

Blair in Soul Eater says "Pum-pum-pkin, pumpkin" and Eva in Negima says "Lic,
lac, La lac Lilac" before every spell they use.

Is there any kind of source to this pattern or is it just a coincidence?

Note: I didn't know how to be specific in the title. I hope it isn't
misleading.

**EDIT:** As per Memor-X's request, I have to make my question clearer. I want
the source of the idea that inspired the mangaka to use it and not the
anime/manga's internal story.


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question
tropes soul-eater negima
Origin of witches incantations


I would assume the basis mangaka's use for witch incantations and the like
would come from [Mantras](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra). sometimes they
are called Arias or incantations but the basic principle is that the words
that make them up hold value either to the actual spell or to the user.

In _Soul Eater_ the witches use Arias which flow from their themes. For Blair,
even though she's "a cat with a ridiculous amount of magic", her attacks are
themed around Halloween and pumpkins are a symbol of Halloween eg. " _Pumpkin
Pumpkin, Halloween Cannon!_ ".

For Medusa, her theme is Snakes, so when she says _"Nake snake cobra cobubra"_
, it's a reference to snakes ("Nake" and "cobubra" may be deliberate
misspellings of Snake and cobra), and her Vector Magic seems to resemble
snakes in how they move.

I haven't seen _Negima_ however from nhahtdh's comment it would work out the
same since the words "feels comfortable and natural to the user" the words
would have a psychological effect on the caster. so most likely a new mage
will have weaker/unstable spells in the beginning but as they practice they
build up an Aria which will make them feel conformable.


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