Ah, Winx Club. These new transformations are unique to say the least. Going in order of the released transformations, up first is Flora.
The concept is cute. I liked Flora coming out of a flower but the animation of her getting blown away by the wind was fairly stiff and random. While I like the aerobics concept she has going on, it just doesn't feel like Flora. She has always been a soft feminine and while her ending expression does come off as slightly more timid than the others, her confidence throughout the transformation is not consistent with her previous character. Flora had to gain confidence throughout the seasons and it was one of the biggest things she struggled with, yet during the transformation it doesn't seem like that at all. Personally, I don't like shoes that are bulky or clumped in design, so the flowers crowding the upper part of her boots isn't appealing to me. The flowers in her hair and the cuffs on her arms are very cute. I do wish her choker resembled the original one in her magic Winx transformation a bit more but I guess that would have been too many flowers in one design. I abhor the glitter parts of the outfit in the concept art but in 3D it isn't too bad.
Tecna got such a major upgrade. Her hair is amazing and the eye zoom-in with the color schematic was very pretty. Her going through the digital world like she is in a digital chip is very neat. I will say that the shoes aren't really my style but it pairs well with the outfit. This being said, I have the same problem with the transformation that I do with Flora. Tecna was not a very expressive person in the beginning and could be described as robotic. This changed as the seasons went on and as she interacted with Timmy more, so to see as though that character development has already happened is weird to me and very out of character.
Musa, I have so many mixed feelings about her. First and foremost, I hate that she looks so much younger than the other girls in her transformation. Her pigtails look fine but turning them into braids? Personally, wouldn't have made that decision. Her overall transformation is great. Out of all the girls, Musa's transformations have always been the most original because of the incorporated dance moves. I also like that her regular outfit isn't too girly but also not too tomboy. It gives me season 6 vibes. A lot of people were mad that Musa became 'more feminine,' but in my opinion, she had the perfect blend. I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of her wings but that is because I'm more attracted to inconspicuous designs. I like the little details, where it's not too obvious what the design is. I love her makeup, simplistic yet bold.
Being my favorite character, I had high expectations for Stella. While I dislike the uninteresting and obvious design of her wings, I did see that it represented the sun and moon which is what I was expecting in the transformation, and I was not disappointed. While I wish Stella interacted more with her surroundings to transform like she did in the older version, the fact that the moon played a big role in her transformation made up for it. It seemed like Stella was just there transforming while her background changed rather than her interacting with magic to transform, but her flying through the solar background was very pretty. I do think she is the hardest character to do justice to in 3D, because even in the older version, her mythix and 3D sirenix weren't the best, especially her bangs. But considering her hair got a a major upgrade from the previous reboot design, I'm satisfied with the outcome.
Aisha's transformation was so good until it wasn't. I loved her coming out of a bubble and doing her water acrobatics. The shoes kind of threw me because it isn't something I'd expect out of a water transformation and it is more of a believix vibe. Sigh, the Ariel hair flip. Was it beautiful? Yes. Was it very unoriginal? Yes. It is rare that black characters are unique. To this day I can say I haven't seen any black magical girl outfit and hairstyles like Aisha's in the old version. Yet for this transformation they took an iconic scene that a black female did and applied it to Aisha. I just wish there was more originality and hope that this doesn't become a commality in black represented characters. I loved her surfing on the water and the look back she gave the camera when she got her wings. The outfit is god awful though. As a creator and designer, I never want to say insensitive or harsh things, but out of every kind of design they could've given her, they stuck to that one. I understand what they were trying to do with the whole fitness thing but it is tacky and isn't cohesive at all. At first I was disappointed that they gave her braids, but she looked really good so there was no complaint, but I wish they kept her curly/wavy hair. Braids were most likely easier to animate in 3D but in the old version, Aisha had her curly/wavy hair, braids incorporated in her hairstyles, puffy hair, and so much other hairstyles that represented the culture. Braids are such a typical go to but her hair going from braids to loc-twists with the hair ornaments was neat to me. While dred-like hairstyles are also typical, I like that they're giving her variation still. I have no idea what happened with her face at the end of the transformation. It honestly felt like a random fairy than it did Aisha.
Bloom lowkey saved it all. I loved almost every aspect of her transformation. A lot of the moves alluded to past moves she made in her previous transformations and it really seemed like she was a new fairy impressed by her own powers. The fire animation was well…fire. I also loved the cosmos setting considering the dragon flame is the creator of the magical universe. Hopefully that means more in the reboot than the occasional dragon appearance. I have to say her top feels very similar to the designs in Mermaid Magic, another magical girl show that Rainbow created. One of my fears with the reboot is that it would conform to the latest magic girl vibes. I like that her wings are flame-like and while I like the ponytail, the braids are confusing me. Like why? Also, why is there little to no makeup? I don't care what anybody says about makeup, it is essential to magical transformations. Their makeup was never too much, it just kept their face from looking plain compared to their outfits which is exactly what this transformation didn't do. Same with Aisha. Also, I'm hoping they bring Bloom's eyes being golden in the beginning of a transformation back. I know it was a feature that was implemented in her later transformations in the original, but it's so pretty to me. Same goes for Flora with her eyes being a vibrant green in the beginning. Just like with Flora, I hate the glitter parts of the outfit. It's more of the material and the kind of glitter effect rather than the fact it's glitter. Also, love the fact that they kept the heart motif for Bloom. People can complain about all the budget going to her transformation and them making the show about her, but she's literally the main character. Is the name of the show Winx? Yes. Was that name also made up by Bloom? Yes.
All in all, I love that they made the transformations unique to the girls' character. All the transformations got very basic after season 4,so I hope they can continue the creativity until the very end this time. I feel the same about the attacks. A lot of the attacks had the same effect except for the occasional one that was actually unique to the girls' powers rather than another generic light beam. Hopefully they changed that because once again, after season 4, the unique attacks took a nose dive.
I can only hope and pray that the specialists look good, especially since the girls look more like pre-teens than 17+ year olds. I'm pretty sure Bloom was 16 in the first season of the old version which is accurate to how she looked, but the guys could have passed as older. Hopefully the guys don't look completely prepubescent like in season 8. I'm actually hoping that there is not that much romance considering how young everybody looks. Hopefully, hopefully, they do my boy Helia right. Let's bring back his long-haired era before we cut it again, please.
I am curious to see how the Darkar and pixie arc is going to arise considering Aisha has been put in season 1 now instead of appearing in season 2. The Trix look phenomenal. If anybody ate, it's them. Original and stylish. Now what will really make or break this reboot is how they design and bring back Valtor. A fan favorite amongst all, and easily one of the top 5 villains in the show. I have no idea what they're going to do with the connection he and Bloom have through the dragon flame but hopefully they go into more detail with it. Especially since his comeback in season 8 was unnecessary and terrible. And perhaps this time round the Trix will have more character growth and backstory like they attempted to do with Icy in the 8th season. Also, since Darkar was mentioned, they HAVE to do my girl dark Bloom right. The creators can't mess that up.
Finally, the song. There has yet to be a Winx song, especially a transformation song, that has yet to be a bop. I can't lie, 'Forever Winx,' the new transformation song, has been playing rent free in my head. I love how it goes from a slow tempo to a fast one and the vocals are very nice. I will say though, it feels more like an outro, especially with the resounding "forever" line at the end.
I'm excited to see where the reboot goes and the fact that the team behind Winx seems to be reinvigorated. I know the frustration of having so many plot holes, which Winx definitely had, and wanting to start over from scratch. They seem pretty satisfied with the reboot and hopefully it can only go up from here.