Kamehame Hadoken - Television Tropes & Idioms

Trope Namer 1: KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAA!!!

Trope Namer 2: HADOUKEN!

The (Kamehame)Ha(doken) is the ultimate Ki Attack of any given martial-arts-based anime or video game, and almost always takes the form of a huge and/or continuous solid beam of weaponised ki, shot from the cupped hands of the main character after bringing his/her hands forward from behind their back. The attack is always derived from the latent power of the user, and the blast is incredibly destructive, ranging from causing large personal property damage, to the destruction of large satellites, to possibly destroying the planet on which the character stands. It is frequently, though not always, a Finishing Move.

A form of Limit Break. A staple for Shotoclones, along with the Shoryuken and Hurricane Kick. Compare with BFG, which is often the technological version, and Wave Motion Gun, for the Humongous Mecha or spaceship-scale version of that. Contrast Beam Spam.

Usually the end result of a My Name Is Inigo Montoya.

Examples:

Anime

The first Trope Namer here is the Kamehameha (literally "Turtle [School] Wave Attack", often rendered less accurately but more colorfully as "Turtle Destruction Wave") used by Goku and others from Dragon Ball. Not that there weren't plenty of cousins around, such as the Galic (or Garlic) Gun and Final Flash used by Vegeta, as well as several variations of the original - From-the-Feet-Kamehameha, Super-Kamehameha, Genki-Dama-Kamehameha, Warp-Kamekameha, Father-and-Son-Kamehameha, Angry Kamehameha, The Original Kamehameha and Big-Bang-Kamehameha.
- Parodied in an omake of Wedding Peach, with Kame Hame Kame.
- Parodied again in Excel Saga, with Nabeshin's Nabehameha.
- Also in Yotsubato, Jumbo is told that Miura's parents are too busy to take her anywhere during the summer, so he takes her fishing. At the end of the trip, he finds out she's going to Hawaii in the fall, and goes comically berserk, yelling "Kamehameha!" at her—which is an actually relevant name, given her destination.
- Parodied in lots and lots of shows, though the Kamehameha is not the ultimate ki attack in the Dragon Ball, just the most used and recognizable.
  - Isn't the actual word Filipino or Hawaiian or something like that? I recall there was a historical king of this name...
  - Kamehameha the Great was the first Hawaiian king to unite all the islands at the end of the 18th century. Four others in the dynasty used the name over the next 75 years or so. The commonality between the names might merely be coincidental.
  - Toriyama's wife suggested the name for him and he liked it so much he decided to stick with it.
Ryoga of Ranma 1/2 has the depression-powered Shishi Hokodan, and Ranma has the confidence-powered Moko Takabisha, although the strongest version of the former is a more like a giant Sphere Of Destruction that falls on top of everything. For added fun, they actually look like Hadokens when fired normally. Except in the second Non Serial Movie, in which they are shown more like the Kamehameha.
- Meanwhile, Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty simply emits massive, unnamed torrents of raw ki from his hands. The final adversary in the series, the Phoenix King Saffron, possesses the Tenka Shunmetsu Kokyuudan (roughly, "Entire-Empire Instant Annihilation Shot") a giant heat ray capable of vaporizing mountains.
In Yu Yu Hakusho, Yusuke Urameshi's attack, the Reigun, is a variation, wherein he usually fires a large blast from only one finger at a time, though he has at times full-palmed the blast, resulting in the partial destruction of no less than two stadiums and a fair portion of the surrounding landscape.
Naruto has used a variation of the attack, though only when in nine-tailed fox form, wherein he launched a "dense chakra" blast from from his mouth, destroying a large hill and most of the ground surrounding it in a half-mile diameter.
- Nine-tailed foxes in Japanese mythology were known to generate fire from their mouths and/or tails. Just not on such an outrageous scale.
- Killer Bee in his eight-tailed demon ox form can use the same attack.
In a strange combination with the Wave Motion Gun, G Gundam has the Sekiha Tenkyoken, the ultimate attack of the Touhou Fuhai School of Martial Arts, which practitioners can perform on foot (where it appears to be a gigantic hand) and while piloting their Mo Cap Mecha (where it more closely resembles this trope).
- Don't forget Domon usually combined the Exploding God Finger/Erupting Burning Finger with the Sekiha Tenkyoken, which, like everything else in that series, is surrounded by Hot Blooded CMoA screaming. In the final episode, Rain and Domon attacked the Devil Gundam's core with the "Erupting Burning Finger Sekiha Love-Love Tenkyoken".
Sailor Moon, as Princess Serenity, evokes this whenever she uses the Mystical Silver Crystal. That is, when it doesn't decide to bail on her.
- Her live-action counterpart in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon has an even more powerful attack — which is responsible for the complete death of the Moon Kingdom.
- Sailor Saturn from the later seasons of the anime has an explicit planet-killer attack, which also automatically kills her. Needless to say, this is Only Works Once. (See Mystical Silver Crystal.)
Used in Bleach by Menos level Hollows, the move is called Cero. Most Hollows use the technique as a Breath Weapon. Arrancar, on the other hand, can unleash these attacks from their fingers.
- Not to mention Nnoitra's Cero from his tongue.◊
- Ramped up by Grimmjow Jeagerjacques during his final confrontation with Ichigo, unleashing a variation of the attack that only Espada-level Arrancar can use: the Gran Rey Cero.
  - Ramped up even further with Ulquiorra's Cero Oscura (and probably further still with Ichigo's standard Cero which is, according to Ulquiorra, more powerful yet.)
- As well as Adult Nel's Cero Doble, which fires the opponent's Cero (after she swallows it!) back, along with Nel's own Cero!
- Not to mention Pesche and Dondochakka's Cero Sincrético, which combines both of their Ceros and condenses it into a swirling ball of destruction
- This is (ironically) the ability of Soi Fon's Bankai; she mentions that the huge, flashy nature of it is what keeps her from using it regularly.
Yu-Gi-Oh! and Yu-Gi-Oh GX has several monsters that pull this off. They include Exodia, Obelisk the Tormentor, etc.
Haruhi-chan mentions the Kame Hame Ha in the OP lyrics.
Pretty Cure:
- Most prevalent in Futari Wa Pretty Cure, where Pretty Cure Marble Screw (and its variations) and Pretty Cure Rainbow Storm are two-person Kamehame Hadoken variants.
- Futari Wa Pretty Cure Splash Star's Pretty Cure Twin Stream Splash is quite similar to the Marble Screw variants, and its powered-up versions are even more like the standard Kamehame Hadoken.
- Yes! Pretty Cure 5 stayed away from this for the most part. Then Cure Mint figured out how to turn the Mint Shield into one.
STONEEEEERRRR!!! SUUUUNNNSHIIIIIIINNNEEEE!!!!
- This is actually more of a Sphere Of Destruction thrown at some poor bastard.
Vivio's Sankt Kaiser form in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha used this against the titular character during the final battle of the third season. The Beam O War against Nanoha's Wave Motion Gun was inevitable.
In Slayers, Lina Inverse's Dragon Slave spell starts as a Kamehame Hadoken, and ends in a Sphere Of Destruction.
Nina does this to Arika during their first duel in Mai-Otome.
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki has Santa Claus use this attack against Kyouka during their duel. Yes, Santa Claus.
Santa Claus: "MERRY... CHRISTMAS!!" *BOOM*

Film

Yes, the Kamehameha shows up in Dragonball Evolution. Either from unmitigated gall or a need to give the studio's legal department a workout, the writers decided to call it airbending.

Live Action TV

This was the designated Finishing Move of Ninjor, who appeared in the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Ando from Heroes can occasionally do this. It's not quite as epic as most Kamehame Hadoken attacks, but it looks very much the same.

Professional Wrestling

Both Kenny Omega and Player Uno have been known to use the Hadoken - Omega's requires a few moments of concentration but is most always successful, and Uno's is rather instant but is regularly blocked by his opponent raising their forearms. Used once against his own partner Player Dos (then known as Stupified) to which Stup. complained against his use of superpowers.

Tabletop Games

The recent supplement to Mutants & Masterminds, Mecha & Manga, has the power, Devastating Blast. The power fits this trope entirely (as was intended in this anime-based supplement) and you may spend combat turns to charge the power, increasing the power's damage.

Video Games

The second part of the name comes from the Hadoken ("Surge Fist") used by Ryu And Ken (and Akuma and Sakura) from the Street Fighter series, specifically the Shinkuu Hadoken (A big fireball in the canonical games and a huge beam in Marvel vs. Capcom and its successor Tatsunoko vs. Capcom; the latter fits the definition of the trope more.).
- Chun Li's "Kikosho" attack is a stationary version of this. Rather than a beam of death, it's a Sphere Of Destruction.
Some Final Smashes in Super Smash Bros Brawl, like the Mario Finale or Samus Zero Beam, although the latter (being technologically driven) is more properly a BFG.
- The Pokémon Lucario's signature attack Aura Sphere is a blatant Hadoken look-alike of the large projectile variety, while its Final Smash in Super Smash Bros Brawl is the continuous beam variety.
A number of Touhou characters have this technique at their disposal, but the most common variation is undoubtedly Marisa Kirisame's Master Spark (never mind that she has to cup a magical artifact in her hands to launch the beam; the pose is the same).
- Laser is not difficult◊.
- The best known, but pretty much the weakest of them. Yuka does the same, but clones herself so she actually gets TWO Kamehamehas. In the fanon game Touhou Soccer 2, Mima can join her for 3 Kamehamehas. Mima herself is not one to be outdone, even by herself: this troper is not quite sure whether this epicness is a Kamehameha, a BFG, a Wave Motion Gun or something even more badass.
Barret's final limit, Catastrophe, from Final Fantasy VII is a similar attack but is actually superheated plasma being shot from his Arm Cannon. It is, however, implied to be fueled by the very life essence of The Planet.
Regal, of Tales Of Symphonia, has one of these. It is only ever seen once. Well, maybe twice.
DHAOS LASER! So friggin' powerful, it may as well qualify as a Wave Motion Gun.
The Pyro of Team Fortress 2 has a taunt that mimicked this. In the update on 19 June, this attack instantly kills anyone standing next to it. Can be viewed here.
In Breath Of Fire: Dragon Quarter, the protagonist can perform this in the form of the 'Dragon Breath' attack, when using his Deadly Upgrade form. At the end of the game, he even manages to get in a Beam O War with an actual dragon.
One of the attacks of Soulgain in Super Robot Wars is called Seiryuu Rin... which is practically this trope exemplified. While weaker than Soulgain's other attacks, it's the only attack that allows multi-enemy targetting.
Ninja-clad Bandits in Yoshi's Island use this as their primary attack.
Firzen in Little Fighter 2 has the Firzen Cannon technique; while not his ultimate attack, its appearance and effect are clearly based on Hadoken and/or the Kamehameha.
- TIIIMMMEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Dark Demon in Dynamite Headdy has a beam attack that takes up nearly the entire screen.
Fei in Xenogears has an attack resembling this as one of his final Deathblows.
- His "chi blast" spell when used in his gear is straight up Kamehame Hadoken or Wave Motion Fist except it looks be somewhat fire elemental, even though its not. His special option ability "Thor Wave" is an even better example.
Basch in Final Fantasy XII has a quickening called "Fulminating Darkness" (How's that for an attack name?), which superficially resembles Vegeta's Final Flash, except it's a beam of swirling greenish-black energy. It's actually the weakest of Basch's quickenings, though.
- This is a common style of attack for the Monk classes in some of the games, notably Sabin.
  - Sabin's is especially notable because his blitzes are triggered by button inputs. The pattern for Aura Bolt? Quarter-Circle-Forward-A.
In Kirby Super Star, Kirby's fully-charged "Plasma" attack looks like this. It doesn't hurt that his hair in this form looks like a green version of Goku's, either.
- The same in Kirby Air Ride.
- His fighter mode does this by charging and shooting it. Unlike his plasma mode, where he becomes the projectile, the fighter shoots it in a fully Wave Motion Fist fashion.
Chaos Spear in the Sonic The Hedgehog series. The other chaos powers are a bit different.
Linn Kurosawa gets one of these in the Aliens Versus Predator arcade game.
Invoked in Worms for the Fire Punch and Dragonball weapons.
Dizzy and Justice in Guilty Gear get "Gamma Ray", a massively powerful laser beam.
One of the Special Weapons in Mega Man X5 has a Charged Attack that allows Mega Man X to do exactly this. It later became a X-Buster upgrade in X8, and also seen in a Combination Attack in the same game.
- And then there's the actual Hadoken (regular version, thus a normal fireball), included as a Shout Out Easter Egg in the first Mega Man X.
In The King Of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, the EX version of Takuma's MAX2/HSDM is this. It has a nice lion motif to it.
Cloud of Darkness in Final Fantasy III has its signature Particle Beam attack. In the DS version, it builds it by charging the energy between its hands; which are cupped, facing each other, and stacked vertically, and then fires it as a beam of energy by separating its hands.
Alex Mercer from Prototype can do this. Only the stream of destruction emerging from his hands isn't ki, it is concentrated biomass from the people he has eaten.
Super Mario RPG has the Geno Beam.
As opposed to the honorable trope namers, No More Heroes' resident cheating bastard, Destroyman, uses the sphere-type. Destroy Cannon. The Destroy Buster (beam-type), on the other hand, comes from somewhere ''else''.

Web Comics

In 8-Bit Theater, the Hadoken is the signature attack of Black Mage. A variant, Boatdoken, is used by Black Mage to power a rocket boat. The Red Mage used a similar attack once ("Hadoyastopthis!?"). Fighterdoken and Medoken are not actually Kamehame Hadoken attacks but Fastball Specials. Black Mage's Hadoken is powered by The Power Of Love - literally. It consumes love from the universe to power itself. The divorce rate rises every time he fires it off.
- The Captain SNES parody actually uses the name "Kamehamehadoken."
Lampshaded in Looking For Group: After Richard gets trapped in a bleach-white purgatory, he is seen attempting to use the Hadoken; the only effect seems to be that he forms a blue glowing ball in his hands, to which he says "that didn't work as well as I'd liked." He does, however, follow-up with a successful Shoryuken to Hctib.
In Erfworld, Maggie casts ~~Hadoken~~ Hoboken to kill an enemy mount.

Web Original

The DBZ-inspired Super Mario Bros Z has characters busting out the Kamehame Hadoken on several occasions. It's rather a specialty of Fire Mario and Bowser, for example, and Mecha Sonic uses one in episode 6 to finish off Axem Red.
In the Whateley Universe, Chaka has learned a secret Ki attack like this from a superpowered ninja opponent. She fires it from a finger and calls it her 'Chaka Chaka Bang Bang'.

Western Animation

In an entirely-American use of this, by the 3rd season of Danny Phantom, Danny, when needing a more powerful hit to stop an enemy, performs a very quick Kamehame-Hadoken-like Ectoblast. Most notably, he and Dani, his clone/cousin perform a dual-blast in this manner, one which seems only slightly less-powerful than his Ghostly-Wail (and a lot less draining)
There are a couple of examples in Green Lantern: First Flight in the finale. After Hal Jordan reactivates the Green Element and becomes rather Ion-like, he one-hand blasted Sinestro through several buildings. Then during their last DBZ-style ring-powered fist fight, Hal uses the last power in his ring for a nice, big blast.

Real Life