Saturday, March 1, 2014

Vampires (Werewolf, werecat, bear, bat, eagle, and gorilla transformations)

Don't be fooled by the title--this classic manga is really about animal shapeshifters.
Osamu Tezuka (1928-89) is sometimes known as the Walt Disney of Japan, though it terms of sheer creativity he is easily Disney's superior. Vampires (1966-67) is one of his lesser-known works and stars a young werewolf named Toppei. Western mythology was still relatively new to Japan, so Tezuka called his werewolves--and anyone else who could turn into an animal--vampires. And in the West vampires and werewolves were not always regarded as separate creatures either.

Anyway, this manga is a motherlode of transformations, so let's begin with Volume 01.
Remember to read from right to left! Here Toppei reverts from werewolf to human:



Here's a quick werewolf transformation:


Now we have another reversion scene, with Toppei lying in the back of a car:



For whatever reason, Toppei's reversions tend to be better than his transformations:


However, since I know many people prefer transformations, here you go:



Now we move on to Volume 02.  Here's a two page werewolf reversion:




Swiftly followed by another werewolf TF: 



 Now we get people changing into other animals. Here is a "vampire":




Here is a dying bear reverting to human form:



This page doesn't have a transformation sequence, but it shows some characters amusingly depicted in an awkward half-animal/half-human state: 


 Tezuka even throws in a guy who can turn into a tiger!




Now we arrive at Volume 03 and get another werewolf TF from Toppei, who transforms while falling from a building. The panels and their arrangement demonstrate why Tezuka is a master:



 Yet more new shapeshifters--here's a dude who turns into an eagle!




Even with all the other animals, we still get nice werewolf TFs like this:



Behold, a gorilla newscaster!


More of Toppei getting wolfy:


Now we arrive at Volume 04, the last one. Werecats are given more attention here. Below is a catboy versus a tiger:




Another cat, this tuime reverting to human form:



I think this dude is a cat man too:




Here a werecat reverts and tries to escape from the villain:



Remember Toppei? Here's his last hurrah, a classic transformation under the full moon:




Lastly, we conclude with a werecat attacking a painter:



I lied--that's not all! Vampires was adapted into a live-action TV series in 1968. So, you ask, how did they pull off the werewolf transformations? Through a mixture of live action and animation! This has rarely been done for transformations, and you can see why in the following clip--the process is interesting, but the end result doesn't really work in live action. Disappointingly, the show reused this scene for all of Toppei's transformations, with only minor adjustments. So while Vampires the manga is a smorgasbord of transformations, Vampires the show is a bust.



2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm shocked you think that TF is a bust! i think it's one of the most amazing I've ever seen!

I don't think I've seen a real life human transform into a cartoon animal. THAT makes it worth it. He's a were-cartoon

Apuleius said...

I quite like the TF--it's unique and well-done--but I thought the show itself was a bust, since it reused the same transformation over and over again. I agree that's it's a worthwhile were-cartoon!