On Shounen and Transformations

*This article contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Z, Naruto: Shippuden, One Piece, and Hunter X Hunter. Got it? Good.*

Transformation as a concept is all but synonomous with the shounen genre. Ever since Goku traded his black locks for gold, every series in the genre wanted a piece of that pie. Who could blame them? Super Saiyan literally changed pop culture on a worldwide scale!

The core concept also fits incredibly well with the genre on a storytelling front. Transformation isn’t just an excuse to make the character stronger or change their design to make them look cooler. It’s a chance to make the character’s growth physically manifest.

In this article, I’ll be examining transformations from various shounen anime. I’ll be breaking down what works, what doesn’t, and why this cliché has been and will continue to be a core part of the genre. All to explain why we love it when an anime character changes their hair color.

At their core, stories are about change. About characters undergoing trials and struggles that make them grow as people. This is true for every story, from a heartfelt drama to, of course, action anime. If nothing changes, then what was the point of the story?

A good anime transformation marks a change in the narrative. It could be the explosive conclusion to a character arc. It could be a shift in the major status of the world. Like the character, the story itself should transform with the event.

For example, let’s look at the Freeza saga of ‘Dragon Ball Z.’ When Freeza himself steps in to fight, he undergoes not one, but three major transformations. We see him change from a calm tyrant to a massive warrior to a savage monster, until finally he settles on his true form: a cold, callous killer. Each time Freeza evolves, the stakes become increasingly more dire for our protagonists.

Until the climax of the saga. After Freeza survives the Spirit Bomb and murders Krillin, Goku finally snaps, transforming into a Super Saiyan. Again, the story changes. Except this time, the odds turn not against our heroes, but against Freeza. For the first time, the tyrant is truly overwhelmed and out of his depth. Our story changes from a desperate struggle for survival to a vengeful punishment of an evil bastard.

More than anything, this moment changes Goku. Up to this point, Goku has always been a kind and loving person. A warrior pure of heart. But when he becomes a Super Saiyan, that kindness and purity evaporates. He’s angry, vengeful, even downright petulant. He isn’t acting like Goku. He’s transformed not just physically, but emotionally.

After this point, the series itself transforms. Suddenly, Super Saiyans start popping up at every turn, and we get new versions of Super Saiyan, new villains, and the human characters become less and less relevant. Some of these transformations – namely Super Saiyan 2 – are every bit as earned and impactful as the original. Others? Not so much.

Let’s look at an example of how not to do a transformation. Again, we turn to Dragon Ball, this time with Super Saiyan Blue. Or, if you want to be like that: Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan.

Nothing about this new form works. It comes out of nowhere and it doesn’t change anything in the narrative or in the characters. Dragon Ball as a story doesn’t change in regards to tone or content after Blue happens. It’s still the same thing, but instead of our characters going blonde, they dye their hair blue. This form is just a replacement for Super Saiyan, nothing more. It’s as lame as it is lazy.

Naruto fell into a similar trap with the Kurama form introduced in the Fourth Great Ninja War arc. The initial transformation is well-earned; Naruto finally confronts the Nine-Tailed Fox within him and takes its power for himself, a moment the story has been building towards since the first page of chapter one! The form’s subsequent evolution also feels earned; Naruto proves himself to the Fox, and the two finally become proper allies and friends. Plus, it looks pretty cool; always important for selling action figures.

But then the form keeps on evolving. It gets combined with Sage Mode, it gets replaced by the Six Paths transformation that pops up out of nowhere, and later on in Boruto, it is once again swept aside for yet another new flavor of the same form. Like Super Saiyan, each subsequent transformation loses momentum, until the audience eventually becomes entirely numb to it. It becomes flash without substance.

Now, it goes without saying that a transformation should be cool. Can’t sell merchandise if it ain’t. But more than that, it needs to fit the character who is doing the transforming. It should reflect who they are, how they’ve grown, and how they’ve changed.

One of the strongest examples is Luffy’s recent transformation in One Piece: Gear 5. As a pirate, Luffy is all about freedom. He goes where he wants when he wants and does whatever he wants. Wherever he goes, he brings joy and freedom to all those that he meets. How fitting, then, that his ultimate transformation grants him absolute freedom.

It also bears significance to the world as a whole. Luffy may call it Gear 5, but the rest of the world has another name for it: the Sun God, Nika. AKA: the Warrior of Liberation. The ultimate symbol against oppression, the being that brought smiles wherever he went. Luffy’s achieving this form marks a dramatic shift in the status of the world, as we’ve already seen in the Egghead arc.

A common through line between all these transformations is a feeling of triumph. Attaining these new forms is meant to be a positive turning point for the characters and the story, the moment where they get up and finally triumph over their foe. But that isn’t always the case. A transformation can mark a negative change just as much as a positive one.

You all know where I’m going with this.

Gon’s transformation in Hunter X Hunter is one of the most memorable in all of anime. In a moment of pure grief and rage, the boy sacrifices his own future for power. Growing into his adult form, the normally cheerful and energetic child becomes grim and silent. His expression is hollow and lifeless, and when he moves, he only does so to deliver devastating attacks upon his enemy. It’s downright chilling to behold.

Following this event, Gon’s transformation has a major impact on events in the next arc. It drives Killua to confront his family and it places Leorio square in the center of the Chairman Election. Both events which have massive repercussions for the narrative going forward as well as for every single character involved.

Narrative progression, character growth and change, a shift in tone, and visual flare. These are the three most important hallmarks of an anime transformation. If done well, they can become an iconic moment that will stick with the series’ fans forever. If done poorly…

Well, at least then the studio will have a marketable figurine to sell. In the end, everyone wins!