Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the most recognisable move in anime: hands cupped at the hip, a drawn-out chant, then the blast. The line works because it turns charging up into a ritual the audience can join in, which is why fans have shouted it at parties and conventions for decades, and why other shows and games parody the pose. It also stands for Goku himself, a boy who copies a fifty-year technique in seconds.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Dragon BallShow the scene
The attack first appears in the anime in episode 8 of Dragon Ball, "The Kamehameha Wave" (first aired in Japan 16 April 1986), part of the Emperor Pilaf Saga. At Fire Mountain, Master Roshi takes off his turtle shell, bulks up and cups his hands, then calls out the name and fires a blast that puts out the flames around Ox-King's castle and flattens the castle too. Roshi tells young Goku it took him fifty years to perfect. Goku, who has just watched it, tries it on the spot and wrecks a capsule car. The name puns on kame, Japanese for turtle (Roshi is the Turtle Hermit), and the Hawaiian king Kamehameha.
Sources (3)
- Dragon Ball Wiki: The Kamehameha Wave (episode)SummaryReference checked
- Dragon Ball Wiki: KamehamehaUsage and TriviaReference checked
- Dragon Ball Wiki: Kame Kame Kame Kame Kame Chameleon (chapter)Chapter infoboxReference checked
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