Let’s Talk About Shounen Catchphrases

Catchphrases are an interesting aspect in fiction. They’re also potentially the most annoying trope in fiction. Having a character say the same thing over and over again is one of the quickest ways to get on your audience’s nerves.

Shounen anime employ these all the time. Typically it’ll be some declaration of that character’s dream or goal or most important belief. Something for them to shout during the preview for the next episode. Like a little ear worm meant to embody the character.

Unless you’re Naruto. He just put his at the end of half his sentences. Which I suppose we’ll use as the first example.

Naruto is a simple character. Growing up, he was isolated due to him being the vessel for the Nine-Tailed Fox. For fear of being alone, he often got himself into trouble just for attention. Despite struggling in school to perform even the most basic ninja arts, he has a solid goal he chases all the way from chapter one to the end of the series: to become Hokage, leader of the Hidden Leaf Village.

His catchphrase is rather simple: “Dattebayo,” which translates to, “Believe it!” This one is straightforward. He makes a claim, then tells you to believe it.

An interesting thing about this is that ‘Dattebayo’ technically isn’t an actual word in Japanese. It’s more or less a portmanteau. This fact actually comes up in the story and helps flesh out an aspect of Naruto’s character. That aspect being his thick skull. Kid basically made up his own slang, then refused to ever stop using it. Fitting for someone as stubborn in his beliefs as Naruto.

Let’s look at another example: Asta from ‘Black Clover.’ Who is basically just Naruto again, but substitute ninjas for more Western medieval fantasy tropes. Asta wants to be the Wizard King, the greatest wizard in the world, but he doesn’t have any magic. Instead, he’s given a weird demonic power as a substitute and spends the rest of his time working out to make up the difference.

Grammatically, his catchphrase is a bit more true to language than Naruto’s. It’s also quite a deal longer. “Never giving up is my magic!”

This is what a lackluster catchphrase looks like. On one hand, it does a good job of summarizing the series’ themes and Asta’s beliefs as a character. It’s kind of childish and silly, much like Asta himself. But it’s not the kind of thing that you’d want your character to say often in the story, because it would get really annoying really quickly. It’s basically built for the post-credit previews.

Finally, let’s look at what I consider the gold standard for a shounen catchphrase. If you know me, you probably won’t be surprised by my choice. It’s Monkey D. Luffy of One Piece fame.

On the surface, Luffy’s signature phrase is the most straight-forward and boring of the lot. “I’m gonna be King of the Pirates!” A basic declaration of his goal. Hardly the kind of thing that should be repeated frequently. Yet Luffy repeats it in just about every arc.

Why, then, is this not annoying? Because it plays into the series’ themes. One of the first ideas introduced in One Piece’s very first chapter is the idea that you should never bend when someone laughs at you or your dream. That even if everyone laughs and says that’s impossible, you should keep pushing forward to make that dream a reality, to prove that it is possible.

When Luffy declares he’ll be the next Pirate King, nobody believes him. They all laugh at him or dismiss him as crazy. No one thinks this goofy kid in a straw hat could ever become King.

At first.

As the series goes on, Luffy continuously proves himself time and time again. He performs increasingly insane feats, managing the impossible and emerging alive to tell the tale. Every single time Luffy uses his catchphrase, he’s shown to have taken one step, even a small one, closer to that goal. More than that: each time he says it, more and more people begin to believe him. All the way to now, in which Luffy has become one of the four most powerful pirates in the world.

A good shounen catchphrase is an earworm. A single line encapsulating its main hero and the themes of the story. But a truly great one plays into that character, into the story.

Of course, not all of them need to be like that. Just look at Goku. His catchphrase is just “Hey, it’s me, Goku!” and it’s the most iconic of the lot. Sometimes all you need is a goofy, lovable hero that people love to see.

In summary: just don’t make the catchphrase annoying and the rest should be easy.

*Should be* being the operative words. Writing is hard.