# Kamehameha Kamehameha is the shouted, hand-cupped energy blast from Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, first fired by Master Roshi and adopted by Goku as his main attack[4]. Fans have imitated the pose and chant for decades, and by 2007 YouTube turned homemade Kamehameha attempts into their own small video genre[1]. ## Origin The attack debuted in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga, which began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1984[3]. Master Roshi (the turtle hermit) invented it, and in the first appearance he fires the wave to destroy a fleet of enemy warships[4]. Goku picks up the move from Roshi as a child after watching it exactly once, and it becomes his go-to attack across every follow-up series. The Japanese name reads roughly as 'turtle destruction wave,' matching Master Roshi's turtle school branding, and it also puns on the Hawaiian King Kamehameha[7]. - **Platform:** Weekly Shonen Jump (Dragon Ball manga) / YouTube (viral fan imitation) - **Creator:** Akira Toriyama - **Date:** 1984 ## Overview The bit works on two things: the pose and the chant. People plant their feet, pull cupped hands back to their hip as if holding an invisible ball, then draw out 'Ka, Me, Ha, Me' before thrusting forward and screaming 'HAAA'[7]. The joke is that the charge-up takes forever while the actual blast lasts a split second, exactly how it plays in the show[4]. Online, the Kamehameha format splits into three flavors: raw convention and bedroom imitations[1], After Effects composites where the caster actually fires a glowing beam[2], and mock-scientific explainers picking apart what a real wave would do to a target[5]. All three lean on the same instantly recognizable posture, which is why any Dragon Ball fan can spot the reference in about half a second. ## How It Spread On April 20, 2007, uploader woofnz posted footage of a Kamehameha contest held at the Armageddon Expo in New Zealand, where contestants competed for the most convincing scream-and-thrust[1]. That same day, YouTuber Horta do Rosário dropped a compilation of fan-made Kamehameha clips pulled from around the web[8]. Effects videos followed. On June 30, 2007, YouTuber mocarg uploaded a clip of himself firing an After Effects composited beam and posted several follow-ups in the months after[2]. On September 10, 2014, science YouTuber Jack Chapple ('Jacksci') broke down what a real Kamehameha would do to a target[5], and on July 30, 2015, The Film Theorists' MatPat argued the wave is a telekinetically shaped bolt of plasma[6]. ## How to Use The classic form is a set piece, not a one-liner. People typically plant their feet shoulder width, cup both hands at their right hip as if gripping a softball, and stretch the syllables 'Ka, Me, Ha, Me' as long as they can before shoving both palms forward and yelling 'HAAA'[7]. Group versions pair one person doing the charge with a friend mock-flying backward off the beam, which is the format most convention clips lean on[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Kamehameha? It is the shouted energy blast from the Dragon Ball franchise, invented in-universe by Master Roshi and adopted by Goku, with the real-world meme being fans acting it out in videos[1]. ### Where did Kamehameha come from? Akira Toriyama introduced the attack in the Dragon Ball manga, which began serialization in 1984[3]. ### What does Kamehameha mean? The Japanese name reads roughly as 'turtle destruction wave,' matching Master Roshi's turtle school, and it also puns on the Hawaiian King Kamehameha[7]. ### How do you use Kamehameha? Plant your feet, cup both hands at your hip, draw out 'Ka, Me, Ha, Me' as long as you can, then thrust forward and yell 'HAAA'; for the on-camera version, After Effects handles the glowing beam[2]. ### Is Kamehameha still popular? The pose stayed a Dragon Ball fandom staple for decades and drew fresh YouTube attention with explainer and effects videos through 2014 and 2015[5][6]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wJzGnUEQlA]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kxYnrQpcYw]() 3. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/kamehameha]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-ADhwaCjYA]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHvr2Ro5lLA]() 7. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Kamehameha]() 8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRcQDiVsMg]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/kamehameha Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library