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10 Iconic Magical Girl Transformation Devices (& What They’re Based On)

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Since the early 1990s, magical girl anime required transformation items to help their characters change into their hero costumes. They can also store weapons for easy access or be the key to greater power. There’s often much mystery around these transformation items, but the magical girl knows there’s no harm in trusting it.

RELATED: 10 Ridiculously Overpowered Magical Girl Attacks That Belong In A Shonen Series

Every magical girl’s transformation item is influenced and inspired by the anime’s main themes and motifs or even the characters’ image colors. The transformation item serves a purpose in helping the protagonist become a better magical girl and opening up a path to further character development.


10 Sailor Moon’s Iconic Transformation Items Evolved Several Times Throughout The Series (Sailor Moon)

Left image features Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon using the Crystal Star to transform; right image features the Inner Sailor Scouts' transformation pens from Sailor Moon

With every evolution, the Sailor Scouts’ appearance and transformation items change with them. The Transformation Brooch is the first item Usagi Tsukino uses to become Sailor Moon, with the Transformation Pens being given to the other Sailor Scouts.

Before merging with the Legendary Silver Crystal, it was a standard golden brooch decorated with an embossed crescent moon and four colored jewels on all sides; each gem represents the Inner Sailor Scouts. Unlike the Transformation Brooch, the Transformation Pens match each Scout’s color and planetary symbol.

9 The Humpty Lock Is A Mysterious But Powerful Transformation Device (Shugo Chara!)

Left image features Amu Hinamori performing the Open Heart move from Shugo Chara!; top and bottom right images feature Amu Hinamori with the Humpty Lock from Shugo Chara!

Compared to other Character Transformations, where an individual fuses with their Guardian, Amu Hinamori uses the Humpty Lock to transform into her various Guardian forms and purify X-characters and X-eggs.

The Humpty Lock is a tiny, golden lock with pink jewels on all four sides. The Dumpty Key, its counterpart, is a golden key with white gems. They share a strong connection and can sense when the other is activated. There’s a lot of mystery still surrounding the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key. No one knows of their true powers or capabilities, not even their users.

8 The Compact Is A Common Design Choice (Pretty Cure)

Top left image features the Smile Pacts from Smile! PreCure; bottom left image features the transformation sequence from Star☆Twinkle PreCure; right image features the five CureMos from Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!

With each new Pretty Cure season, new transformation devices make their debuts. Even though the designs match the season’s theme, there have been seasons that used similar items. One of the most common items is the compact.

Modeled after a standard makeup compact, it first appears in Smile! Pretty Cure as the “Smile Pact” before appearing in two other seasons: the “Sweets Pact” from KiraKira☆Pretty Cure A La Mode and the “Tropical Pact” from Tropical Rouge! Pretty Cure. The designs differ in color and interior, but they remain the same shape and allow the characters to transform into fashionable Cures.

7 The Soul Gem Is A Frightening And Dangerous Transformation Item (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Left image features Sayaka Miki from Puella Magi Madoka Magica with her Soul Gem; right image features Mami Tomoe's Soul Gem from Puella Magi Madoka Magica

In dark magical girl fashion, the Soul Gems house the magical girl’s soul as part of the contract with Kyubey. The Soul Gem also allows her to transform and access her signature weapons.

The Soul Gem’s design mimicks a Fabergé egg, a jeweled egg-like case once possessed by Russian royalty. Although it houses a magical girl’s soul, it doesn’t fully protect it. As they fight witches, the soul becomes corrupted with darkness and negative energy, gradually changing its glow color to black. A magical girl must continuously purify their Soul Gem with Grief Seeds, lest they succumb to the corruption and permanently transform into a witch themselves.

6 The Pearl Tear Is The Most Powerful Item In The Mermaid Kingdom (Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch)

Left image features Lucia Nanami from Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch transforming with her Pink Pearl Tear; right image features Rina Tōin's Green Pearl Tear from Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch

The seven princesses in Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch have multiple unique transformations they have access to: their original mermaid form, a human form, and a magical girl form. It’s mainly because of the magic pearls they carry.

Held inside a matching colored locket, the Pearl Tear gives each girl her powers. The shell-shaped locket mimics a clam that has the coveted pearl inside, which the girls must keep close to them at all times. All merfolk hold a Pearl Tear, but only the mermaid princesses have the power to transform into magical girls.

5 Phantom Thief Jeanne’s Transformation Item Has Religious Significance (Phantom Thief Jeanne)

Left image features Phantom Thief Jeanne with Kaitō Sinbad in the background from Phantom Thief Jeanne; top and bottom right images feature Maron Kusakabe from Phantom Thief Jeanne about to transform with her rosary

Summoned by God to regain his stolen power, Maron Kusakabe becomes Phantom Thief Jeanne. She does her best to purify beautiful works of art that the devil has corrupted. Jeanne’s fighting power and transformation abilities stem from the sparkling brooch that sits on her chest.

The brooch is modeled after a ruby and gold rosary, which also works as a temporary communication device. The rosary goes through a couple of transformations as Jeanne’s powers strengthen. Even after losing her fairy companion, Finn Fish, who helped her transform, the rosary still protects Maron in the form of a white feather.

4 The Mew Pendant Acts Like A Choker (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Left image features the Mew Pendant glowing from Tokyo Mew Mew; right image features a transformed Lettuce Midorikawa from Tokyo Mew Mew

This palm-sized locket-like brooch is the key to the Mews’ transformation abilities. It’s also known as the “Mew Pendant,” or the “Power Pendant” to those who have watched the anime’s English dub.

To activate the transformation, the Mew must kiss the pendant. There have been instances where Mew Ichigo still transforms without kissing it, however. There have also been times when the Mew Pendant acts independently, changing the girls into their animal forms by surprise. These incidents usually occur when they’re highly emotional.

3 Ojamajo Doremi’s Taps Have A Unique Component To Them (Ojamajo Doremi)

Left image features a glowing Apprentice Tap from Ojomajo Doremi; right image features a transformed Doremi Haruzake from Ojamajo Doremi in her apprentice witch uniform

Similar to the compacts used in the Pretty Cure franchise, the taps from Ojomajo Doremi look like makeup compacts. The tap is a transformation item used by every apprentice witch, containing their witch uniform, wands, and brooms inside.

With each season of Ojamajo Doremi, the girls get a newly evolved tap as they advance in their magic studies. They’ve changed in shape and color – with Dokkan‘s tap changing into a perfume bottle – with every new level the girls climb, but their purpose remains the same. One unique aspect of this item is the musical component. Every transformation includes a short song when the girls transform. This aspect may be due to the anime’s musical theme.

2 The Powerpuff Girls Get The Magical Girl Touch In A 2006 Adaptation (Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z)

Left image features the transformation belt from Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z; right image features the fully transformed Powerpuff Girls from Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z

The Powerpuff Girls was a beloved American cartoon in the early 2000s. In 2006, Japan came out with its own version of the three crime-fighting kindergarteners but with a magical girl twist.

There were a few changes to the anime adaptation, the most prominent being their transformation scene. The girls use a magical belt to transform from civilian to heroine, accompanied by a trendy dance sequence. Like the widely popular sentai-style heroes, the belt remains a part of the girls’ hero uniforms and can hold minor weapons.

1 The Wand In Creamy Mami Made Its Protagonist An Overnight Sensation (Creamy Mami)

Top left image features Yū Morisawa holding her wand; bottom left image features Yū Morisawa after she's transformed into Creamy Mami; right image features the wand glowing from Creamy Mami

The “Magic Stick” is the official name for the wand in Creamy Mami. This wand was a common item in magical girl anime from the 1980s. Each wand comes in a unique design, usually styled around the anime’s motifs and themes, but performs similar duties for its wielder.

In Creamy Mami, the wand transformed 10-year-old Yu Morisawa into a 16-year-old version of herself, affectionately named “Creamy Mami.” The wand’s magical abilities also give Yu a remarkable singing voice, which she uses to become a popular idol.

NEXT: 5 Magical Girl Anime That Need A Gritty Reboot (& 5 That Should Stay Whimsical)

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