By the Power of Grayskull! Lots of Phlebotinum is voice activated: Kirk talked to the computer, Michael talked to KITT, Automan talked to Cursor. But there is no place where a voice activation is more universally required than when triggering a Transformation Sequence. This phrase may or may not be descriptive, but it should almost certainly be pithy. If your transformation Catch Phrase is lame, you will not be allowed to keep transforming. If the phrase also untransforms the hero, expect him to do this by mistake sometimes. Villains in particular will often be tricked into saying their power- down phrases. Superheroes who do not go through an explicit Transformation Sequence (Batman, Superman) are exempt. Other times, the phrase may be entire sentences, or even magic spells (especially in the case of some Magical Girl anime), which again can be one word or entire phrases.
For one that is simply a cool kind of rallying cry or way to get the adrenaline pumping (. When either of these contains (or is) the name of the hero's new form, it's Transformation Name Announcement. That would be Magical Incantation. The title of the series, Yu- Gi- Oh is one of the pharaoh's titles, which translates to . The Abridged Series with various shouts when Yugi transforms, the most memorable of which is ! ZEXAL has the Barians shout . The live- action Made For TV Movies abbreviate the delivery, making him look a lot cooler. The live- action movies have a different character (American college student Shawn Barker, as opposed to Japanese High School Student Sho Fukamachi). Also, other Guyvers throughout various incarnations of the series have shown a few different ways of activating this. In the 2nd film, the Guyver- Zoanoid transforms by yelling . Guyver III went from yelling . Guess at the end of the day the word just helps one focus. Or at least she's supposed to.. The actual change was just assembling the combiner team in a new order. Later on in the series the phrase . It follows that . The By the Power of Grayskull! Lots of Phlebotinum is voice activated: Kirk talked to the computer, Michael talked to KITT. Top: The cast of Toei's 'Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.' Bottom: The cast of Saban's 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.' In Power Rangers, a space witch named Rita Repulsa is. After all, most Humongous Mecha anime do these things simply because they are cool. The general formula was . The Dub also mucks around with the names themselves (despite originally being in English) sometimes resulting in made up stuff like . One really bad time had the Girls calling the first part of the phrase solo, then all at once calling . Samurai Sentai Shinkenger ( With Yuuta Mochizuki, Seiju Umon, Hideki Fujiwara, Takumi Hashimoto. Bandora's son was killed by dinosaurs and she vowed revenge against the Earth. Five tribes from. However, he doesn't even activate his powers this way, and just likes saying the word. This also happens with their after- transformation speech and their attacks. No explanation of any kind is ever given. This time there was an explanation (although not one that can be extended back to the original series), and as a result Saki and Mai don't really question it later on (whereas Nagisa continued to be confused whenever she and Honoka said . By the way, their phrase was . Pretty Cure 5 had ! Precure Beat Up!! Pretty Cure Modulation!! Smile Charge!! Precure had ! Princess Pretty Cure has ! Miracle Magical Jewelryle! Every time Abel says that, he transforms from a big ditz into an incredibly badass killer. The Catch Phrase is unique to each weapon (though always including the weapon's name) and must be learned from the weapon itself. The phrase can range from the short (. For example, while fighting Starrk, the two with the longest release 'phrases' - Kyoraku and Ukitake - activate the first release simply with the names of their swords and without fanfare (contrast with Stark's rather more showy transformation). Helpful given the potential for such lengthy verses getting interrupted. Urahara tells Ichigo that the only way to activate some ! THE POWER OF JUSTICE! JUSTICE ARMOR! JUSTICE HACHIMAKI! AMAZING ARMOR OF JUSTICE PROTECT ME! Ichigo eventually figures out it's useless, but not before humiliating himself. It later shows up as an actually useful item in a filler arc, leading to much outrage from Ichigo. Using a kido without the chant weakens it, even for the highest- level users, and when a less skilled user tries, it also increases the chance of the spell failing entirely (and possibly blowing up in the caster's face, as frequently happens with Renji). For example, Starrk says . Steel knows no doubt. Steel knows no fear. When faced with my enemy, I hesitate not. I am a weapon to destroy these. Iron- Blood Transformation! Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The shift from . When the show was brought to America as Battle of the Planets, the phrase was ! Usually, they took a transformation stance, yelled out . For Wildfire, this was Tao Jin(. The subarmor could be summoned at will, and it was donned before entering battle. Apparently, when not in use, their armors took the form of glass spheres with their corresponding Confucian value(depicted with kanji) inside it. In the original manga, they all said the same phrase. The mon in question would then go through the usual call, but with ! Evolution/Digivolution being achieved through different cards, except for evolution to Ultimate/Mega which gets . Digi- Soul Burst! The dub replaced ! DNA Burst Mode! Pim puru pam puru parim pompun! Let's go Voltron Force!. Form feet and legs!. Form arms and torso/body!. And I'll form.. Before the lions combine into Golion, they do say . However, there is no . The various weapon commands (. It's not quite a transformation sequence, but close enough. SYMMETRICAL DOCKING!! MEGA FUSION!! SYSTEM CHANGE!! SANMI ITTAI!! Apollonius, Apollo possessed by him and Touma use instead ! The X also changes every time Aquarion combines, with it usually being something that has to do with the current situation or state of mind the Elements have. Everything is said by the first pilot, while . Each Norito is unique to that Sekerei. Musubi - These are the fists of my pledge, crush the catastrophe before my Ashikabi. Kazehana - Wind of my pledge, blow away the dark clouds of my sekirei. Homura - These are the flames of my pledge, burn the Karma of my Ashikabi. Tsukiumi - This is the water of my pledge, purify the evil residing in my Ashikabi. Shiina - Decaying streams of my pledge, wither the cross of my Ashikabi. This means RID and BW2 give us . Of course, the US version of RID leaves . I, Sakura command you under the contract! RELEASE!!!!!!!!!! Sakura says it's unnecessary and kinda embarrassing; Tomoyo disagrees.), it just causes the key to transform back into the full- sized wand so she can use it to control the cards. The original one is . Viral goes Audience Avatar and responds . Ayumu and Haruna transform into a Masou Shoujo their keyword is, Nomobuyo, Oshi, Hashitawa, Dokeda, Gunmicha, De, Ribura. Black*Star in Soul Eater calls out to Tsubaki to get her to change weapon forms. The full version is used once, and later parodied when it quickly decays into apathetic mumbling. Their demonic nemeses, Scanty and Kneesocks, have their own Power of Grayskull chant. It's a homage and a parody of this trope because 'Super Robots always have to have a cool combination battlecry.'. In Hyper Speed Gran. Doll, Hikaru shouts . They also begin each spell with . In one episode, the fact that boys' and girls' magical phrases are different is a plot point. The Weapons of Light (both the original Darkstar weapons and the knockoff; most notably, Gourry's Sword of Light) in Slayers require the phrase . In the series' main plane, the local Mazoku are invoked by a litany of titles at the beginning of Black Magic spells; the most famous is probably . The English dub of Spider Riders has . The dub gives him the name . The dub keeps the first part, but changes the second part to . Nonetheless, Dio Brando wouldn't be himself without his . When Shun arrives in Endora and discovers he has a Warp Relic, he immediately names it Excalibur and tries to call it forth like he's in a henshin scene, even though that's not how summoning Warp Relics works. Emilio immediately gets on his case because the shouting does nothing and only calls attention to them as they try to escape. The full version is. Change, change the form of man. Free the prince forever damned. Free the might from fleshy mire. Boil the blood in heart of fire. Gone, gone the form of man, Rise the demon Etrigan! Often, especially in adaptations, only the two last lines are used. To change back, he recites ! Resume once more the form of man! Spoofed at least once by Blood himself, while in a particularly snarky mood. Gone, oh little man so tame, Arise the demon.. Whatsisname? Shazam: Captain Marvel's . Along with Cap, the entire Marvel Family uses this magic transformation word. Billy Batson (calling himself simply Marvel) is now the wizard who gives the others their powers, Freddy Freeman (formerly Captain Marvel Jr) is trying to become a superhero named Shazam (who still uses his name to transform, but has thankfully gained the ability to make that optional, so he CAN say his name without transforming now), and, in a fit of nostalgia, Billy Batson/Marvel changed Black Adam's word from Shazam to . It didn't take. Black Adam then got rid of the powers himself by transferring them to a powerless Mary, creating Black Mary Marvel. Which went well.. This was, apparently, necessary, but it doesn't make a lot of difference since for obvious reasons it wasn't a very long- lived comic. Rick once shouted . His daughter Jesse Quick did the same, until she lost her powers. It's not enough just to say the formula: you need to understand the four- dimensional construct it describes, and you also need a certain mental state and/or link to the Speed Force. This proved true when, in the process of his Heroic Sacrifice he started his formula several times, then finally simply thought . Time resumed its natural flow when Wally was finally able to let go and allow time to resume. In his early issues the running gag was that he wasn't aware of this, and the magic would happen at seemingly random times without him realizing that it was always after he has spoken the words . Needless to say, he wasn't portrayed as very bright. He got better. Those magical genies are tricky. Turns out he was a fifth dimensional entity, like Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat- Mite. How The Power Rangers Were Almost Marvel Superheroes, From Marvel to Saban. Twenty- five years ago, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the number one television show on the planet. This week, a big screen reboot with a monster budget will hit theaters, reinvigorating a franchise that earned over $1 billion in merchandise revenue in 1. But if the film feels inevitable — a product of the post- Avengers boom — the truth is that it took a lot of dedication and some impeccable timing to make any of this possible. Three decades ago, the Power Rangers was a half- baked idea languishing on VHS tapes bootlegged in Japan. They had few supporters, but when it came down to it, there was only one that really mattered. The Power Rangers may have saved Earth 8. Margaret Loesch saved the Power Rangers. In 1. 98. 4, Loesch left her executive position at Hanna- Barbera Productions to become CEO of Marvel Productions, the TV division of the famed comic book publisher. Loesch worked closely with the legendary Stan Lee and endeavored to bring Marvel’s superheroes to the small screen. While everyone’s clamoring to adapt B- level heroes to TV now, back then, networks hated comics. Aside from outliers like The Incredible Hulk and The Amazing Spider- Man, which came before Loesch arrived, “nobody wanted to buy Marvel shows.”Margaret Loesch (far left), during her tenure as President and CEO of Marvel Productions. She worked closely with Stan Lee (middle) and Marvel CEO Jim Galton (far right) to shop Marvel shows to TV networks, which Loesch says were unsuccessful except in selling non- Marvel cartoons like 'Transformers.' Circa 1. The Amazing Spider- Man was canceled after only 1. Japan that Stan Lee became a household name in the country. Gene Pelc, Marvel’s “Man in Japan” in charge of licensing, leveraged Lee’s celebrity to get a meeting with Yoshinori Watanabe of the Toei Company, a Japanese studio with its own superhero universe. Toei’s offerings included Kamen Rider, a brawler who rode a motorcycle and dressed like a grasshopper, and Johnny Sokko, a boy who controlled a flying robot. And soon, Toei would introduce Super Sentai, a five- person task force of superheroes that became the forerunners to the Power Rangers. Toei entered into a cultural exchange of sorts with Marvel, with the companies trading the right to use the other’s characters. In 1. 97. 8, Toei produced its own version of Spider- Man, adding a kaiju flair — Spidey had his own giant robot — and in return, Marvel received permission to repackage original Toei properties for western audiences. This was long before the internet made these things broadly accessible across oceans when often, heavy- handed repackaging and re- contextualizing was the only way to import culture to new audiences. Lee was fond of one in particular: a trio called the Sun Vulcan. The Sun Vulcan were the latest heroes in a growing anthology franchise. Super Sentai, created by manga writer Shotaro Ishinomori, followed the weekly adventures of five young people who transform into superheroes and fight evil with martial arts and their giant robots. It kicked off in 1. Himitsu Sentai Goranger, which featured a secret squad formed by the United Nations to fight terrorists called the Black Cross Army. After 8. 4 episodes, the show rebooted and adopted new characters, costumes, and a new title. This change became an annual procedure that continues today. The series that Lee loved was 1. Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan, which had heroes whose costumes and robots were inspired by safari animals. It also happened to have been co- financed by Marvel, with Pelc handling whatever creative responsibilities were required.“Stan brought me this video and said, . You need to look at it,’” Loesch remembers. I called Stan and said, ! But isn’t it great?’”A year later, Loesch and Lee allocated $2. Sun Vulcan to pitch to American networks. Lee wanted to dub the show in English to keep costs down and emphasize the comedy. The closest comparisons she could think of were The Lone Ranger and Creature from the Black Lagoon, which mesmerized her as a kid, even with the cheap costumes and campiness. Sun Vulcan was unique and modern but still retained that cheesiness. I thought it was funny and that kids would like it.”Loesch’s instincts were correct; as Marvel pitched Sun Vulcan, Super Sentai aired unedited in local stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, and other cities with significant Japanese populations. It gained a small but enthusiastic audience. Among the fans was August Ragone, now a Japanese pop culture expert and author who grew up watching the series with friends in the late 1. The show was sponsored in America by the Marukai Trading Company, a retail chain that sold imported Sentai toys all around California and the U. S. Ragone was a frequent customer, filling his bedroom with plastic Japanese heroes.“All the kids I knew that were watching, we all lost our minds,” remembers Ragone, who grew up in San Francisco. Deeming it “too violent” and “too foreign,” development departments rejected Marvel’s pitch for Sun Vulcan. Loesch remembers one executive asking her: “How could you show this junk?”Loesch knew well in advance that violence would be an issue. Anything where teenagers are empowered; we know from X- Men what a great formula that is.”Ultimately, Marvel failed to launch what would become a phenomenon a decade later. In 1. 98. 5, Lee relinquished the rights to Super Sentai back to Toei. Loesch spent five more years at the company. Margaret Loesch and Stan Lee, along with Spider- Man and singer Donny Osmond (far left). A few years later, Israeli music producer Haim Saban watched Super Sentai in his hotel room while in Japan. He too saw its potential, so he scooped up the rights for his new company, Saban Entertainment, and produced a pilot. Like Marvel years before, Saban was rejected by the networks — until he met Margaret Loesch. In 1. 99. 0, Loesch was recruited by the new Fox Broadcasting Company to assemble a daily children’s block, the first of its kind on TV. Most kids’ blocks were on Saturday mornings, but Loesch wanted to attract kids before and after school. On her last day at Marvel, Loesch vowed to her old colleague that they would work together again. We’re going to do Spider- Man the way it should be done.”Loesch spent the next few years trying to make good on her word, but the odds were stacked against her when she joined Fox. The network, established in 1. Rupert Murdoch, was roundly mocked and dismissed for daring to compete with the big three broadcasters. Production was already underway for X- Men, the hit animated series that would lay the groundwork for the Hollywood movie franchise, but Loesch needed one more surefire thing. And Fox, like the other networks, were hesitant to take in too many comic book shows. Saban, who had done business with Loesch earlier, offered a look at his company’s projects. Sitting in a room with a foot- high stack of tapes, Loesch rolled her eyes at the “soft, young programming” Saban had in development. She told him that to counter- program for weekday mornings at 7: 3. Saban excused himself and rushed off to retrieve another VHS tape. He returned out of breath, popping in the tape and telling Loesch not to get mad about what she was about to see. Super Sentai, the same show Lee had optioned from Toei all those years ago. I’ll take it.’” In the fall of 1. Margaret Loesch and Fox Kids green- lit what would become Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to air in the late summer of the following year. By Christmas of 1. Saban’s staff was plotting episodes based on footage they could use from the most recent Sentai series, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. That edition featured the now- iconic dinosaur robots and sleek costumes with eye- catching diamond patterns. But while the toys it would inspire were great, its story was unadaptable. In Zyuranger, the heirs of five kingdoms awaken in the present day to fight the sinister witch, Bandora, with the support of their mentor, a wizard elf who adopts the identity of an apartment landlord in Tokyo. Steeped in Japanese mythology, Zyuranger wouldn’t fly on its own on American TV, so a complete rewrite was necessary. In place of the medieval stuff was a new story, set at a California high school. A clique of trendy teenagers dealt with typical problems like homework, football games, and neighborhood pollution, all while being secret superheroes. It was peak . An alien wizard named Zordon summons five teenagers from Angel Grove and grants them access to an ancient power to save the world. Armed with weapons and war machines called Zords, these kids — brawny Jason, cool dude Zack, serene Trini, brainy Billy, and “it” girl Kimberly — become the Power Rangers, the first of many crews to kick alien butt every week on TV. David Yost, who landed the role of “Billy” (he wore blue) after eight rounds of auditions, said he and his castmates weren’t shown footage from Zyuranger, and didn’t grasp the concept of their show, even while filming. That’s the first time we put the puzzle together.”In addition to the plot changes, Loesch wanted more humor to even out the violence, which was still too prominent. I asked Saban to create secondary characters to take the emphasis off the action,” Loesch says. Her mandate led to the creation of Bulk and Skull, the bumbling bullies of Angel Grove High. They became fan favorites and stayed on the show for six seasons, an unprecedented run for a series with so much turnover. Filming the action was a major endeavor. Though Power Rangers recycled fight scenes from the Japanese version, new fight scenes were still necessary. Problem was, production couldn’t figure out how to choreograph kid- friendly combat with stuntmen wearing the heavy costumes. Playing the Putty Patrol — Rita’s golem army — required its own body language. This necessitated bringing over the stunt team from Japan to teach and fill in until the domestic crew could master it.
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