Now we seem have reached a point where I’m no longer ready to blindly defer to Latho’s superior expertise on all matters having to do with magical-girl-transformations.

Yeah, Biff’s outfit is ridiculous, particularly thanks to the beyond-oversized bowtie and the puffy shorts. But is it really more ridiculous even than Snuka’s Impmon outfit? I’d say it’s definitely not on a much lower level, but not on a much higher level either – and Snuka’s sorry state might still have an edge, everything considered.

Let’s list the subtle strengths of Biff’s outfit for good measure, and in which way they closely reflect his (new) personality:
– main colour blue: a colour traditionally associated with clear-headedness and rationality
– features glasses: crucial to allow Biff to maintain his higher state of intelligence and knowledge, but in this case also featuring a cool retro-scifi look
– features a bowtie: yes, it’s the relative size of a pair of clown shoes, but it’s still a bowtie, an accessory firmly associated with high-ranking academics. Professor Dr. used to wear one, too, as have uncounted numbers of B-movie (and real life) scientists before him.
– features a clipboard: well, intended as a symbol of being well-organized and scrupulous… but, I have to admit that that was kind of a old, ingrained reflex on my part. Only after I had finished the character design did I realize how outdated clipboards have actually become…so it’s present in this sequence, but in all later appearances in the strip, I’ve replaced it with a tablet computer. >_>

In summary, below a very obvious layer of high ridiculousness, Biff’s transformation hides quite a few aspects of adequate reflection of his qualities. Of course, you could say the same for Snuka’s Impmon threads, since they reflect his impish/borderline evil aspects…but, come on, just look at those floppy ears… >_>

More on Monday.