How long is Henshin?

The length of Henshin, otherwise known as transformation, is an issue which has sparked many arguments between Sailor Moon fans all over the world. There are several different theories, the main three of which i will discuss in this post. The main issue is that the audience is shown a lengthy sequence in which one of the senshi goes from normal girl into Sailor Warrior involving lots of sparkles, twirling and mystical make-up application. This long-winded change of clothes appears unlikely to some, as they point out, why would an enemy simply sit and wait while a warrior becomes stronger?

The purist: The purist theory states that the henshin is exactly as it appears. This theory is fairly uncommon as it does not explain the time lapse between the start of transformation and the actual beginning of combat. It could be argued though that as the senshi rarely tranform in front of an enemy this does not present a regular problem.

The Slow-mo: Some state that the henshin is infact as it appears but so much faster that in real time it would be instantaneous, thus it is shown in slow-motion. This theory does make sense and explains why an enemy would not react. It also explains why when seen externally, the henshin does indeed appear to be instantaneous.

The Multi-Dimensional: This theory revolves around the existance of two dimensions. One is the reality that we know and the other is where the henshin takes place. The idea is, that the act of transformation allows the senshi to side-step into a seperate reality where time is a different deal. Almost like Narnia, minutes there are seconds here and this allows the henshin to take place uninterrupted at the shown pace.

These three theories are all perfectly valid and i do not feel that there is actually a solid answer to the debate without consulting Naoko Takeuchi herself. However, transformation sequences are a common factor in many magical girl anime and it may simply be that the length and presentation is not an issue of storyline.

Personally i am stuck between slow-mo and Multi-dimensional as i feel that the purist theory leaves too many issues open for my liking. However, as alway, the issue remains an open one and one i expect to see being argued in forums for many year to come.