I actually kinda like that RWBY avoids Calling Your Attacks as it makes no sense in anime as to why characters would call their attacks (ie: Kamehameha!).
AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!This only avoids that because the characters have no signature attacks...
Except it doesn't avoid it because they call out their team attack names...
edited 2nd Dec '16 1:07:36 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.
This.
Well there is this thing in martial arts supposedly, related to the "kiai!" attacks the DBZ characters use, where you're supposed to yell as your perform a strike, and it's supposed to increase the force you drive behind a blow or something. I guess it's a mental thing, if you're yelling you're expending energy, if you just strike, it's... lesser somehow.
Looking at it through that foggy lens I can kinda understand why anime characters do that. But RWBY doesn't, and I'm content with that. At least until Jaune's Semblance turns him into a magical girl and he starts shouting attacks left and right.
edited 2nd Dec '16 1:47:26 PM by Soble
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It's different in that it doesn't actually tell the enemy anything about what they're doing...
One of the purposes of kiai is actually to disrupt the concentration of your opponent. Loud, sudden sounds tend to break your concentration and having that happen to you in a fight can be a very bad thing. It also supports good breathing.
As for why anime (and other works) does Calling Your Attacks, it really has more to do with Rule of Cool along with marketability and making things easier to discuss. It also works as a short hand for things like spells and jutsu because it lets the readers instantly know what the technique does after being introduced to it.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!Also, it have to be in how fight are present, from most part anime fight tend to be something slowers, with techniques being throw and explanation of saying techiquine so the viewer can see what is happening, in fact Naruto is a good example: most of the time fight there where like this "Talk->some fight->explanation of jutsu->more talk->more fight->more explanation" and so on
Western fight on the other hand just tend to happen, maybe with a few banter or quirky lines to light the whole thing.
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"And it shows who the very bad arse characters are because they're the ones who think the attacks instead of calling them out loud. That one always amuses me.
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.Bleach, at least, had made a go at explaining that trope, at least, since a lot of things worked on I Know Your True Name.
In a lot of cases, I see it as like spells with a verbal component. If a spell requires magic words, refusing to say the words means you don't get the spell.
Another time, yes, there's marketability, but remember that marketability exists in-Universe as well. A superhero can benefit or suffer based on how the public sees them. As such calling out their attacks in battle can give them out of battle benefits. A hero who fires off fireballs might get a better reaction from the public by yelling out "Flames of Justice!" as they do so to remind the public that they're on the side of good, so they needn't worry about the kind of damage they can output.
Yet another time, one should remember psychological effects on your opponent. Do you want them to fear you? Name your attack something like "Darkest Nightmare!" or "Unending Pain!" or "Crushing Death!" Do you want them to underestimate you? Name your attacks things like "Glittering Heart!" Do you want to confuse them? Call out very confusing and off-putting attack names. Do you want to remind them who is on the side of good? Give them names like "Justice Blade" or "Chains of Truth!"
Then there's warning your teammates/bystanders. Yelling something like "Circle of Death!" tells them to get out your way so you can avoid collateral damage.
Then there's the act that if you're a fighter, you also need to take care o your own emotional needs. Naming your attacks can be personally satisfying or remind you of your cause. Tey can also help you concentrate n difficult manuevres in some stories.
Then, it makes planning fights with allies easier as you have shorthand ways to describe what each of you will do in certain situations.
As such, while I'm happy to not have attack names, they are more logical than people give them credit for.
Since most fights in RWBY are done with weapons, and the combos they use are typically different every time, there pretty much are no attacks to call. The only characters that have used a similar move repeatedly are interestingly only the villains, (Adam's moon slice, Mercury's bullet tornado and Cinder's evil eye flame pillars). Ruby doesn't have, for example an iconic scythe technique, she just slices or shoots sniper rounds.
Pretty much this, while RWBY take a lot of inspiration from anime, their fight are very videogame like and more western-like, for example in comic most of the time they dont have "atack" but habilites: heat vision, batnarang, the laso of truth, things like that.
For the record, I think Yang's Semblance is more of a Critical Buff deal than a store-damage-and-send-back.
Dopants: He meant what he said and he said what he meant, a Ninety is faithful 100%.Yang looks good with a ponytail...better even.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.Good job pounding that soup.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.It wouldn't really fit RWBY (it's all about fast paced action, so no attack naming or emphasis on specific techniques) but there are plenty of reasons for it to show up in other media.
A few of which have already been covered, but I think the most important one is the idea that names and words have power to them. It's where the idea of magic incantations comes from.
A lot of series that use Calling Your Attacks also make it part of their Functional Magic which justifies its presence and actually uses it to enhance their worldbuilding. Then you've got all the variations like people skipping it through mastering or weakening their abilities, etc.
The main reason, I think, is influence from cultural beliefs that words held special power AND an element of Rule of Cool. I do think Rule of Cool is important (and not an excuse), or we wouldn't be able to have things like the RWBY outfits and weapons. All of which are about as realistically practical as shouting at your opponent that you're about to punch them.
I guess another reason why there is no attack calling is because none of the characters really have a Signature Move. Or any solid moves they use. Like Weiss doesn't have any particular way to use her Dust attacks and such. There is no need to Calling Your Attacks if you have no moves you want to name.
Only sometimes postsWeiss: Magician's Red!
Ruby: Godspeed!
Mercury: Bulletnado, version 2!
Cinder: Sword of the DARKNESS FLAME!
Blake: Full Counter!
Yang: Full Counter!
Blake: Damn it Yang, that's my special attack name!
Yang: But yours doesn't actually block anything!
Blake: >:( Neither does yours!
Jaune: I was going name my special move that, thank you very much.
Yang: Yeah, sure, as soon as you unlock it, come find us.
I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!

edited 2nd Dec '16 1:05:37 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.