One major thing anime is known for is its big, visually stunning techniques. The Kamehameha from Dragon Ball is probably one of the most famous, if not THE most famous, anime techniques out there. Many a child has gone out into their backyard in an attempt to repeat Goku’s feat of copying the move. Even more anime fans have used the iconic pose for photos, for fan art, for everything. It is simple, elegant, and gave the world some of the most intense moments in shōnen anime. But what makes an anime move iconic?
Several factors contribute to the longevity of an iconic anime move; the name matters a lot since it needs to be catchy, and it also needs to be an eye-catching, visual feast that makes the eyes of children go wide as they imagine doing it themselves. It helps if it is always useful too, able to be powered up and never truly falling out of use. However, this can be eschewed for big final “limit break” style attacks that are more akin to season-ending abilities. They mainly need to be immediately recognizable. Many anime techniques have become iconic over the years, some more than others.
10 Most Questionable Shonen Genre Tropes
Anime and manga’s shonen genre makes up many of the most popular series, but there are still some troubling tropes that drag the genre down.
10 Saitama’s Serious Punch Is Iconic For Its Simplicity
One-Punch Man is a parody anime series that is out to prove that the best heroes don’t always need crazy laser attacks or flashy light effects. Sometimes, all a hero needs is the ability to punch something really, really hard. Hard enough to shatter a meteor and change the weather.
Saitama’s Serious Punch is just that — a punch where he doesn’t hold back his incredible strength. The move is so iconic for the series that the series is basically named after it. Every time the animation upticks on Saitama, the audience knows it’s time to get hyped.
One-Punch Man
The story of Saitama, a hero that does it just for fun & can defeat his enemies with a single punch.
- Genre
- Action, Comedy, Superhero
- Language
- English, Japanese
- Number of Seasons
- 2
- Debut Date
- October 4, 2015
- Studio
- Madhouse, J.C.Staff
9 Vegeta’s Final Flash Gave Him Some Of His Best Moments
Where Goku has the Kamehameha, Vegeta has the Final Flash. The attack first appeared in the Cell Saga, and it immediately took front and center when it came to light. The pose, the music, Vegeta’s true desire to win are all amazingly hype as he gathers his energy to put his all into the attack.
For fans of Dragon Ball who love the Prince of All Saiyans, Final Flash is one of the techniques they point out as to why. It was also one of the most disappointing moments in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot when that scene did not get the love that it absolutely deserved.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.
- Created by
- Akira Toriyama
- First Film
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
- Latest Film
- Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
- First TV Show
- Dragon Ball
- Upcoming TV Shows
- Dragon Ball DAIMA
- First Episode Air Date
- April 26, 1989
- Cast
- Sean Schemmel , Laura Bailey , Brian Drummond , Christopher Sabat , Scott McNeil
8 Hinokami Kagura Is One Of The Most Visually Impressive Moves In a Visually Impressive Anime
Kimetsu No Yaiba: Demon Slayer is visually stunning and sets itself apart from other anime with its incredible style that fluctuates between looking hand-painted and cell-shaded. The first use of the Hinokami Kagura — literally translated as “Dance of the Sun God” — is the moment that took the series from good to great.
The image of Tanjiro desperately seeking his inner power to triumph over his opponent made it one of the most common scenes for people to use to explain why their friends should watch Demon Slayer. The flow of motion is simply gorgeous and, as the first breathing technique, it is the thing that gave audiences the world as it exists in the franchise.
Demon Slayer
When Tanjiro Kamado returns home to find his family was attacked and killed by demons, he discovers his younger sister Nezuko was the only survivor. As Nezuko slowly becomes a demon, Tanjiro sets out to find a cure for her and become a demon slayer so he can avenge his family.
- Release Date
- April 6, 2019
- Cast
- Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- ufotable
- Creator
- Koyoharu Gotouge
My Hero Academia Betrayed Its Own Themes When it Gave Deku a Quirk
My Hero Academia’s main message seems to be geared toward defying destiny with your own two hands, so why did Quirkless Deku end up with One For All?
7 Hisoka’s Bungee Gum Is One Of The Most Versatile Abilities In Anime
There is something brilliant about taking a technique that doesn’t seem suited for fighting and making it into one of the most deadly techniques in an anime. Bungee Gum gives Hisoka’s aura the properties of rubber and gum. On the surface, this seems kind of useless.
However, Hisoka’s sinister mind manages to make Bungee Gum entirely deadly. He has used it to grab and fling weapons, reattach his limbs, disguise himself, and much more. To an absurd degree. It is one of the most well-known techniques from Hunter x Hunter and probably one that has become the most memetic. It helps that Hisoka himself is one of those characters who are deeply polarizing.
Hunter X Hunter
Hunter X Hunter is a long-running manga from YuYu Hakusho creator Yoshihiro Togashi. It has had two anime adaptations, one in 1999 and one in 2011, along with several films, OVAs, and video games. Hunter X Hunter follows the adventures of Gon Freecss as he tries to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a Hunter by passing the notoriously difficult Hunter Trials. Along the way, he teams up with other characters, including Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua.
- Created by
- Yoshihiro Togashi
- First Film
- Hunter × Hunter – Jump Super Anime Tour 98
- Latest Film
- Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission
- First TV Show
- Hunter x Hunter
- Cast
- Megumi Han , Mariya Ise , Cristina Vee , Matthew Mercer , Erika Harlacher , Miyuki Sawashiro , Junko Takeuchi
- Character(s)
- Hisoka Morow , Kurapika , Gon Freecss , Killua Zoldyck
6 Sailor Moon’s Moon Spiral Heart Attack Has A Long Name And Great Stage Presence
Sailor Moon is the crown jewel of early magical girl anime. Something that goes part and parcel with magical girl anime is insane attack names and flashy finishing moves. Sailor Moon herself has quite a few of these types of attacks, but the Moon Spiral Heart Attack is one of the most dramatic.
Almost like a ribbon dance, Sailor Moon flips and whips around in graceful motion before crushing an enemy with the ability. It is the type of attack that has been parodied and shown up in quite a few other places, as Sailor Moon is an anime that is referenced everywhere.
Sailor Moon
A group of schoolgirls discover they are incarnations of super-powered alien princesses, and use their abilities to defend the earth.
- Release Date
- September 11, 1995
- Cast
- Stephanie Sheh , Kotono Mitsuishi , Kate Higgins , Aya Hisakawa , Cristina Valenzuela , Michie Tomizawa , Emi Shinohara , Amanda Céline Miller , Cherami Leigh , Rica Fukami
- Seasons
- 5
- Creator
- Naoko Takeuchi
- Main Characters
- Susan Roman, Jill Frappier, Katie Griffin
- Production Company
- Toei Agency, Toei Animation, Toei Company
- Number of Episodes
- 200
5 Star Platinum and Jotaro’s “Ora Ora Ora” Is Memetic In The Extreme
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an anime that says exactly what it is up front: A JoJo goes on a bizarre adventure. Jotar’s journey brought audiences the rapid punches of his Stand, Star Platinum, always accompanied by a rapid scream of “Ora Ora Ora!”
Star Platinum and Jotaro’s iconic battle cry has been parodied and memed to death in many other series, such as Food Wars. This continued even later on in the series with other JoJos, such as Golden Wind‘s Giorno Giovanna making the technique last for five full manga pages.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
The story of the Joestar family, who are possessed with intense psychic strength, and the adventures each member encounters throughout their lives.
- Release Date
- October 4, 2012
- Cast
- David Vincent , Matthew Mercer , Daisuke Ono , Unshô Ishizuka , Tôru Ohkawa
- Seasons
- 5
- Creator
- Hirohiko Araki
10 Most Overpowered Bleach Characters, Ranked
Bleach is packed with OP characters, with the likes of Ichigo Kurosaki and Gremmy Thoumeaux taking the lead.
4 Bakugo’s Howitzer Impact Is A Blast
My Hero Academia has an entire chunk of it dedicated to characters finding their big, flashy finishing moves. Bakugo, ever the stressed-out, gifted, and talented kid, manages to have one of the most visually impressive finishing moves early on in the series.
The Howitzer Impact has Bakugo launch himself in a spiral like a missile using the power of his explosions, spinning himself faster and faster to make the biggest boom. While the show is full of great techniques, like Red Riot Unbreakable and One For All: Full Cowling, Bakugo’s need to be at the top gave him one of the best attacks in the show with the most extra name.
My Hero Academia
Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life—a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered “quirk,” Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world’s most prestigious hero academies.
- Release Date
- May 5, 2018
- Cast
- Daiki Yamashita , Justin Briner , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Ayane Sakura
- Seasons
- 6
- Production Company
- Bones
- Number of Episodes
- 145
3 Luffy’s Gum-Gum Pistol Was The Perfect Intro Power
One Piece has risen to become one of the most iconic anime of all time, period. There is no way to deny how much of that lies squarely on Luffy’s rubbery shoulders. Rubber powers are always interesting and versatile and the Gum-Gum Pistol shows that off in the most simple way possible.
Luffy uses his rubbery body to build momentum for his punch and most of his later techniques build on this incredibly simple beginning. The Gum-Gum Pistol remains iconic because, much like a little black dress, it never goes out of style.
One Piece
Follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew in order to find the greatest treasure ever left by the legendary Pirate, Gold Roger. The famous mystery treasure named “One Piece”.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
- Cast
- Mayumi Tanaka , Akemi Okamura , Laurent Vernin , Tony Beck , Kazuya Nakai
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichirô Oda
- Production Company
- Toei Animation
- Number of Episodes
- 1K+
2 Yusuke’s Spirit Gun Is Just So Cool
Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the greatest shonen anime of all time, so it makes sense that its protagonist would also have an iconic attack. The Spirit Gun, pronounced “rei gun” in Japanese, makes the act of finger guns look way less lame. The attack has continuous use throughout the series, with Yusuke becoming more and more clever about how he uses the technique over time.
The Spirit Gun relies on Yusuke’s strength and creativity to be as useful as it is, and it grows with him. The move has been referenced by other anime many times in the last few decades and, let’s face it, Yusuke just makes it look so cool by gripping his wrist to control the recoil.
Yu Yu Hakusho
After a teenage delinquent is killed while saving a child’s life from an approaching car, the rulers of the underworld send him back to become an “Underworld Detective” investigating demons apparitions in the human world.
- Release Date
- October 10, 1992
- Cast
- Nozomu Sasaki , Justin Cook , Tomomichi Nishimura , Sanae Miyuki , Shigeru Chiba , Christopher Sabat
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Pierrot
- Creator
- Yoshihiro Togashi
- Number of Episodes
- 112
1 The Rasengan Launched Naruto Into Becoming The Hokage
Naruto has a lot of iconic techniques, so choosing just one can be a little difficult, but, ultimately, the Rasengan is the most iconic technique of the show and one of the most iconic in all anime. If people born in the ’90s were copying the Kamehameha, then ’00s babies were copying the Rasengan.
The Rasengan is a technique passed down to Naruto that he slowly needs to learn to use without his shadow clones, getting more and more powerful as he takes what he learns to become the very best. The technique gets further used in Boruto and upgraded by Naruto and Boruto as the story goes on. So many techniques in anime live in our brains rent-free, and there is no question as to why.
-
Naruto
Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village’s leader and strongest ninja.
- Release Date
- September 10, 2002
- Cast
- Junko Takeuchi , Maile Flanagan , Kate Higgins
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator
- Masashi Kishimoto
- Production Company
- Pierrot, Staralis Film Company
- Number of Episodes
- 220
-
Naruto: Shippuden
Original title: Naruto: Shippûden.
Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for approval and recognition, as well as to become Hokage, who is acknowledged as the leader and strongest of all ninja in the village.- Release Date
- February 15, 2007
- Cast
- Alexandre Crepet , Junko Takeuchi , Maile Flanagan , Kate Higgins , Chie Nakamura , Dave Wittenberg , Kazuhiko Inoue , Noriaki Sugiyama , Yuri Lowenthal , Debi Mae West
- Seasons
- 21
- Creator
- Masashi Kishimoto
- Production Company
- Pierrot, TV Tokyo, Aniplex, KSS, Rakuonsha, TV Tokyo Music, Shueisha
- Number of Episodes
- 500
