Question on DBE's Kamehameha

[plusloud]

Right. Good on you for knowing the qi spelling, by the way.

I didn't mention that because I thought it had been addressed enough in the first posts.

[Kaboom]

I like my explanation the best.

"The Kamehameha makes for one hell of a good defibrillator."

[dragondyle]

I like my explanation the best.

"The Kamehameha makes for one hell of a good defibrillator."

Hey, that's what I thought!

[Herms]

Igi ari. Hametsu 破滅 means "ruin" or "destruction." So it could be argued that Kamesennin no Hametsu Nami 亀仙人の破滅波, Turtle Hermit's Destruction Wave, was shortened to Kame Hame Ha (with "nami" written as "ha" to complement the pun). The one problem with this theory is that the kanji for 破滅 is ha, then metsu, not hame then tsu. The shorthand method would have to be moraic only. ... Julian, is moraic a word?

I'm aware of that claim, but don't find it credible, for the reason you mentioned about hame being an unnatural way to shorten hametsu because of the kanji. Toriyama says that his wife suggested the name as a reference to King Kamehameha, and because it fit with Kame-sennin's name. There's therefore no reason that the "hame" even has to mean anything, and no meaning is ever attached to it in the series or guidebooks. So, like I said, there's no clear-cut meaning for that part of the attack name. But nice try, Phoenix.

[Bussani]

As I pointed out in my post, I have no problem with the idea of ki being used for healing. As Saiyan-Professor said, it's all how you use it.

But my first instinct is to say that Kamehameha is a destructive technique, and using it in that way is the opposite to using it in a way that would heal. It's like saying...ki powers my punch, so if I punch you, you should be healed.

But DBE's ki is obviously different, so I can't complain. It seems like in DBE you have big ki techniques and little ki techniques, and Kamehameha is just a big one that can be used however you see fit. Which strikes me as different to the manga, but that's fine with me.

[plusloud]

I'm aware of that claim, but don't find it credible, for the reason you mentioned about hame being an unnatural way to shorten hametsu because of the kanji. Toriyama says that his wife suggested the name as a reference to King Kamehameha, and because it fit with Kame-sennin's name. There's therefore no reason that the "hame" even has to mean anything, and no meaning is ever attached to it in the series or guidebooks. So, like I said, there's no clear-cut meaning for that part of the attack name. But nice try, Phoenix.

Igi ari. The pun could very well have complemented the "kamesen hametsu nami" theory, similar to how jokes occasionally have layers of meaning. Also, to my extremely limited knowledge there's no real requirement for kanji to be the basis of shorthand conversion, evidenced in Japan by both English and Japanese shorthand examples outside of the assumed norm:
- PSFA for Perfect Suit FActory
- Suica for Super Urban Intelligent CArd
- (I can't think of any Japanese examples offhand. This is where I fall down.)

[Saiyan-Professor]

Hey, did not Kakarrot heal a bird in Movie #5 with Ki?

[Bussani]

Hey, did not Kakarrot heal a bird in Movie #5 with Ki?

So long as he didn't do it with a Kamehameha, I wouldn't find it odd. Well, that and it would make Dende's special ability less unique.

Actually, I don't think Goku's ki transfer to Freeza healed him. It just gave him the stamina to keep going. If Goku could just heal people, there wouldn't be much need for Senzu.

[Travis Touchdown]

I thought the Kamehameha Roshi did was like a very hard hitting CPR to get Goku breathing again, as if regular CPR wouldn't get the job done in time. Goku arched his back and his face got really red, and Roshi said to Yamcha, "ah, pain is good" and Goku looked around with very strained breathing.

Sure I thought it was silly, but whatever works.

[Coola Yagami]

Didn't Gohan and Goku use some made-up clast called the shadow blast or something?

[Eddie]

Didn't Gohan and Goku use some made-up clast called the shadow blast or something?

The Shadow Crane Strike was an invented name for it, but Goku did actually use this kind of ki attack in the original series. He beat Chi Chi with a very similar technique.