Okay, I'll admit it -- I'm minorly hooked on the live action Sailor Moon series. It's of uneven quality, and some of the stuff is really cringeworthy, and most of the youma look like they came out of the Ultraman extras lounge, but there's something rather ... enchanting and earnest about it that I like.
Anyway, as part of the occasional development effort for the Sailor Moon DW Step, I've been looking to see how the latest series handles the time spent on transformations and attacks. It probably won't surprise anyone that it's inconsistent. But despite that, it seems to make a bit more sense than what I've seen in the anime. Presumably, after more than ten years, Takeuchi (who is directly involved in the show) has begun to address some of the earlier inconsistencies -- but not everything is perfect yet.
It would appear that the fancy windups for attacks are... dramatic license. While most of the time we see the whole complicated schmear of colors and funky body contortions, there are a few instances when we're "outside" of that point of view and can actually see what the Senshi are doing as if we're an observer on the spot. The attacks are pretty much near-instantaneous: as much time as it takes to cock the hands into the right position and yell the name. Most notably, we see Mars and Mercury both do this -- just a little wind-up, then yell, flick a hand and zap. Maybe five seconds, maybe less. Even more noteworthy, the one time we see Venus do a crescent beam, she doesn't even bother calling the attack -- it's as fast as firing a gun: hand up, zap. Then again, she is far more experienced than the others, a fact which we will come back to in a moment.
Anyway, these times are easily on a par with those implied in the V&V rules; I don't think Doug is going to have any problems with the speed at which they can let off shots at things.
On the other hand, the transformation sequences do not appear to be quite so fast, even when one leaves out the invocation and hand gestures. (If you haven't seen the new version, the henshin sequence now involves a series of specific hand/arm movements that reminds me unpleasantly of the "somatic components" of a D&D spell.) We have a lot less "outside" information on which to base a time estimate -- two transformations, to be precise, in two different episodes, and they don't jive with each other.
The first is an instance where a cosplaying Usagi transforms in front of Jadeite. They're the only conscious people in the room, and he's about 30 or 40 feet from her. By the time she comes out of the funky special effects, he's been able to get behind her and position himself for an attack. Since he doesn't appear to be capable of a combat teleport, this suggests that the transformation takes at least a few seconds, and maybe the actual length of the special effects sequence. Doug won't like that.
On the other hand, we have a later instance where Minako starts running and *blips* into Venus. No gestures, no invocation, no transformation animation, not even a break in stride. And it may well again reflect the fact that Venus has far more experience; perhaps all the Senshi will eventually reach that point. However, for the purposes of DW, I don't think it's going to happen.
(Oh, and afterthought -- it would appear that Minako might be Ami's intellectual equal, as scary as that might sound. Apparently she not only sings and dances, but she choreographs herself, writes her own music and handles at least part of the development of her marketing campaigns. All this while occasionally vanishing and being a vigilante...)
That's it, just a long ramble... opposing viewpoints and opinions of all stripes welcome.
-- Bob
---------
And all the girlies say I'm pretty dry for a wet guy...
Anyway, as part of the occasional development effort for the Sailor Moon DW Step, I've been looking to see how the latest series handles the time spent on transformations and attacks. It probably won't surprise anyone that it's inconsistent. But despite that, it seems to make a bit more sense than what I've seen in the anime. Presumably, after more than ten years, Takeuchi (who is directly involved in the show) has begun to address some of the earlier inconsistencies -- but not everything is perfect yet.
It would appear that the fancy windups for attacks are... dramatic license. While most of the time we see the whole complicated schmear of colors and funky body contortions, there are a few instances when we're "outside" of that point of view and can actually see what the Senshi are doing as if we're an observer on the spot. The attacks are pretty much near-instantaneous: as much time as it takes to cock the hands into the right position and yell the name. Most notably, we see Mars and Mercury both do this -- just a little wind-up, then yell, flick a hand and zap. Maybe five seconds, maybe less. Even more noteworthy, the one time we see Venus do a crescent beam, she doesn't even bother calling the attack -- it's as fast as firing a gun: hand up, zap. Then again, she is far more experienced than the others, a fact which we will come back to in a moment.
Anyway, these times are easily on a par with those implied in the V&V rules; I don't think Doug is going to have any problems with the speed at which they can let off shots at things.
On the other hand, the transformation sequences do not appear to be quite so fast, even when one leaves out the invocation and hand gestures. (If you haven't seen the new version, the henshin sequence now involves a series of specific hand/arm movements that reminds me unpleasantly of the "somatic components" of a D&D spell.) We have a lot less "outside" information on which to base a time estimate -- two transformations, to be precise, in two different episodes, and they don't jive with each other.
The first is an instance where a cosplaying Usagi transforms in front of Jadeite. They're the only conscious people in the room, and he's about 30 or 40 feet from her. By the time she comes out of the funky special effects, he's been able to get behind her and position himself for an attack. Since he doesn't appear to be capable of a combat teleport, this suggests that the transformation takes at least a few seconds, and maybe the actual length of the special effects sequence. Doug won't like that.
On the other hand, we have a later instance where Minako starts running and *blips* into Venus. No gestures, no invocation, no transformation animation, not even a break in stride. And it may well again reflect the fact that Venus has far more experience; perhaps all the Senshi will eventually reach that point. However, for the purposes of DW, I don't think it's going to happen.
(Oh, and afterthought -- it would appear that Minako might be Ami's intellectual equal, as scary as that might sound. Apparently she not only sings and dances, but she choreographs herself, writes her own music and handles at least part of the development of her marketing campaigns. All this while occasionally vanishing and being a vigilante...)
That's it, just a long ramble... opposing viewpoints and opinions of all stripes welcome.
-- Bob
---------
And all the girlies say I'm pretty dry for a wet guy...