What was the first magical girl transformation scene?


Shoujo anime is famous for its big eyes and magical transforming heroines.

Sailor Moon is probably the most famous of these.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6Tqc3.png)

When was the first time a magical girl magically transformed?




The first 'magical girl' anime was _Sally The Witch_ , who transformed with a
wand into another costume - This was a simple animation though and performed
in the same cut as the rest of the scene. Sally The Witch came out in 1966 and
was in black and white.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/t22lN.gif)

[Apologies for low-quality gif]

* * *

If however, that feels like a bit of a cop out answer, the anime _Cutey Honey_
which was released in 1973 was much more focused on the transformation scene
and featured many of the tropes of this type of this scene which have lasted
to this very day - magical jewelery, activation words ("HONEY FLASH"), nudity
whilst transforming, floating around the screen while transforming, etc.

Surprisingly though, Cutey Honey was not a shoujo, it was a male-targetted
show and the characters were thought at the time to be superheroes rather than
magical girls. However, Cutey Honey was a significant influence on
transformation scenes from then on and looking back at the show, it's
surprising to think that they are not actually magical girls. They even have
the catchphrase _"Stars in the heavens! Flowers on the Earth! Love to the
people! Warrior of Love, I am Cutey Honey!"_

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BhITt.gif) (partial
sequence sped up)

Cutie Honey is a much bigger deal in Japan than it is in the US. This is
primarily due to it not being available in North America and other English-
speaking countries until Discotek released it in 2013.

[Some of Cutey Honey's
transformations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWRC1pHI6c0)

* * *

As it was _back in the day_ , there weren't such a high volume of series
airing at one time. Inbetween Sally the Witch and Cutey Honey, there was only
one other magical girl anime - _Himitsu no Akko-chan_ , who transformed
similarly to Sally the Witch, albeit with a mirror instead of a wand.

And if you're interested in transforming robots too, check out [this
question.](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4357/what-is-the-first-
transforming-morping-mobile-suit-robot-in-anime)




The first 'magical girl' anime was _Sally The Witch_ , who transformed with a
wand into another costume - This was a simple animation though and performed
in the same cut as the rest of the scene. Sally The Witch came out in 1966 and
was in black and white.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/t22lN.gif)

[Apologies for low-quality gif]

* * *

If however, that feels like a bit of a cop out answer, the anime _Cutey Honey_
which was released in 1973 was much more focused on the transformation scene
and featured many of the tropes of this type of this scene which have lasted
to this very day - magical jewelery, activation words ("HONEY FLASH"), nudity
whilst transforming, floating around the screen while transforming, etc.

Surprisingly though, Cutey Honey was not a shoujo, it was a male-targetted
show and the characters were thought at the time to be superheroes rather than
magical girls. However, Cutey Honey was a significant influence on
transformation scenes from then on and looking back at the show, it's
surprising to think that they are not actually magical girls. They even have
the catchphrase _"Stars in the heavens! Flowers on the Earth! Love to the
people! Warrior of Love, I am Cutey Honey!"_

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BhITt.gif) (partial
sequence sped up)

Cutie Honey is a much bigger deal in Japan than it is in the US. This is
primarily due to it not being available in North America and other English-
speaking countries until Discotek released it in 2013.

[Some of Cutey Honey's
transformations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWRC1pHI6c0)

* * *

As it was _back in the day_ , there weren't such a high volume of series
airing at one time. Inbetween Sally the Witch and Cutey Honey, there was only
one other magical girl anime - _Himitsu no Akko-chan_ , who transformed
similarly to Sally the Witch, albeit with a mirror instead of a wand.

And if you're interested in transforming robots too, check out [this
question.](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4357/what-is-the-first-
transforming-morping-mobile-suit-robot-in-anime)

