Henshin



Henshin (変身) is the Japanese phrase for "transformation." It is also a popular superhero genre prevalent in Japanese media, in both tokusatsu and anime.

"Henshin Heroes," usually produced by Toei Company Ltd., is a superhero genre about a person or persons with certain powers that he/she/they use to fight evil and/or corruption. The standard was set by the Japanese superhero Kamen Rider (AKA: Masked Rider) in 1971. In that show, the hero transforms by striking a specific pose with a specific word (Usually "Henshin", japanese for transform). After the success of Kamen Rider, there were many sequels as well as scores of imitations (which fall into the "Henshin Heroes" category), which had heroes similarly pose to transform (or even perform a high-flying attack). Some of those popular imitations were created by Kamen Rider's creator Shotaro Ishinomori. Some of those imitations include Android Kikaider, Inazuman and even Himitsu Sentai Goranger, the first of the "Sentai" Series. A (Super) Sentai is a fighting team of typically 5 members, mixed gender sometimes.

However, "henshin" style superheroes are not necessarily produced by Toei, though. There are also some "henshin" style superheroes produced by other companies, including Toho's Rainbowman, Meteor Man Zone and the more recent Sei Shin series.

With a lot of Henshin drama, there is a group/syndicate of villains that create and send out monsters to fight the protagonists. The hidden identity of the villains is sometimes known by the fighters, sometimes they're total strangers, possibly even demons from another plane.

A lot of henshin involves a transformation sequence, and among American otaku the terms are synonymous. This is a very special part that involves the hero striking a series of poses, or saying a transformation word. Masked Rider, for example, just says "henshin" while Viewtiful Joe says "Henshin a go-go, baby!" or sometimes "Henshin around!" in the first Viewtiful Joe game. This pose and recitation comes about mid-episode, and is crucial to the destruction of the monster. A special attack is commonly used.

In anime, henshin are often depicted with lavish (but ultimately money-saving) stock footage and lots of special effects. Usually the sequence is identical and is repeated every episode. Cutey Honey is thought to have established the infamous naked henshin sequence often depicted with magical girls, in particular. The 'naughty' tongue-in-cheek sexual humour of Cutey Honey is underlined by her use of the word 'kawaru wa yo' in place of the usual Henshin-formula. Kawaru wa yo is the phrase of choice which a Japanese girl recites to her partner right before entering sexual intimacy and equals, roughly, to 'shall I take my clothes off'?

Trivia
The video game Viewtiful Joe, released by Capcom in 2003, is a tribute to (and parody of) the genre.

Some may speculate that the "Henshin Pose" originated from Kabuki, as well as cheerleading. It isn't clear what the Henshin Poses are based off.