass cause I love ‘em But Healing Good PreCure and the movies made me fall asleep, I forgot everything sadly :(

Sailor moon the dic dub was my first introduction to magical girls

The villains would stay and watch.

Now, i would assume this data is from when they were airing? And not commemorative products, since Futari wa and heartcatch always get new stuff. Other thing, wonder if the number of members each team has could impact the data, (more girls to complete the set = more sells? Or people buys only the fan favorites generating losses?) Either way, the longer the better, specially when they are so beautifully animated like go princess.

Am I the only one think that actually during the transformation scene the time actually freeze? Idk that's only my opinion.

Wait a minute, you used the 1988 Akko-chan not the 1969 Akko-chan. Was that a mistake?

I detested Yes GoGo's transformation sequence. The full one is, I don't know, seven minutes long? But the ones in the following series are really pleasant to look at.

one thing i don’t understand is why can’t the villains attack the magical girls when their transforming

go princess precure ranking that low does not sit right with me.....

I like watching transformations alone, but it's really distracting when you watch an anime with them... I usually just skip them XD but it can also be kinda satisfying... over 1 minute though is just to long...20 - 30 seconds I think is a good time for single transformations... precure though are so long because of the speech scenes and the end scene.. the actual transformation scenes are not that long actually

Actually, they’re too short, they should be longer