FUNimation dub of Kai vs full/original DBZ accuracy

[Tsukento]

Honestly, even if Toriyama did explicitly choose the attack name to honor King Kamehameha, the fact is they still pronounce it the way they do, and that's really all that matters.

Well...they also pronounce it 'Seru' and 'Torankusu'...

Blah! The attack is Kamehame-Ha (KAH-meh-HAH-me-HAH), not Kamehameha (kah-MEH-hah-MEH-hah).
Notice how they're written differently in Japanese: かめはめ波 (Kamehame-Ha) versus カメハメハ (Kamehameha). The 波 (ha) means wave by the way.

Uh, I'd say the bigger problem is how it's pronounced in the English dubs.

It seems to be said as "Kah-may-ah-may-ah" when spoken quickly, and when done as the attack, it's spoken as "Kah-may-hah-may-ha." Either way, it should always be said as "Kah-meh-ha-meh-ha."

It's basically the same issue with Kaio-Ken and Saiyan.

[linkdude20002001]

Well I was commenting on what Rocketman kept saying about Kamehame-Ha being pronounced correctly in the dub because it "isn't a Japanese word". I guess it kinda looked like I was complaining about the spelling... Lol.

But I agree with you that it's important that they get their pronunciations correct. I want to hear Kamehame-Ha, Saiyan, Kaioh, and Son pronounced correctly. Also, a little Kinto-Un and Nyoi-Boh would be nice as well.

[PatPat]

If you're talking about how he got the name "Kamehameha", I was pretty sure he stated in an interview somewhere that his wife had suggested the name...and that it was from the name of the Hawaiian king. I could be wrong, though.

From what I remember (from an Animerica interview, I think?) was that it was indeed his wife who mentioned the name. However, I don't think it said that she got it from the Hawaiian king. From what I remember, he was trying to come up with the attack name, and wanted it to start with 'Kame', and she suggested that it should rhyme, like 'kamehame' or something. Maybe she was unconsciously recalling the name of Kamehameha, but it appears it was never intentional for the two to have the same name. Perhaps I should dig out my old Animericas sometime to see if I'm remembering this correctly....

Q: How do you think up the names for the special attacks?
A: I actually don't really like to give names to the techniques. In a battle of life and death, there's no way you can say the name of each technique. You'd be done in while yelling the technique's name. (laughs) But my editor told me it was best to give the techniques names. My wife was the one who named the Kamehameha. I was fretting, saying "Kame-sennin's special attack should be something-or-another ha, something-or-another ha..." and she said "Wouldn't Kamehameha be good?". That was good, silly, and fitted Kame-sennin's mood perfectly.

I think this is the interview you're referring to.
http://www.kanzentai.com/trans-daiz04.p ... =interview