History Main / ByThePowerOfGrayskull

** ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'' had "Change! Precure Beat Up!", ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' had "Pretty Cure, Open My Heart!", ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'' had "Let's play! Pretty Cure Modulation!", ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' had "Pretty Cure! Smile Charge!" (The US version changes it to "Glitter Force Makeover!"), ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' had "Pretty Cure Love Link!", ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'' had "Pretty Cure Rolling Mirror Change!", and ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'' has "Pretty Cure Princess Engage!"

** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' had "Digimental Up!" in Japanese and "Digiarmor Energize! (or rather, "Digiarmor Ener... gize!)" in the dub. The mon in question would then go through the usual call, but with "''Armor'' Digivolve to/Evolve."
** ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' had "[card name], Card Slash!" in Japanese and "Digi-Modify! [card name], activate!" in the dub. Evolution/Digivolution being achieved through different cards, except for evolution to Ultimate/Mega which gets "Matrix Evolution!" in Japanese, and "Biormerge, activate!" in the dub.

*** ItMakesSenseInContext, as each part of the transformation is accompanied by a phrase. You plug data cards into the Drivers to transform, so activating the card gets you its name, based on its ability - "Jump" for Aruto's default form Rising Hopper, "Bullet" for Fuwa's Shooting Wolf, and "Dash" for Yaiba's Rushing Cheetah, though they all get more forms. Scanning the card gets "Authorize," and then it's inserted and activated (followed by the "KAMEN. RIDER." chant for Vulcan and Valkyrie), and we hear "Progrise" for Zero-One or "Shotrise" for one of the others, followed by the form's name and GratuitousEnglish catchphrase as the transformation takes place. The phrase can have SurprisinglyGoodEnglish (Try to outrun this demon to get left in the dust!) or... not (The Rider Kick increases the power by adding to brightness!).

* [[TheChosenMany The Runed]] in ''A World of Wonder'' become masked vigilantes by saying their alter egos' name three times. They turn their caterpillar {{Mentor Mascot}}s into a {{Weapon of Choice}} by saying, "X, to my hand!"

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': The [[TransformationTrinket Miraculouses]] are activated by speaking a verbal command. In the French version, this is uniformly "[[[MentorMascot Kwami]]'s name]! Transforme-moi!"[[note]]"Transform me!"[[/note]], but the English dub gives each Miraculous its own unique invocation: Marinette transforms into Ladybug by saying "Tikki, spots on!" and Adrien becomes Cat Noir by saying "Plagg, claws out!". There's also the rare power-down phrases (when the timer doesn't force the de-transformation) like "Spots off." and "Claws in." The "Miraculous New York" special further establishes that the transformation phrase differs depending on whether the Miraculous is being used for heroic or evil purposes, explaining [[BigBad Hawk Moth]]'s rather ominous invocation of "dark wings rise!".

** Kazehana - Wind of my pledge, blow away the dark clouds of my sekirei

* Parodied in ''Anime/{{Endride}}''. When Shun arrives in Endora and discovers he has a [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation Warp Relic]], he immediately names it [[{{Nerd}} Excalibur]] and tries to call it forth like he's in a henshin scene, even though that's not how summoning Warp Relics works. Emilio immediately gets on his case because the shouting does nothing and only calls attention to them as they try to escape.

* ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse''

* The spell that serves as a modifier for Raven's powers in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' is "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

* The Amazo episode of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' has Amazo accessing its copied superpowers by saying "Access: [Hero's name]". Although for some reason it could access Martian Manhunter's with just the name.

** ''Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger'': "Change Zenkai!" / "Change Tsuukai!"

** ''Series/KamenRiderSaber'': "Rekka Battou! Brave Dragon~! Rekka Issatsu! Yuki no Ryu to Kaenken Rekka ga Majiwaru Toki Shinku no Tsurugi ga Aku wo Tsuranuku!"
** ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'': "Buddy Up! Ohin! Shonin! Rolling! Going! Kamen Rider~! Revi! Vice! Revice!"

* ''WesternAnimation/DoubleDragon'' has "For might!" "For right!" "We are Double Dragon!"

* Parodied in ''Defenders Indefensible'', when a shockingly calm Bruce Banner attempts to stimulate a change into the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]], with such gems as "Hulk On!" and "Shazulk."

** The two ''Kamen Rider'' productions to completely avoid this trope are the {{deconstruction}} film ''Film/ShinKamenRiderPrologue'' (whose protagonist bore more similarity to the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk than a typical Rider), and ''Series/KamenRiderHibiki'' (except for some goof-ups slipping by ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'''s endgame).

* The ''WesternAnimation/IronMan'' cartoon of the 1990s had this. When it was time to fight, Stark would shout "armor up!", and the armouring sequence would begin. And when Tony needed the armor he was currently wearing to be something else, he'd call the other armor by name, and his chassis would simply change accordingly. This was a way to integrate the vast variations of Iron Man armor from the comics.

* ''Film/GreenLantern2011'': Hal Jordan attempts to [[HowDoIShotWeb activate his ring for the first time]] by reciting various catch phrases, eventually progressing to "[[WesternAnimation/ToyStory To infinity and beyond!]]" and, ultimately, "By the Power of Grayskull" itself.

*** Zi-O's final form takes it UpToEleven by combining all the Heisei belt calls (and sound effects for the non-speaking ones) into one long sequence, then the Riders' names.

* ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'': The shift from "civilian clothing" to bird suits was triggered by speaking the phrase, "bird go!" into a special wristband. When the show was brought to America as Battle of the Planets, the phrase was "transmute!" In the G-Force permutation, the phrase was "G-Force, Transform!"

** DC is constantly messing with them, though. For a while, Billy Batson (calling himself simply Marvel) became the wizard who gives the others their powers, Freddy Freeman (formerly Captain Marvel Jr) became a superhero named Shazam (who still used his superhero name to transform, but also gained the ability to make that optional), and, in a fit of nostalgia, Billy Batson/Marvel changed Black Adam's word from Shazam to [[spoiler:"Chocolate Egg Cream"]] in an attempt to keep Black Adam from transforming. It didn't take. Black Adam then got rid of the powers himself by transferring them to a powerless Mary, creating [[PantyShot Black Mary Marvel]]. Which went well...

* This is how Servants invoke Noble Phantasms in the ''Fate'' verse. It's perhaps most on display in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', given the game's LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters. Noble Phantasm incantations range from simply shouting out the move's name to reciting a longer spell, and individual Servants will even switch up the chants now and then. Arash, for instance, usually activates his NP by just yelling "STELLA!" but occasionally recites a prayer as well.

* Done quite a lot in most [=RPGs=] that involve magic. Incantations and the like.
** Most tabletop games don't require the ''player'' to chant anything, as it's assumed the PC says whatever he needs to say to get the desired spell activated (ie, Power Word Kill doesn't specify the word used).
*** Actually, the majority of the incantation is done during the preparation step. The actions they take to unleash it are simply finishing the last part of the spell. (Sorcerers use the words to help them focus as their power is largely instinctive).
** Subverted in Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition, as a player can take Silent Spell as a feat, allowing one to cast spells without speaking when speaking is usually required, at the cost of a higher level spell slot.
*** There's also the Nonverbal Spell feat in one of the supplements which allows a spellcaster to bypass the use of ''words'' as long as they use some other sound (grunting, mumbling, or even singing). This was initially so that one race which didn't speak could still become a spellcaster. It also allows for a cheaper way of being stealthy than Silent Spell since it doesn't affect the spell slot level.
** However, ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has an optional rule for spellcasting using cantrips; you can prepare in advance (or invent on the spot) a poem to cast a spell; longer poems give better effects. The player, not the PC, must recite or read the actual cantrip, and you're not allowed to "stop time" to make up a poem, so you'd better be good at improvisation or have a prewritten one at the ready.
** Spells in ''TabletopGame/KoboldsAteMyBaby'' require the player to perform the correct action/speak the correct words. The phrase for casting "Wall of Beer" was "Tappa tappa kegga, wall o'Beer omega!". Being invisible required the player to cross their arms and do their best to look like a brooding vampire.
* Explained away in a ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' book. People in the Shadowrun-verse yell, wave their hands in elegant motions, point, say things [[{{Narm}} quite dramatically]], and other magicky stuff, but when asked this, a mage says that it's all used to help focus mana. It's not necessary, though.
* An exception to the "most tabletop games don't require the player to chant anything" rule was the first edition of ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'', which did in fact require exactly that (plus the expenditure of astral points and possibly a die roll). If the player couldn't remember the correct rhymed incantation, their character simply couldn't cast that spell. This was gradually dropped later on, though a number of spell names still reflect their early-day origins.
* Another exception was ''TabletopGame/DragonRaid'', which required players to memorize and recite specific Bible verses in order for their characters to invoke miracles.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': '''KAIOKEN!'''