Visible Power Up: 10 Coolest Anime Transformations

You know these moments where characters get some power-ups and transform into a better version of themselves? Or, well, not better, but more powerful, capable of dealing with their foes more effectively. Some of these transformations are so cool that they stay in your mind for ages and provoke countless discussions online.

We decided to make a list of the coolest transformations here, and we'll start with the classic.

Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon)

This is a staple, the magical girl transformation that to some of us became a window into the anime industry. The way Usagi twirls and dances, becomes iridescent, gets her iconic clothes to materialize on her and her signature artifacts adorn her face is iconic. The poses are unforgettable, the the psychotically hypnotizing background is both tacky and charming, and with this transformation we see how aloof and sometimes even shy Usagi becomes a fierce warrior Sailor Moon through the power of Moon Prism.

Goku (Dragon Ball)

"Going Super Saiyan" became a meme, and for a reason: Goku in this form is overpowered, glowy, his hair get even more wild. But that's not the limit: as the franchise kept evolving, so did Goku, and after the infinitely memeable Super Saiyan form comes Perfected Ultra Instinct — even more glowy, but in the white-purple spectrum instead of yellow, and deadly, in which Goku can surpass the power of Gods of Destruction.

Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan)

Titans are epic. The way Eren transforms into Titan and back from it first brings a lot of destruction, as he can't control it properly, but over the course of the series he can do it on a whim, with a certain elegance, even. The clouds of steam surrounding the body, the shouts, the immediate action that follows the transformation — it all adds a lot to the general grittiness of the show.

Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

Luffy is powerful by himself, but he can get even stronger if he uses a technique called Gear. Gears have different levels, and recently the anime viewers witnessed Luffy transforming using Gear 5. He gets curly, cloudlike white hair, and defies not only the laws of physics but of common sense — not that he regarded them in his regular form, but his Gear 5 version is practically godlike and indestructible.

Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

Some of the homunculi in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood can transform their bodies, and out of all transformations Greed has one of the most epic and useful ones. By manipulating atoms of carbon in his skin he creates an unbreakable armor, gets some claws, and also gains speed and agility. He relies on brute force in this state, and he has to be reckoned with. the only way to deal with him is to apply some knowledge of alchemy and make the carbon structure softer.

Ryuko Matoi (Kill la Kill)

Kill la Kill transformation is a fanservice parody, one that went a little bit too far and sometimes even doesn't feel as a parody. But there's a reason why Ryuko's outfit becomes that skimpy after transformation using her sentient school uniform Senketsu and a scissor blade. Life Fibers, woven in this uniform, have a secret, and so does Ryuko — and after learning it her transformation, surprisingly, makes sense.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi (Shugo Chara)

This list wouldn't be complete without some catboys, so here we have Ikuto, a boy who transforms into a Black Lynx, gaining cute ears and a tail, while his clothes changes to a leather ensemble consisting of a crop-top adorned with a cross, tight-fitting pants, arm warmers and a glove with powerful claws. Through this transformation he gains cat-like reflexes and senses, and his claw glove is a pretty serious weapon.

Panty & Stocking (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt)

Anarchy sisters Panty and Stocking were kicked out of Heaven, but they want back, and in order to do so they have to fight ghosts. And fight they do, in their special forms that require them to transform their underwear into weapons: panties turn into a gun, and stockings become a sword. The transformation sequence gathers a lot of attention from the bystanders, but something tells us that the girls are enjoying that.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

Huge robots! Galaxy-sized robots! Yes, we have two works from Gainax side-by-side with transformations that are so different yet so Gainax in their essence. If the one in Panty and Stocking relies on fanservice, the one in Gurren Lagann is simply epic. Everyone from Team Dai-Gurren channels their Spiral Power, and there's so much energy that all the gunmen get fused together into a big mecha that can throw galaxies around like it's nothing.

Magikarp (Pokemon)

Pokemon evolutions are vastly fiverse. Some are just slightly cosmetic, other feel like a pokemon just grew up, or matured, but there are evolutions where the body of the pokemon changes so significantly that it feels bizarre. Enter Magikarp: a seemingly useless and weak water-type pokemon that looks, well, like a carp. But if you care for him enough (or, on the contrary, ridicule him enough, just like James did), he will evolve into a massive Gyarados, a water- and flying-type pokemon that resembles water dragons from Japanese folklore. Talk about glow up.