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The wave motion gun (波動砲 ha dō hō) or Yamato gun/weapon is a science fiction concept of an extremely powerful weapon which, after being fired, requires considerable time to recharge while leaving its user powerless and vulnerable.

The term specifically came from the anime series Space Battleship Yamato, where the wave motion gun was one of the most visible features on the Yamato battleship (renamed Argo in the American dub, Star Blazers) and many other capital ships, particularly the flagship Andromeda in the second season (which was equipped with two Wave Motion Guns). It worked by redirecting tachyon energy from the ship's main engine (the "Wave Motion Engine") through the opening at the ship's bow. A trigger-like mechanism in the bridge was used to activate it when aiming and charging were complete. It could deal devastating damage with a single blast, but required all non-essential power systems to be deactivated beforehand and left the ship adrift and unable to defend itself for a short time thereafter.

Examples of similar weapons include:

• The main cannon of the title ship in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime series (renamed the Reflex Cannon in the Robotech adaptation). When the ship's space fold drive vanished, the main cannon could only be connected up and fired when the Macross underwent modular transformation into a form that happened to resemble a giant humanoid robot.
• The Macross Cannon of the ship Battle 7 in the anime Macross 7, which gained its name from the above example.
• The Yamato Gun of the Terran Battlecruiser in StarCraft.
• The Siege Cannon of the Somtaaw command ship Kuun-lan in Homeworld: Cataclysm.
• The forward guns of the IAS Excalibur from Babylon 5 Crusade fired at full power are capable of destroying anything in its path. However this weapon drains all the ships power leaves the ship vulnerable for about one minute until power can be restored.
• The Wave Motion Gun was used by Megas in Megas XLR (as well as quite a bit of the ship's bow).
• The ships of R-Type carry what are known as "Wave Cannons." In the case of many of them, they are highly destructive, just like the original Wave Motion Gun, and require charging as well. However, the recharge sequence which was the downfall of the Yamato is not as severe, just part of the normal firing sequence for the R-Type fighters. Unfortunately, this charge-up sequence tends to be longer with more powerful Wave Cannons and on the long side for most combat situations, and without the supplementary Force Device around the craft, the fighter must rely on maneuverability and a single comparatively weak gun until the Cannon can be used. They are also extremely diverse, the ones most resembling the Wave Motion Gun probably being the R-9D and R-9DH series of craft in R-Type Final, emitting a long, straight beam of light.
• A reccuring weapon in the Space Empires series, usually the strongest weapon available to all races.
• A series of Wave Guns appear as massive spinal weapons in the Naval Ops series of games by Koei, and function much the same as the Wave Motion Gun.

External references

• Toy of the Yamato which features the wave motion gun
• Fanpage explaining the Wave Motion Gun
• Wave Motion Gun: A punk/metal/ska band sharing the name

• Science fiction weapons