Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Hidan no Aria (Werewolf Transformation)

The 12th and final episode of this (somewhat stupid-looking anime) features a villain named "Vlad" becoming a werewolf. Some people have mocked the show for that, but I'll actually defend it on that count--before the 20th century vampires and werewolves were often less distinct, and in Eastern Europe (the home of vampires) it wasn't uncommon for vampires to also be werewolves. Count Dracula himself was able to change into a wolf, as Bram Stoker fans know. It's only in the late 20th century that werewolves and vampires have been seen as radically different monsters.

And since Western folklore takes its time to spread, Japan still hasn't fully processed the distinctions between Western monsters. When the Osama Tezuka wrote a manga about werewolves, he called it Vampires. Nobody in Japan thought twice. So if the Japanese want to mix up vampires and werewolves, they're actually being more traditional than most Westerners.

Though this is a werewolf transformation, it seems to focus most on muscle growth--we don't get any muzzle-growing or other lupine TF elements. Oh well...
You can watch the episode here. The TF begins at the 06:25 mark.

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