Saying Attack names out loud is there a specific reason?

[Baggie_Saiyan]

I have always wondering why do most characters say their attacks out load? Are the attacks somehow unable to be used until they do? Out of verse I can get it but In verse I am curious hence why I have come here a place I rarely verge into

[Lord Frieza]

You know it seems to be primarily an earth thing. Aside from Vegeta and the Ginyus, only characters from earth really go around shouting attack names.

In universe the only reason I can think of is its a battle cry, telling your enemy the name of the dangers move your going to beat them with. It also helps make your attack more well known if everyone can hear what its called.

[sintzu]

Maybe it makes the attack and user seem "cooloer".

[Kamiccolo9]

Goku fires a Kamehameha underwater, so saying the attack name isn't required.

Honestly, I feel like this might be one of the Wuxia tropes Kunzait goes on about. You see it pop up fairly often in other Shonen as well.

[Tectorman]

They do it for the same reason Obi-wan bothers to wiggle his fingers when he mind-tricks someone. It's not, strictly speaking, necessary (in either case), but it's how they first learned it. Those actions, be they wiggling fingers, or Goku pressing his fingers to his forehead to teleport, or calling out an attack name, were what they did while they were applying their energy or adopting the specific mindset or activating whatever mechanism they have to do what they were going to do. So it's what they're used to. Nowadays, Goku can teleport without the fingers and fire blasts without calling them out, but he still does so because those physical cues still make it somewhat easier to apply his energy however he was going to.

[Kunzait_83]

They do it for the same reason Obi-wan bothers to wiggle his fingers when he mind-tricks someone. It's not, strictly speaking, necessary (in either case), but it's how they first learned it. Those actions, be they wiggling fingers, or Goku pressing his fingers to his forehead to teleport, or calling out an attack name, were what they did while they were applying their energy or adopting the specific mindset or activating whatever mechanism they have to do what they were going to do. So it's what they're used to. Nowadays, Goku can teleport without the fingers and fire blasts without calling them out, but he still does so because those physical cues still make it somewhat easier to apply his energy however he was going to.

Look no offense man and I don't mean to put this so bluntly or to be mean here, but there's no way around it: you're literally just talking out your ass right now. Please stop that. If you just don't know something then that's perfectly fine, but just don't then make up shit from wholecloth. Because everything you just said was total nonsense based on nothing but whatever fanfic you just made up in your head. Or at the very least, just preface it with "hey I've no idea, but here's my personal fannon theory that I think makes sense". But don't just haul off with fan theory stuff like this as if its series lore: that's what the Dragon Ball Wiki is for.

I apologize up front for laying it on that thick and its obviously nothing personal, but I've simply gotten tired a long ways ago of people constantly doing stuff like this in DB discussions (making up stuff in place of a rudimentary understanding of the series basic genre fundamentals) and it never getting commented upon or corrected.

Sorry, anyway...

So yes, obviously this is all another Wuxia thing. I went into the concept of"mudras" in a much older thread (not the Wuxia one though, I probably should add this to it as an addendum) from maybe a year ago or so: mudras are the actual name for what martial artists in Wuxia fiction do when they move their hands and arms about in various motions in order to help gather and build chi/ki, and its of course what characters in Dragon Ball (and other wuxia-derived manga/anime like YYH, HnK, etc) are likewise doing. Here's my older post on the matter in question (Derek Padula also talks a lot about mudras in his writings):

Anyways, being of Buddhist origin, mudras are one of those areas where both Chinese and Japanese martial arts myth and a totally different culture (in this case Hinduism) overlap and converge by sheer association with the mutual religious lore. In Hinduism mudras are used primarily for religious rituals, prayers, and chants, as well as in conjunction with breathing and meditative exercises within Yoga. The central idea of mudras in Yoga exercises shares many direct similarities with its Chinese and Japanese martial arts applications: as a means of channeling and harnessing and directing the body's flow of Ki/Qi/Chi (in Hindu lore called Prana). In Yoga/Hinduism, its mostly for purely meditative/religious purposes and attaining spiritual nirvana: in Chinese and Japanse martial arts myth, its obviously geared towards combat.

I went into a ton of detail on the importance of deep, controlled breathing exercises and Meridians in the harassing, control, and usage/application of supernatural Ki techniques in Wuxia fiction and myth (and which also have a decidedly less mystical basis in real world martial arts) over in the first page of the giant Wuxia thread: Mudra hand gestures are another technique that go directly hand in hand with those principals as a means of helping to focus and direct the flow of Ki throughout one's Meridian pathways for use in a wide array of attacks from mystical Ki bolts (like Trunks' Burning Attack) or even in basic, albeit powerful, hand strikes. Many basic martial arts hand attacks have their original basis in Mudra gestures, such as open knifehands, finger pokes, and palm strikes, and Wuxia stories very often depict fighters' utilizing Mudra gestures to gather and release both offensive and defensive Ki techniques with routine regularity.

Also while I'm at it, there's the matter of Goku's two fingers to the temple when he performs the Shunkan Idou (Instantaneous Movement). That one's NOT just merely some vague, general Wuxia trope, but a very specific one from a specific Wuxia story that Toriyama basically copied and pasted from: Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a Louis Cha wuxia literary classic (published in 1963), which features the exact identical technique in all but name (in DGSD its translated as the "Shifting Stance"). Two fingers to the temple, focus on another Ki/Chi source somewhere nearby or far off, and warp right to it (you can even take along other passengers for the ride via physical contact).

This I did certainly go into in the actual Wuxia thread-proper. Here's the excerpt (complete with gifs from one of the old DGSD film adaptations):

(BTW, needless to say this is hardly the only lone example of a distinctive supernatural martial arts technique that Toriyama/Toei wold lift directly from classic Wuxia writings and film; I go into plenty of others in the wuxia thread)

Another of Goku's techniques directly lifted from the Wuxia writings of Jin Yong is the Shunkan Idou (Instantaneous Movement) which is ripped directly from the “Shifting Stance” from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Everything from the “index and middle fingers to the temple” hand gesture to the specifics in how the technique works via “locking onto” a specific Ki source and being able to transport others along with you by touch is copied verbatim from Demi-Gods' Shifting Stance, which is among its more well known and notable supernatural martial arts techniques.

And finally, yes it is not just a Wuxia, but a generalized Kung Fu/martial arts fiction trope to call out/yell out the name of one's attacks as you do them. Its basically just another form of Kiai, a battle yell to help further bolster and enhance the power/chi behind the attack.

[rereboy]

Rule of cool.

However, it can be argued that, since Ki attacks are spiritual in nature, shouting the attack might be a tool to focus and bring forth even more power to the technique (like in real life martial arts sometimes shouting helps).

[Bullza]

Which reminds me, most battle anime are so obnoxious with how they constantly have to keep shouting out their attack names Especially with say One Piece and Fairy Tail.

I know they do it in Dragon Ball too but not nearly to the same extent. Yet another reason why I prefer Dragon Ball over the others.

[Kunzait_83]

Rule of cool.

However, it can be argued that, since Ki attacks are spiritual in nature, shouting the attack might be a tool to focus and bring forth even more power to the technique (like in real life martial arts sometimes shouting helps).

Actual footage of Kunzait_83 posting on Kanzenshuu.

[rereboy]

Rule of cool.

However, it can be argued that, since Ki attacks are spiritual in nature, shouting the attack might be a tool to focus and bring forth even more power to the technique (like in real life martial arts sometimes shouting helps).

Actual footage of Kunzait_83 posting on Kanzenshuu.

I didn't state anything that disagrees with what you said or disregards it.

You stated out-of-universe reasons, namely the tropes found in Wuxia and other martial arts series, and you also mentioned some in-universe aspects, like the hand movements helping them focus and their relation with real martial arts, and chants with more or less the same function.

On the other hand, I mentioned the "rule of cool", which is an out of universe reason applicable to not only Dragon Ball but other series like the ones you indirectly mention, and then I mentioned possible in-universe reasons for actually shouting the names of the techniques, like helping them focus their power, which is basically what you said but with less context.

Our posts aren't in conflict, they complement or echo each other. Just because I didn't comment on your post it doesn't mean I have disregarded it or disagree with it.

[JulieYBM]

Which reminds me, most battle anime are so obnoxious with how they constantly have to keep shouting out their attack names Especially with say One Piece and Fairy Tail.

I know they do it in Dragon Ball too but not nearly to the same extent. Yet another reason why I prefer Dragon Ball over the others.

The phenomenon occurs in Japanese comics and animation in general because these mediums are based in coded storytelling techniques. For example, think of a transformation BANK, where the same animation is used repeatedly for a recurring event. This triggers a specific reaction from the viewer, which is then built upon by the following events. Sometimes it's just your usual victory, but others it might be a breaking from the usual formula, like when a transformation or attack is interrupted mid-stream. That sort of event happens only after the viewer is accustomed to the code being used repeatedly, establishing within the subconscious a specific reaction that an interruption can rattle the viewer, achieving the intended effect. Another example, of course, is the insert song. The 'insert song' tells you that something big and exciting is going to happen, especially if it's the main theme of the series. Conversely, if the insert song is a dark piece it can give the viewer a sense of dread.

[LuckyCat]

I always thought it was related to the Kiai, from martial arts, where shouting before your attack is actually a technique to throw your opponent off guard. A great example of this in-show would be when Goku yells out Kaio-ken, and his opponents from Nappa, to Vegeta, to Freeza totally freak out and then a strong attack usually follows.


But out-of-universe, calling attack names is at least in anime as old as Mazinger Z in the 1970s. I've heard explanations like the attack names help kids get involved in the show more as they chant the attacks along with their favorite character.

[mcdjbeatz]

My hypothesis is that saying attack names aloud helps concentration, for example with the kamehameha saying it aloud might help gather ki for the attack

[VegettoEX]

I'm starting to feel Kunzait's pain.

Can we please, please, please read some of the responses before contributing? Some of the things folks are tossing out as a hypothesis or random (baseless?) speculation is already covered in excruciating detail above with the sources to back it up.

[Captain Strawberry]

I think it might be related to martial arts where the user screams or yells. Kiai

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

I think it might be related to martial arts where the user screams or yells. Kiai

Yeah, and I bet it's some wuxia thing too.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Holy crap I totally forgot I started this... Some pretty interesting reads!