Kamehameha (Dragon Ball)
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Son Goku performs a Kaioken × 4 Kamehameha on Vegeta |
Kamehameha かめはめ波 (the
Kamehameha Wave in the U.S. version), is a fictional
energy attackin the
manga Dragon Ball and the
anime Dragon Ball,
Dragon Ball Z, and
Dragon Ball GT. The name of the attack translates to "turtle destruction wave".
The
Kamehameha was created by
Muten-Rôshi (Kame Sen'nin, known as Master Roshi in the
English anime), and was taught to several of the
Z Fighters of Earth, including
Son Goku,
Kuririn (Krillin),
Son Gohan,
Son Goten,
Pan and
Grandpa Son Gohan.
Uub is shown performing it in GT, presumably due to his training with Goku.
Cell can also perform the
Kamehameha due to having some of Goku's
cells.
Yamcha learned this move on his own (and later perfected while training with
Muten-Rôshi) during the training for the 22nd World Championship where
Tenshinhan gained the ability to perform the
Kamehameha when he observed it being used against himself from Yamcha. This is Goku's signature attack. Kid Trunks is shown in the movie Bio Brolly as knowing and proforming this attack, though its not thought much of being the movies are not in the same time line as the shows.
The attack is performed by cupping the hands at the side of the body, usually the right, drawing them back and saying "KA - ME - HA - ME - HA" in five stages, before thrusting the hands forward and shooting a blue energy beam towards the target.
Apparently, the form of this move is malleable, as almost every character who does it does it slightly differently, with different variations of the form and sometimes without saying the name of the attack (compare Cell's stance to Goku's stance, Cell's is "longer" and much more stretch out, and he cups his hands differently), though the "true form" is Muten Roshi's form. Variations of this move include Super Saiyan 4 Goku's
10 Times/Jubei Kamehameha the only red Kamehameha ever seen, Super Saiyan 4
Gogeta's
Big Bang Kamehameha,
Vegetto's semi-canonical
Final Kamehameha, Goku's
Instantaneous Transmission/Shunkan-Idou Kamehameha, Kid Goku's one-handed
Kamehameha, Kid Goku's
Magaru Kamehameha or
Turning Kamehameha, Young Goku's two-footed
Kamehameha, Young Goku's
Super/Chou Kamehameha of which he is the inventor, Goku's 2 handed Kamehameha in which he used both hands in front of him making two energy balls in the fight against freeza, Teen Gohan's one-handed
Super Kamehameha, and Goten's
"Kamekameha" (Goten could not pronounce "Kame
hameha" as a child), which translates into Turtle Turtle Wave. Muten Roshi can also perform the
Max Power Kamehameha.There also appears to be variations in the power of the attack. Besides the basic Kamehameha, there is also Kamehameha X2 (Super Kamehameha), Kamehameha X5, used by Vegito against Majin Buu and was a yellow colour or gold, and Kamehameha X10, used by SSJ4 Goku and was red in colour. The technique itself in power can range from damaging a small car to planetary destruction.
Super Buu performed a variation of this move, combined with
Gotenks'
Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack. The ghosts performed miniature Kamehamehas.
Additionally, the strongest off-series kamehameha so far is in the Funimation games,
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 and
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. The attack, known as
100x Big Bang Kamehameha, is performed by
Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta.
* The term was coined by
Akira Toriyama's wife, when he asked her for a name for his "kame" themed attack.
* The name
kamehameha is a pun in
Japanese, since Kame Hame Ha means Turtle Destruction Wave.
* The
Kamehameha is very similar to the
Hadoken from the
Street Fighter series, although the
Kamehameha came before the latter.
*
Carlos Newton, former Ultimate Fighting Championship Welterweight Champion and Dragon Ball fan, has celebrated victories by performing a mock Kamehameha.
*
How to Kamehameha
